Workshops – Put knowledge into action!

Workshops meet every week day at our international summer camp.  The instructors are gifted trainers with dynamic teaching approaches to get everyone participating.  Our program also offers you the opportunity to get some valuable leadership training. Hearing everyone’s thoughts, building listening and assessment skills and developing techniques to convey your point of view and return to your own community with new abilities to promote change.

Summer 2012 offers:

• First Morning Workshop:  everyone takes Dialogue and Peace Building 
• Second Morning Workshop:  you choose either Crossing Cultures Through the Arts or Green Your World. 

GYV offers in-depth training.     Instructors show the interdependence of topics, draw on successful models of problem solving from around the world and help you see how one person can make a difference. 
Take all this new knowledge and create a plan of action to make a difference in your hometown!

Watch slides from recent workshops

Dialogue and Peace Building

Learn peace building skills and how to respond productively to conflict and prejudice. Understand conflict styles, learn mediation techniques, and how to create a better balance of power.  Explore non-violence movements, and how to constructively deal with anger. Develop listening and feedback skills and study facilitation techniques.

“I have accomplished the goal of being able to speak in a large group. I learned about dialogue and conflict resolution.

Now I can go back home and resolve conflicts whether they are personal, family, or community conflicts. I can start to make change.”

~ Philip Kane, Northern Ireland

Crossing Cultures through the Arts

The arts play an essential role in preserving and transmitting culture as well as commenting on the issues of the day.  Work with Artists-in-Residence  who have specific expertise in storytelling and music from around the world.  Build writing and interviewing skills. Create stories, video blogs and more using the peers at GYV as your youth voices.  Work with professional musicians and ethnomusicologists exploring different musical styles e.g. Middle East, American roots music, African influences in American music.

Green Your World

Explore the natural world and the complex issues facing our ecosystems. Learn how to be a friend to the environment through changing your every day habits to incorporate sustainable living practices. Discover the meanings behind concepts like eco-tourism, permaculture, fair trade, green building, organic agriculture and renewable energy.

Watch Video from workshops in the past:

Go Green: 10 Ways to be Green

1. Unplug appliances when you’re not using them. Or, use a “smart” power strip that senses when appliances are off and cuts “phantom” or “vampire” energy use.
2. Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible. As much as 85 percent of the energy used to machine-wash clothes goes to heating the water.
3. Use a drying rack or clothesline to save the energy otherwise used during machine drying. If you must use a dryer, consider adding dryer balls to cut drying time.
4. Take shorter showers to reduce water use. This will lower your water and heating bills too.
5. Install a low-flow showerhead. They don’t cost much, and the water and energy savings can quickly pay back your investment.
6. Plant drought-tolerant native plants in your garden. Many plants need minimal watering. Find out which occur naturally in your area.
7. Walk or bike to work. This saves on gas and parking costs while improving your cardiovascular health and reducing your risk of obesity.
8. Lobby your local government to increase spending on sidewalks and bike lanes. With little cost, these improvements can pay huge dividends in bettering your health and reducing traffic.
9. Use a water filter to purify tap water instead of buying bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it generates large amounts of container waste.
10. Bring a reusable water bottle, preferably aluminum rather than plastic, with you when traveling or at work.

Go to WorldwideWatch Institute to find out more ways to go green!

Alumni Goes Green

 ELENOR HODGES 

GYV Staff/Participant during:  1983, 1984, 1985

Staff: 1993

Education:  BA in Environmental Science from University of Virginia;  M.Ed from George Mason University

Employment:  Currently, I’m working as Executive Director at Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment.

Favorite GYV Memory: I remember meeting my cabin mates on the first night in Cabin Irene and being so amazed to talk to people who lived in Israel and Africa.

Most interesting country visited: My husband and I spent 4 weeks in Kenya and Tanzania in 1996.

Biography:  I grew up in Maryland outside of Washington DC and now live in Northern Virginia where I’ve lived for 14 years. I now live in Arlington with my husband, Rick, and two daughters, Audrey and Brita. I’ve worked in the environmental field since I graduated from college. After working in consulting, I worked for a national nonprofit doing teacher training and curriculum development. Currently, I work for a community nonprofit that does environmental education. We do programs in the schools, community outreach, advocacy on local policy, and community service. My free time activities include reading, cooking, bicycling, and the outdoors.