October 2021 – September 2022
New Jams and other YES! programs are being added all the time; information and applications are updated, so please check back often!
Many thanks to The Global Youth Leadership Collaborative for laying the foundation for so many of these programs.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are embracing our commitment to community, connection, collaboration and co-liberation by co-creating online Jams, workshops and other offerings. We also hope in-person convenings will be possible in 2022. You can see what we are anticipating below, and more new programs will be coming soon.
YES! Annual Holiday Party, December 12, 2021, on Zoom and in-person – Jammers, program partners and community members are invited for YES!’s annual fun-, friend- and fund-raising event.
India Eco Jam, January 30 to February 5, 2022, Bangalore, India – The second-ever EcoJam in India will bring together a community of 30 people from diverse backgrounds, ages 20+, who are passionate and concerned about the environment. They will gather to know themselves more deeply, build a community together, reconnect with Nature in a profound way, and find renewed vision, purpose, and support in their work in the world. It is being organized and facilitated by a team of alumni of past India Jams.
HOME (Healing Our Movement Ecosystem) – An Environmental Movement Jam, February 1-6, 2022, Santa Cruz mountains, California – Diverse change-makers from the intersecting environmental, ecology and environmental justice movements will gather to heal the movement ecosystem at all levels in this 6th Jam (since its 2013 initiation). Grassroots leaders, conservationists, indigenous peoples, alternative builders, eco-justice warriors, scientists, and policy advocates, and more, will explore their stories, learnings, struggles and hopes, and find ways to amplify vision, balance, well-being, connectivity and collective effectiveness within this vital movement. Core partners: Elias Serras, Gabi Jubran & HAPPI, Kyle Lemle & Lead to Life, Tianna Arrendondo & 350.org, Rene Henery & Trout Unlimited, Anwen Baumeister & The Well/Cozy Bones Farm.
Toronto Changemakers Jam, February 2022, online – This 7th annual Toronto Jam will bring together Toronto-based and/or Toronto-connected changemakers to connect with each other and explore together what transformation looks like in our communities, in our relationships, and in ourselves.
Pakistan Youth Leadership Jam, February or March 2022, TBD – 7th annual event! Diverse change-makers, from all parts of Pakistan and working in fields ranging from women’s empowerment to youth development to human rights and citizenship, will gather together to grow in self, heal divisions, create support for each other, and vision a positive future for their families, communities and land. Organized and facilitated by a team of alumni from past Pakistan Jams.
Pacific Northwest Changemakers Jam, March 21-26, 2022, TBD – This 2nd annual Jam will bring together multi-generational change-makers from around the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington, British Columbia) to explore the diverse realities of this incredible region, generate shared vision, create lasting relationships, and deepen in self-awareness together.
Egypt Leadership Jam, Spring 2022 – This 8th annual Jam will bring together diverse change-makers, from varying religious, ethnic, economic, geographic, national and professional backgrounds from around Egypt. It is organized and facilitated by a team of alumni of past Egypt Jams.
El Jam México, Se llevará a cabo virtualmente en la primavera 2022 – El Jam en México es un encuentro contigo y con otras personas hispanohablantes para conocerte, cuestionarte y explorar; para conectar con otros, crear espacio y nuevas posibilidades; para ubicar en donde estás parado, lo que te detiene y lo que te impulsa, tus sueños.
Mexico Jam, To be held virtually, Spring 2022 – The Mexico Jam is an encounter of Spanish-speaking people to deepen self knowledge, question and explore; to connect with others, create space and new possibilities; to understand and build relationships with participants from Mexico and other parts of Latin America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Argentina, Cuba, Colombia, etc.).
Queer/LGBTQ* Jam, Spring 2022 – This 5th annual Jam will bring multi-generational change-makers from around and across the LGBTQ* spectrum for collective visioning, interpersonal healing and understanding, and self-transformation. Core partners: George Holmes, Roan Coughtry, Jessie Workman, Alia Lahlou, and Jovan Julien.
