Home >> Programs >> World Jam

June 1-8, 2008
Chinchero Community, Cuzco, Peru

A gathering of 30 young changemakers from 20 nations for a week of healing, learning, and strengthening in our lives and work

“As an activist we focus so much on healing the pain and conflict around us that we never get a chance to heal the pain inside our own lives, to grow as individuals with integrity and strength of spirit with healthy bodies full of energy to dedicate to our work. Thank you YES! for a wonderful time. My heart has opened to the possibility of a place for spirit in my work. This camp through me will reach hundreds of young people. YES!”

—Karun Koernig, 25, Manager, Environmental Youth Alliance, Vancouver, Canada

“This experience humanized the stories I’d previously heard only through the news. I now recognize that the world and the people working to make our communities healthy and sustainable are not so distant. The Jammers have truly inspired me. Their determination, passion, strength and struggles have and will continue to impact my work as an indigenous activist. It has been a fantastic environment in which to grow and open a new scope of reality in my work and my life.”

— Cathy Rexford, 24, Alaska Native Education Program, Future Alaska Native Educator Network, & Iñuit Circumpolar Youth Conference, Alaska, USA

Standing up for peace, justice, freedom and equality can be the most heart fulfilling and beautiful experience of one’s life and it can also be the saddest and loneliest place in one’s life. There are some daunting tasks ahead of us as young people committed to change and learning how to sustain ourselves on the journey can be critical if we are going to last the long haul!! There is something powerful about sitting amongst peers who share a common vision or dream. For Maori (the indigenous people of Aotearoa), it is called ‘wananga’, a place to reflect and contemplate in order to continue to build upon the work done in our daily lives. In taking that space together at the World Jam we can give ourselves room to grow so that we can return home as grounded peaceful warriors, clear in our intentions, and having shared our visions and movements with other strong brothers and sisters from around the world. We build relationships that become foundational for the work that we carry out in our homes and within the wider context of our world. The 2008 World Jam offers a space to active brothers and sisters from around the world to sit, share, listen, laugh, learn and grow.

The World Youth Jam embraces a holistic view of social change, believing with Gandhi that: “We must be the change we seek in the world.” We look for participants who are growing and building positive change on three simultaneous levels: the internal (they are growing spiritually and personally); the interpersonal (they are seeking to bring love, integrity and honesty to their relationships); and the global (they are building a world of justice, dignity, peace and balance). We believe that the personal and the public are connected, and as such, this event synthesizes the exploration of our personal lives and journeys with our collective work for a better world. It provides a space for participants to examine, not only their work and commitments, but their beliefs, values, emotions, and modes of analysis — all in a community of trust that allows important insights and perspective to be gained.

What Do We Do?

YES! has been hosting World Jams in communities all around the world, bringing groups of 30 young folks (representing 20 different nations) from diverse environments and cultures that are committed to spreading positive vibrations and are actively leading movements or organizations with the intention of restoring the honor to our Earth Mother and to each other, and to laying the foundations for a better world.

The program incorporates facilitated dialogue, sharing circles, inspiring guest presentations by world-renowned social change leaders, ceremony, dance, live music, artistic expression, organized networking, games, yoga, participant-led workshops, an outdoor adventure, and free time for participants to enjoy each other and the beautiful environment surrounding them.

Who is This Event For?

We're looking for participants who sincerely desire to make a difference with their lives, who are seeking to bring their lives and organizations into greater alignment with their values. We are looking for young leaders, visionaries, changemakers who are working at the meeting point of the internal, interpersonal and systemic transformation. This Jam is a place for learning, growing, and deepening our capacity to listen and learn from our peers from around the world to better connect the dots of the social change movement.

Participants will come from a range of backgrounds. Past participants have included activists involved with global decolonization, indigenous land protection, freedom and rehabilitation for child soldiers, domestic and street violence prevention, gender equality, bio-cultural preservation, grassroots organizing with urban and rural populations, community development with refugees, and spiritually-based activism worldwide. Jam participants share a common intention to explore vital issues and to grow and learn together. We come together for a week to build bonds of community, understanding and trust between people and movements, to see the powerful connections between the diverse issues in the world today, and to gain support and skills for the work to which our lives are committed.

How to Participate

This event is by application only. You can apply online, or download a Word document version of the application to complete and send back via email.

If you have any questions, please contact Tiffany Brown at tiffany@yesworld.org, or at (831) 334-1873.

“In Nigeria, the hopes of millions have been pinned on me. Everything I do is under the spotlight. If they want to sell papers, they put me on the cover. If they want to win an election, they ask for my endorsement. Where does someone like me go when we need a safe place to be caught learning? To renew, deepen the foundation of our work, and sharpen our focus? To share experiences, lessons and build relationships with others that can advance our thinking, approach and capacity? We go to the YES! Jam, which gives us all that and so much more.”

— Hafsat Abiola, 27, Founder, Kudirat INitiative for Democracy (KIND), Nigeria