As the Awakening the Dreamer Symposium continues to inspire young people around the world, Symposium stories in action arise everywhere. Here are a few samples of some of the extraordinary youth Symposium work coming out of the Awakening the Dreamer community. You are invited to the new webpage launching ATD Youth Initiative and to get involved here...
Chinese University Integrates the Symposium into Core Curriculum
United International College, Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China: At UIC University, the fourth largest University in China, twenty professors and students trained as Facilitators and are incorporating Symposium principles into the campus and vision through its Whole Person Education curriculum. This curriculum emphasizes: language culture, experimental development, voluntary service, sports and culture, environmental awareness, emotional health, experiential arts, and adversity quotient. The Awakening the Dreamer Symposium is being combined with the University’s Environmental Awareness course. For more information... or contact Haipeng Guo.
The Symposium Empowers Mexican Students
Mexico City, Aguascalientes, Guadalajara, Mexico: In September and October, Fernando Ausin and a dynamic support network brought Symposiums to 116 participants in two locations: Mexico City, the University of Aguascalientes for the Renewable Energy Summit, and the American School of Guadalajara. Billed as a renewable energy workshop at the Renewable Energy Summit, the predominantly engineering and hard science students were anxious, confused, and could not understand why social justice and spirituality were being covered. However, the facilitation team helped guide that confusion into a euphoric sense of ‘blessed unrest’ as they emphasized that ‘We are the number one source of renewable energy!’, and that to change our critical circumstances, there is an imperative of first changing ourselves. At the American School of Guadalajara, the Symposium was woven into 350.org’s International Day of Climate Action activities. They also helped plan and coordinate “Climate Action Days” at the American School in Guadalajara and hosted a Symposium with high school students and administration heads. The symposium helped re-focus and awaken participant’s anxieties at the school and began to convert their passion to action! Contact Fernando Ausin.
Youth Symposium at LA Justice Center
Los Angeles, California, US: The October 17 Youth Symposium at Chuco’s Justice Center attracted a cross-pollination of generations. Participating adults were from the Youth Justice Coalition, Critical Resistance, LA Poverty Department, and Skid Row and vegan activist groups. Following the Symposium, the youth oriented group expressed the goal of bringing greater attention to the ecological opportunities at Chuco's Justice Center. Participants expressed the desire to share the Symposium with incarcerated youth and California youth corps. The staff and leaders of Chuco's Justice Center expressed the intention of incorporating the Symposium to bring greater understanding of the relationship of their core work of social and environmental justice. On the 21st, a second Youth Symposium was conducted to a group of 30 home schooled youth (ages 13-17) and their parents. Contact Tuck Taylor.
Boy Scout Venturing Crew 202 Delivers Symposium
Westminster, Maryland, US: As part of 350.org's International Day of Climate Action, October 24th, the youth of Boy Scout Venturing Crew 202 hosted and presented a Symposium at Carroll Community College with 70 participants from the surrounding community. Participants noted that the message “will hit home” when mainstream organizations such as Boy Scouts convey the interconnections between social, environmental and spiritual issues. The intergenerational nature of the audience also moved participants. The inspirational message presented by the youth crew, excited participants to bring a Symposium to their communities. To support participants in “Blessed Unrest”, the Crew also dedicated a portion of their website to help anyone interested in environmental sustainability and social justice find resources and solutions. The ‘facilitators’ were not yet ‘trained; they successfully used the Presenter’s Kit and their passion to deliver the Symposium. Contact Paul Kazyak.
Power Shift Canada Awakens Ottawa
Joanna Macy Intergenerational Intensive
Ojai, California, US: An intergenerational group of 55 people gathered at the Ojai Foundation to experience The Work That Reconnects from October 29th thru November 4th. Fifteen ATD facilitators, many with a deep passion for and connection with the ATD Youth Initiative, explored how Joanna’s work can be more widely integrated into short and long versions of the Symposium in ways that contribute every more powerfully to the Great Turning of our time. Contact Joshua Gorman.
Generation Waking Up: Awakening the Dreamer
New Paltz, New York, US: An intergenerational team of five facilitators hosted a Symposium at SUNY-New Paltz on November 7th. Organized by the NYPIRG student organization on campus, fifty students participated in the three-hour concentrated Symposium that was adapted from the Power Shift version with a special Generation Waking Up flavor. NYPIRG plans to host a Symposium on campus every semester as a tool to help “wake students up” and inspire them to become more actively engaged on their campus and in their communities. Contact Joshua Gorman.
California Student Sustainability Coalition Convergence
Santa Cruz, California, US: The CSSC Convergence opened with 60 student leaders participating in a Symposium on November 6th. Over 300 student sustainability leaders came together for training workshops, planning, and to hear speakers from 50 California campuses. Some of CSSC’s leadership is exploring the Symposium as a potential tool for organizers to mobilize their peers back on campus to grow their CSSC vision. Contact Katiyana Williams.
Community Going Co-Conscious
Santa Cruz, California, US: The Inner Light Center community organized a series of Go-Conscious events for the greater Santa Cruz community. Two Awakening the Dreamer Symposiums anchored the program on November 7th. Nearly 100 came to the regular Symposium which was accompanied by a special Youth Symposium for participants ages 12 to 17. Youth participating in the adult symposium at various points was very powerful. Conscious Consumer lunch - with all ingredients from local farms and a locally-owned small business, which specializes in vegan and vegetarian entrees - blessed the day. The Symposium was preceded the evening before with over 200 people engaging with dynamic speakers, music and dancing, and contributing to the large number of Symposium participants. Contact Ellen Farmer.
George 'Green' Day at George Brown College; Greening a Campus
Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Kathy and Leslie Mezei, and Janet Laughton Mackay partnered with staff and students to deliver a full day symposium Oct. 27th to 80+ students and staff at George Brown College - one of Canada's largest city colleges - on George 'Green' Day. Included throughout were a series of punchy, 5-minute 'Green Spot' presentations by students and staff describing their 'green the college' actions. College organizers are very intentional on 'greening' and embedding social justice into both the physical plant and the full curriculum. They were greatly pleased with the successful event and major 'kick off' for launching the college into a 'green' vector , and requested the Symposium be an annual event.
Contact Leslie Mezei.
Music and Youth Mix the Awakening!
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Brody Mudryk, Tem Hutchinson and Brandon Richards from the band Conscience based in Vancouver, created a brilliantly powerful song, Can’t Fade Away. It covers our planet’s predicaments with solutions that make you dance & shouting in joy! The three (ages 19 to 21) were encouraged to make Symposium music by facilitator Rabia Wilcox of Ottawa. Tem participated in the recent Toronto Youth/Mentor ATD Program, sharing the magic with Brody and Brandon. The "Wombat", Van Jones passion, and surfing the ATD website inspired their dream & song. Contact Rabia Wilcox. (she’ll soon have the links to share.)
