The First Latin American Camp for Young Social Activists (Jóvenes Activistas Sociales), or JAS 10, is an essential part of the JAS project, which aims to build a support network for social activists from Latin America. The camp will provide a face-to-face exchange and work opportunity for a broad group of social practitioners that are part of a community started online.
Problems of violence are often framed in a way that enables the acceptance of discourse and actions that tend to criminalize youth as a legitimate way to curb violence. In order to enhance creative thinking around these problems, the Open Society Institute Youth Initiative and its partners propose as the camp's thematic frame "the promotion of a culture of peace, and the preservation of the lives of young people as essential assets." This general framework aims at including among the participants practitioners working on a broad variety of issues around social exclusion and marginalization, in an environment that will facilitate mutual learning.
Participants and organizers will share cabins, will bring their own sleeping bags, and share some maintenance tasks, in a venue that facilitate group interaction and collaboration. The agenda will also explore ways to maximize collaborative work during the camp, by combining participant-conducted sessions with open spaces for joint projects generated during the camp. Camp's languages are Spanish and Portuguese.
Organizers/Funders
OSI Youth; Fundación SES; OSI Latin American Program
Other Supporters
OSI International Women's Program; ASHOKA-Programa Avancemos; Fundacion Soros Guatemala; Universidad de Participación Ciudadana-UPC
More Information
To learn more, visit the following communities created by camp participants: Campamento JAS 2010 Facebook group, JAS 10 Aspirantes Google Doc, or the Listajas blog. In addition, the official JAS10 blog offers more information about the camp, venue, and its organizers.