Re-Storying Justice Jam, June 14-19, 2022, Santa Cruz, CA, USA – This 3rd annual Jam will bring together practitioners in the fields of restorative justice, prison reform, prison abolition, and more, to generate deeper community, self-awareness and healing, and to help move the dial on what ‘justice’ can look like for our times. Core partners: Demarris Evans, Johnny Perez, Kevin Martin, Joy George, Yoana Tchoukleva, Angela Sevin, Seth Weiner.
Arts for Social Change / ARTivist Jam, June 27-July 3, 2022, Santa Cruz, CA, USA – Musicians, visual artists, dramatists, dancers, graphic recorders, spoken word poets, and more, will join together in cross-pollinating and linking up the vital ARTivist movement! This 8th annual Jam will focus on mutual support, interconnection, collaboration, visioning, and lifting up the essential contributions of artists in social transformation.
Men and Masculinity: Men Raised as Men Jam, July 18-23, 2022, TBD – This 2nd annual Jam will offer participants the opportunity to catalyze positive change through healing, homecoming, and expression of healthy masculinity as part of a resilient whole.
Wellness and Healing Justice Jam, Summer 2022, TBD – This 5th annual event will bring together social workers, therapists, counselors, and many other wellness and healing artists, to dive into deeper self-awareness, community collaborations, healing across the fields of work, and moving the dial on what is possible in the field overall. Core partners: Sky Yardeni, Hanan Al-Bilali, Gert Comfrey, Roan Coughtry, Yoo-Jin Kang.
Education Transformation Jam, Summer 2022, online – How is education transforming in this COVID-19 world? Intergenerational and dynamic change-makers in the field of education gathered together to (re)weave an oft-divided education transformation fabric. Learning from our life experiences, healing from education pains, co-creating a robust support system, and generating new visions and practices of education are at the heart of this 9th annual Jam.
Black Diaspora Jam, Fall/Summer 2022 – The 3rd Black Diaspora Jam will bring diverse changemakers from across the Black diaspora to explore personal, interpersonal and systemic transformation in these times.
North America Leadership Jam, December 4-11, 2022, Santa Cruz, CA, USA – YES!’s longest-running program, which has helped to birth so many Jams around the country and has been happening for the last 21 years, in one form or another. Leaders from around the continent will be diving deep to co-create shared vision, find common points of collaboration, heal historic divides, and explore the self.
Completed Programs
Asian American Diaspora mini-Jam, October 27, 2021 – In preparation for the next Asian American Diaspora Jam (coming 2022), this mini-jam offered a taste of the experience. We brought together 25 diverse change-makers from the Asian American community landscape to take a few hours to create a supportive space to explore our connection to ancestry, our roles in and relationships to social justice movements, and what it takes to heal our relationships with one another as peoples of Asian descent who have some intersection with North America.
Law and Social Change Jam, October 28 – November 3, 2021 – This 7th annual Jam brought together 27 diverse lawyers and justice practitioners, who are vital to co-creating a better world, in environment, human rights, criminal justice, land rights, immigration, alternative economies, and more, and who want to heal and deepen their connections on personal, interpersonal and systemic levels. Core partners: Susan Brooks, John Lopez, Chris Tittle, Judi Cohen, Jeff Carolin, Demarris Evans.
Learning Journey for Jam Alumni, November 18-20, 2021, 9-11:30 am PST / 12-2:30 pm EST, on Zoom – 18 Jam alumni came together for this first-ever pilot learning journey: an opportunity to deepen in their jam experience, remember/revisit tools and practices, and look towards how they can integrate more Jamming into their every day lives. It was facilitated by two YES! staff and Jam facilitants, Joy George and Nandita Batheja.
Some of what’s in the works….
Montreal Jam, 2022, Montreal, Canada – The first-ever Jam to gather changemakers from in and around Montreal to cross-pollinate, deepen in their relationships, and expand the actions and visions of peace in the area. This Jam is being organized by a team of alumni from the Toronto Changemakers Jam.
Hindi Changemakers Jam, 2022, India – Several alumni of the India Youth Jam will organize this language-based program, to bring together diverse changemakers from around the country. The hope is to sow the seeds of connection, collaboration and shared visions.
And MANY more programs coming soon!