The Ninth Annual World Jam

Who Is Putting This On?

Founded in 1990, YES! connects, inspires and empowers leading young changemakers to join forces for a thriving, just and sustainable way of life for all. YES! has held 90+ week-long events for diverse young leaders from 65+ nations, and spoken in person to more than 625,000 students with a message of hope and a call to action. The 2008 World Jam is being organized by YES! in tandem with a collective of co-sponsoring organizations that includes: Conscious Collaborations, Shikshantar, Native Movement & many more

Facilitators and Organizers:

Host & Organizer

Puma Fredy Quispe Singona, Cusco, Peru
Puma is founder of CUSI HUAYNA, an indigenous youth institution that empowers youth and protects traditional folklore and wisdom of the Inca Culture in Peru. Puma is an Andean Medicine Man in training, a Council Member of Indigenous and Non Indigenous Youth Alliance (INIYA) and is founder of WILLCA, a cultural and healing center for youth in Chinchero, Peru. He has facilitated at two of YES!’s World Youth Leadership Jams.

Facilitators & Organizers

Valentina Campos Herranen, Cochabamba, Bolivia
Valentina Campos is a third generation artist and activist from Bolivia. Since 1991 she has worked with indigenous peasants in several communities. She has engaged in projects with Guaranies, Chiquitanos and Ayoreos tribes, designed to assist women and youth in the rediscovery and rescue of lost art forms. Over the ensuing years she has been involved with myriad organizations both in Bolivia and abroad (studies and research always revolving around agriculture and the Andean cosmovision). Valentina co-founded "Kunaymana", a co-operative of Aymara women from two communities of Lake Titicaca, created to rescue, protect, and strengthen culture/agriculture, as of late prioritizing the crucial processes of cultural affirmation and mental decolonization.

In 2000, Valentina began creating a series of paintings,entitled "Siembra de Mamalas", reflecting sowing rituals, the role of women in the Andean cosmovision, and the protection of biodiversity. She has exhibited this series at the Modern Museum of Art in La Paz, Bolivia, the Sacred Stone Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, the Casa de la Cultura Raul Otero Reiche, Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and in a collective exhibition at the Bolivian Embassy in Washington D.C. entitled "Latina Women in the Arts". She has spoken internationally, alongside her paintings, at art spaces, conferences and universities such as: The Arpana Cour Gallery in New Dehli, India, coinciding with the presentation of the book on her work, "Seeds, Source of Life", published by Vandana Shiva`s Foundation; Harvard Law School`s Environmental Justice event at the Highlander Research and Education Center; University of Kentucky`s Appalachian Center`s 25th Anniversary event entitled "Thoughts in the Presence of Fear"; UNC department of Anthropology-Institute for Latin American Studies`s talk "Women, Cultural Affirmation, and Mental Decolonization. Valentina organized an international delegation consisting of traditional midwives and women activists to participate in and present a workshop "The Ecology and Culture of Normal Birth", at the world Social Forum, Porto Alegre, Brazil. Currently she is working at the "Casa de Encuentros y Dialogo inter-cultural"(CEDIC) a collective of local indigenous farmers and artists in the town of Totorkawa; Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Salim Mohamed, Nairobi, Kenya
Salim has been described as a man who brings hope, love, possibility and empowerment into peoples lives on the most grassroots level and in the most real ways. Originally from Nyeri, the capital Kikuyu lands, he was abandoned by his parents at an early age, spent his first four years of life on the streets of Nairobi with his grandmother, and was subsequently taken to Mama Fatuma Children’s Home. While there, he set up a youth soccer team, and within a few years he was chairman of the entire youth sports association with a membership of 16,000. He now coordinates a community development, sports and health program for over 4,000 youth in Kibera, the largest slum in East Africa. The program addresses ethnic violence, youth unemployment, and public health. Salim has worked as a consultant to help launch South sports associations in Ghana and Nigeria. He has been nominated to serve on the Diversity For Peace Advisory Board with Nobel Peace Laureates Oscar Arias Sanchez, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, and Norman Borlaug.

Kiritapu Lyndsay Allan, Swanson, Auc, New Zealand
Kiritapu is one of those people that wakes up on any given day in completely different places, interacting with many kinds of faces and traversing through all types of spaces. Peace and justice lie at the core of all that it is that she does. In saying that she admits that it is another matter to fully embody these concepts at the personal level and strives to attain the balance of peace and justice within her own self, family, community and country. Kiritapu is indigenous to Aotearoa, specifically she comes from the peoples of Ngati Ranginui, Ngai Te Rangi, Tuwharetoa and Te Arawa which are tribes from the middle of the North Island. Her work revolves around educating and inspiring all peoples about learning from our histories so that we can create a sustainable, just and hopeful future.

Tiffany Brown, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Tiffany is the Program Manager at YES! and co-founder of CAI, the Community Alliances Initiative. She has worked with local as well as national anti-racist groups such as the civil rights organization, the NAACP (Southeast Regional office's Prison Project). Tiffany is passionate about bringing people together over food, community, relationships and communication. She is thrilled that her life is currently a manifestation of what she holds dear. Tiffany also loves hosting and attending dinner parties, and dancing.

