Why ULI4YW?

Being a Leader takes a toll on mind, body and spirit. If the future is indeed FEMALE, then we need to help our young female leaders learn how to protect & take care of themselves, not just everyone else. Burn-out is a real problem when it comes to balancing public service with personal life. ULI4YW offers a unique summer experience that guides young women through a Creative Self Discovery Process and Practice of becoming Self-Empowered, Self-Loving, Self-Sustainable Social Justice Artist-Activists who understand the value of Shared Leadership.  We start the week visiting the Brooklyn Museum to gather inspiration from the exhibit,  Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960-1985. Throughout the week girls explore the South African concept of Ubuntu-"I am because we are," and what it means to be human- as a woman, as a community member/organizer and as part of a cultural history and social-political context. Utilizing the Expressive Arts, they will explore what it means to share leadership and reflect on their own life stories to better understand what shaped them as a person and how they can shape society together.  They will ponder the guiding questions, "What am I passionate about?  What makes me mad? What do I want to change? What are my secret powers?  What limitations do I, or my community impose upon me? How do I want to use my powers to pursue my purpose with passion on this planet at this time? How do I want to sow wisdom in my community?” ULI4YW nurtures the Ubuntu Artist/Activist that values Self, Source and Other and encourages the quest for radical kindness, self knowledge and social justice, the practice of self care and the celebration of sisterhood among and within young women of color in particular, and all young women in general. 

Sample Daily Schedule

8:30-8:45 am Drop Off 

8:45-9:15 am "Centering Self" Meditation

9:15-9:45 am Ubuntu "I am" Check In

9:45-10:00 am Nourishment

10:00-12:00pm Creative Self Discovery: (Expressive Arts Explorations in Self-Identity, Self-Care & Shared Leadership) 

12:00-1:00pm Ubuntu Lunch: SoWisdom Community Conversations (Some days w/ Special Guest Artists/Activists)

1:00-2:00pm DayDream/Stretch/Commune with Nature/Open Studio

2:00-4:00pm Ubuntu Community Group Project (Re-Search Re-Sources, Contemplate, Collaborate, Create)

4-4:30pm Closing Circle

Week at a Glance

Monday- Trip to Brooklyn Museum to see "Radical Women" exhibit depart at 9 am

Tuesday- Thursday: Daily Schedule

Friday- 2-4:30pm Student Celebration/Presentation open to parents