Youth and Young Adult Leadership Programs
Since it’s creation in 1996, the Center for Diversity Education has been focused on creating youth leaders in Asheville. In the beginning, our work centered on supplementing the state’s K-12 curriculum with programs that would broaden students’ understanding of world cultures. Since then, many Youth and Young Adult programs have been added to our program plan.
K-12 Leadership Development
Me2We Youth Conference Series
Me2We is a four-year series of summer conferences on civic engagement, mirroring the 50th anniversary of Asheville’s desegregation. The 2-day program has a different theme each year, and it’s main focus is inclusive community building and leadership skills development, organized primarily by the collaboration of the Center for Diversity Education, the I Have a Dream Foundation, Advancement Via Individual Determination classes at Asheville High School, and the City of Asheville Youth Leadership Academy. It is based on the civil rights movement as one of the defining events in American history. In Asheville, the civil rights movement was led by a group of high school students, known as ASCORE (Asheville Student Commission on Racial Equality). Beginning in 1961, ASCORE systematically and peacefully desegregated Asheville’s lunch counters, libraries, pools and parks. This time period provides youth a bracing example of Americans fighting for the ideals of justice and equality. When students learn about the movement, they learn what it means to be an active American citizen, how to recognize injustice, and how to create social change with nonviolence.
The title “Me2We” captures the experience of learning: Students will progress from individual leadership development to releasing that potential within our collective community. The conference will include workshops on nonviolence training, leadership, community involvement, social justice, and artistic self-exploration. Following a structure of “past, present, future,” the conference will rely heavily on intergenerational instruction, experiential learning and peer mentoring. The Me2We conferences are planned and led by youth, beginning with a class this spring through the In Real Life afterschool program at Asheville Middle School. Me2We is the first in a four-year series of conferences on civic engagement, mirroring the 50th anniversaries of Asheville’s desegregation.
Me2E Youth Committee
Me2E is a youth leadership social change program named and funded by the partnership of The Center for Diversity Education, the City of Asheville Youth Leadership Academy, and the Jewish Community Center and fits within the Me2We Conference series framework. This committee was named after an Equity and Inclusion training event on MLK Jr Day, 2014 when twenty-seven high school students elected to continue their exploration of social justice issues in Buncombe County. Held twice a month, youth gather to gain skills and discuss topics of social justice. Through discussions, projects, and research, Me2E will provide feedback on the social realities in Buncombe County by participating in social justice research and advocacy.
Me2E provides social change tools for high school students, to promote the formation of relationships cross culturally, and for youth to learn and practice advocacy skills. The youth-lead committee will report their findings to their partner organizations at an “End of the Year” event in May.
GOAL: Empower high school students through social change tools.
VISION: Through the research and partner relationships with local social justice campaigns, students will learn how to advocate a social justice campaign.
Young Adult Jews of Asheville
If you’d like a no-strings-attached way to connect with other Jewish young adults in the area on your own terms…welcome to YAJA! YAJA (Young Adult Jews of Asheville) is a Jewish Community Center-based pluralistic, inclusive group of young Jewish adults and friends ages 21-and-over, based on the Jewish values of Kehilah (community), Limmud (learning), and Tzedakah (justice).
From large social dinner parties to smaller, more intimate happy hour events around town, YAJA offers something for all those looking to meet new people and experience the best of what Asheville has to offer! All are welcome to join us for monthly social programs, shared education and Tikkun Olam (repair of the world). Our events are open to all young adults ages 21-35, Jewish or not, and all of the events are always open to non-Jewish significant others. For more information, contact YAJA Leadership at [email protected] or call 828-253-0701 ext. 112
Center for Diversity Education Interns
Did you know – the Center for Diversity Education is comprised of the Executive Director, Deborah Miles, and 10 interns? These paid internships are offered for both one semester and year long durations, and are open to current college students, recent college graduates, and graduate school students in the area. Since 2008, the CDE’s strategic plans has included opening it’s doors to young adults by offering meaningful internships. This year, there are 10 positions, including: two interns studying the history of Health Care for African-Americans in Buncombe County, an Equity and Inclusion intern, two Diversity in the Environment interns, Tzedek (or Social Justice) intern, Social Media intern, Peace and Holocaust Studies intern, Exhibits and Global Education, and a Graduate student intern from Western Carolina University. All of our interns gain professional skills by accomplishing varied tasks: collaborating with other student organizations to facilitate events, inviting and hosting speakers on diversity and social justice issues, familiarizing themselves with grant writing initiatives, and being active in the continued development efforts of campus social issues, just to highlight a few.
You can see full profiles for each intern by clicking this link : CDE Internships