Coumba Toure, Dakar, Senegal
Coumba Toure is an educator seeking alternatives in education, an activist struggling for radical social change and working for just and sustainable relations worldwide, and an artist who enjoys writing fiction and sharing music. She has more than ten years of experience in community work in West Africa as well as international experience in organizing. Coumba works for social justice through popular education and has facilitated hundreds of educational workshops on gender, race and economic justice, HIV Aids and advocacy. She has worked with very diverse groups of people and organizations including the Institute for Popular Education in Kati, Mali; African Consultants International in Dakar, Senegal; 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement in Selma, Alabama; and Youth for Environmental Sanity (YES!) in Soquel, California. She speaks regularly at college campuses and conferences and sits on the board of several non-governmental organizations. She is currently writing and publishing books and educational materials for children and building a learning community that supports children in creating their own material.

Osmar Filho, Sao Paulo, Brazilia
As a student leader of one of the most important public Brazilian universities, Osmar Filho helped to create and spread the word of three nationwide known projects: Preparatory schools run by university students to low income students to get in into public universities, university courses and classes to workers who only can study at night and free radio run by students.

Later on he went to be the youngest environmental counselor at the Environmental Council in Campinas city, one of the richest cities in Brazil, yet very socially and environmentally unbalanced. He became part of a commission that worked to ban the construction of the biggest cargo airport in the southern hemisphere, which had not gone through an environmental assessment, and whose construction would ultimately displace more than 50,000 people.

He completed an apprenticeship at the University of California, Santa Cruz in the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems with a concentration in energy expenditure in agriculture. He is now living in Rio de Janeiro where he is working as an environmental adviser and educator. One area of his work is to raise awareness about carbon emissions and energy expenditure. He is also part of the Brazilian Genetic Modified Food campaign.

Last January he spent about 50 days traveling around South America filming and interviewing several groups and individuals that work with social and environmental justice issues, diversity and identity consciousness-building. Osmar Filho has participated in several World Jams and organized two Latin America Jams in 2003 and 2005. Last June he organized with the Yawanawa people the first Amazon Jam.

Organizers & Advisors

Shilpa Jain, Udaipur, Raj, India
Shilpa is a learning activist with Shikshantar: The Peoples‚ Institute for Rethinking Education and Development, based in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India. Shilpa has researched, written books and articles, and facilitated workshops on topics ranging from globalization, creative expressions, ecology, democratic living, gender, innovative learning, walkouts and unlearning. She herself is unlearning many things from her many years of living in the US, and especially trying to find more ways to free herself from the readymade world. She loves learning with/from children and youth, and has extensive experience doing so around self-esteem, creativity, collaboration, identity and conflict resolution. She also enjoys being in an intergenerational household, with her grandmother (who is in her mid-80s), brother and sister-in-law (in their 30s) and her five year-old niece, Avanika. Shilpa is also passionate about zero waste, organic and natural farming, dance, guitar, handlooming, spinning (charkha) and jewelry-making with natural materials.

Evon Peter, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
Evon Peter is the Chairman of Native Movement and former Chief of the Neetsaii Gwichï’in from Arctic Village in northeastern Alaska. He has served as the Co-Chair of the Gwichï’in Council International, on the Executive Board of the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council, and as an alternate area Vice-President to the National Congress of American Indians. Evon is a well-recognized advocate of Indigenous Peoples’ rights, youth, and a balanced world, and is active as a speaker, strategist, writer, and organizer. His experience includes work within the United Nations and Arctic Council forum representing Indigenous and environmental interests. He dedicates a significant portion of his time to youth leadership development, community building, and gathering facilitation.

Nuttarote Wangwinyoo, Chiang Rai, Thailand
Nuttarote Wangwinyoo is the president of the Foundation for an Evolving Society, founded in 2005 located in Chiengrai, Thailand. In search of spiritual practice, a deeper understanding of life and ways to serve society and the earth, Nutt decided to become a Buddhist monk for one year. He then became socially engaged with rural development for indigenous people of highland communities and in 1995 joined the Spirit in Education Movement to promoted spiritual dimension in both formal and informal education in Thailand. After his graduation from the Environmental Leadership (MA), Naropa University, he continues the work with indigenous leaders to revive and enrich the sacred view of living with the land in a traditional way. Also, he helps many organizations in Thailand to create a learning culture through ways of dialogue and transformative learning process.

Ocean Robbins, Soquel, California, USA
Ocean founded YES! in 1990 at the age of 16, and has served as its guiding light since then. He and his life partner, Michele Robbins, are YES!’s co-presidents. Ocean is co-author of Choices for Our Future, has spoken in person to 200,000 high school students, and has facilitated 32 week-long camps for young changemakers from 45 countries. He has served as a board member for Friends of the Earth, The Tide Turning Coalition, The Omni Center and EarthSave International. He was honored in E Magazine’s Kid Hero’s Hall of Fame, was selected by Utne Reader as one of 30 Young Visionaries, and has been recognized by both Time and Audubon magazines as among the heroes of the new millennium.