This summer, we ran our very first virtual intensives! Over the course of 3 or 5 days, youth from around the world met on Zoom to discuss, reflect, and learn about a topic close to the heart of our mission and values. In total, we worked with 44 youth from 18 countries, many of which were new to our organization. We loved being able to connect with youth in a meaningful way and getting deep into the intricacies of each intensive’s topic.
Below you will find summaries of the 4 virtual intensives we ran this summer: Re-imagining the World: Art for Social Change, Science, Technology and Humanity, Climate Change and Sustainable Solutions, and Organizing for Social Justice.
Re-imagining the World: Art for Social Change
Throughout this 3-day long intensive, we explored questions about whether Art can be an effective tool for social change and analyzed different ways and methods in which it tries to achieve it.
We looked at various works of Art and artistic practices and created artistic works ourselves. Every program day, participants were invited to engage in a creative task which encouraged them to reflect on changes they'd like to see in communities they are a part of.
On Day 1 we looked at common arguments for and against the effectiveness of Art & Creative Practices in bringing about social change, as well as explored the first method which art aims to achieve: the method of carefully examining constructs and the world we are a part of, while encouraging us to challenge our subjectivity.
We spoke about Hilma af Klint and her practice of Scientific visualization, Reverend Billy & Church of Stop Shopping - a radical performance community based in New York City which warns of the “Shopocalyse” and consumerism, and Guernica in Sand by Lee Mingwei, a three-part installation work made out of 28 tons of sand which speaks to generational and personal trauma and its relationship with temporality.
On Day 2, we looked at protest art and asked ourselves what does protest mean, what does the act of protesting entail, and how does it relate to art. We looked at the Guerilla Girls collective, Pussy Riot's work, as well as Mattress Performance (Carry That Weight) a performance art piece by Emma Sulkowicz, a university studio art major.
On Day 3, we looked at the art that encourages us to reimagine and transform the world around us. We discussed the work of Agnes Martin, Alok Vaid-Menon, Travis Alabanza, Theatre of The Oppressed, Cardboard Citizens and how art practices are used in the restorative justice setting.
Science, Technology, and Humanity
This intensive was focused on interdisciplinary issues across science and the humanities for students interested in entering leadership positions in science, medicine, engineering, history, or philosophy. Each day attended to a different historical, ethical, or technical problem in science or technology.
Day 1 - Physics, Metaphysics, and Identity: We tackled questions regarding the underlying structure of different concepts, starting with everyday objects, and ending with personal identity. On the way, we addressed teleporters, mind uploading machines, forbidden colors, and cyborg gender.
Day 2 - Justice, Ethics, Computer Justice, and Computer Ethics: We thought about problems underlying moral machines and automated justice. Self-driving cars, computer-assisted courts, and murder cases all made an appearance on this day.
Day 3 - Eugenics, Standardized Testing, and Genetics: We started with historical issues of eugenics, and then took a deep dive into the complex relationship eugenics has with some educational institutions. The highlight of this day was a look at the deep misunderstandings of genetics and statistics that fueled the rise of eugenics in education, and a look at how these issues survive today in the college admissions process.
Day 4 - Rationality, Beliefs, and Changing Our Minds: This day was all about trying to be rational and figuring out when we should change our minds. It led up to an issue of echo chambers, social media, and rationalizing exposure to opposing views.
Day 5 - Science, Magic, Conspiracy, and Goodbyes: Our last day was about science, non-science, and what lies in the middle. We talked about dragons, mythical plants, and flat-earth conspiracies. We also had time to say our goodbyes and bring lingering questions forward. Final subjects included parameter and configuration space in quantum mechanics, and supreme court arguments on the permissibility of statistical evidence in law.
The attendees were balanced between recent camp alumni and students new to LAJF.
Climate Change and Sustainable Solutions
This 5-day virtual intensive discussed climate change and its solutions in different contexts. The intensive gave a deeper understanding of the complexity of climate change and how one can create positive change while learning about the problem.
Every day had a theme that built upon the many faces climate change has and workshop time where participants worked on a sustainability project to be implemented after the program.
Besides the fact that climate change can be a heavy topic where it might seem there is no way out, this virtual intensive showed how much hope there is as well! Next to the core content of each day, there was a lot of fun as well with community builders, games and energizers.
Day 1 was focused on discussing the issue and its effects: climate change. During activities such as small group debates, participants learned to deal with skepticism and fallacious arguments. It was incredible to see how fast students found their own way to express their views. Some used data and numbers, while others used personal experiences.
Day 2 was focused on technology. We discussed well-known renewable energies and novel topics like geo-engineering. A intense game where students had to simulate different parts of the industry showed how hard it can be to make the first move if you are reliant on others to work with you. This simulation game ended with an inspiring speech of the participants: “even if we lose the money, even if we lose the game, we decide to build all wind parks because we believe that doing the right thing needs to come first.”
Day 3 was focused on economics. We covered a tremendous amount of terms and concepts, from Levelized Costs Of Energies (LCOE) to economies of scale. We discussed the learning curves of renewable energies, as well as consumerism. We looked at many ways to move from a linear economy towards a circular economy such as recycling, upcycling, and shifting the focus from buying products to buying services.
Besides these concepts, we also looked at the different types of carbon pricing and debated whether pricing carbon emissions directly or using a cap-and-trade system would be best.
Day 4 was focused on climate justice. We discussed both the inequality in creating emissions as well as the inequality of the effects those emissions have, beginning with discussing why it is so hard for countries to make a first move even if everyone agrees that they should reduce emissions. We discussed who should go first, and who is responsible. From there, we discussed which groups are effected differently by climate change and increased emissions. We discussed in detail a few key groups and why they experience the effects differently, and how this inevitably effects almost everyone.
Day 5 was the last day. This day was centered around the question: what can I do? We had a brainstorm where everyone came up with ways one can change the world. It showed that politicians, scientists, engineers, lawyers, teachers, artists and many, many other careers could all be tied to helping to fight against climate change one way or another.
We ended with participants sharing their projects and knowledge. Projects varied in their approach; some focused on awareness, setting up a sustainability club, expressing CO2 numbers in images of trees, circular economy, collecting old clothes and upcyling them, gardening, informing others about greenwashing, building energy efficient electronics, capturing methane, informing politicians, and so many more.
It was a great closing full with optimism, hope, and most of all - a lot of energy.
Organizing for Social Justice
This Intensive aimed to equip participants with some of the tools needed to create effective social movements. We were joined by youth from Pakistan, China, Barbados, the USA, Spain, India and South Africa for 3 sessions spread over 3 weeks.
Day 1 - Communities and Stories. We started the program by reflecting on where we come from, what brings us together, and we practiced creating shared community hopes. We finished the day analyzing the power of story-telling by delving into some of Malala Yousafzai’s work and words.
Day 2 - Theories and Power - We began the second day of the program exploring theories of change, vital to ensuring that interventions and objectives are aligned. We dissected two campaigns, with very different theories of change, that recently pushed the University of Cambridge to divest from fossil fuels. Participants were then given a mission: to plan a campaign in their schools. To that end, they practiced power mapping and devised a realistic strategy to get a motion approved and passed in a complex institution, gaining an understanding of some differences between organizing, mobilizing and advocating strategies.
Day 3 - Reasons and People - On the last day of the program, participants continued with their campaign by learning to identify organic leaders, practicing and critiquing canvassing conversations, and understanding the myriad of roles different people play in community organizing. Each participant left with a clear sense of how to apply some of the lessons learned in this intensive to their own community issues.
After the program, participants showed an interest in applying the lessons learned during the program to their own lives. One participant shared that now that they had learned more about inequality in schools they would take action on, some shared the usefulness of the tools practiced to create more strategic social movements instead of “broadly being an activist”, others expressed that the practical tools we practiced such as power mapping or planning canvassing conversations would be useful in their own organizing projects.
Some participants also shared that the intensive had given them a greater understanding for the full space of possibilities when it comes to being an actor of change and how it’s not just “protesting and holding a banner, but also, and importantly, about relationship building, strategizing and so on”. For others, theories of change allowed them to get a better sense of the assumptions they might have been operating under and offered them a path to be an active part of movements for social change in a less performative way.
If you’re interested in learning more about the virtual intensive program or want to sign up to be notified or future virtual intensives, visit our webpage here.