Leadership Training

The URI Young Leaders Program delivers quality trainings to youth all over the world, from residential weekend programs to workshops within larger regional gatherings and events. The program is designed to both develop concrete skills for interfaith leadership and provide young people a space to encounter one another, share their experiences, and learn about other religions, spiritual expressions and Indigenous traditions.

Training areas include:

•  Community organizing
•  Peacebuilding and conflict resolution
•  Dialogue facilitation
•  Advocacy and media outreach
•  Project planning management
•  Evaluation

UPCOMING YOUTH TRAINING PROGRAMS IN 2011

•   20-26 June Youth Training in conjunction with URI Middle East and North Africa’s Regional Assembly in Morocco
•   May/June: Youth Leadership Program in Buenos Ares, Argentina
•   4-10 October, Youth Training in conjunction with URI South East Asia and the Pacific’s Regional Assembly in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2010 Trainings:

SEAPac and Asia Regions: Youth from URI’s Asia and Southeast Asia and the Pacific regions met in Manila, Philippines in April to explore the resources our religious and spiritual traditions bring to the work of social justice, peacebuilding and environmental stewardship, as well as the challenges that they sometimes present.

Africa Region: Youth from Africa met in Kampala, Uganda in September and mapped out the social issues in their communities they are engaged in. While they were there, they joined other sectors of civil society in a march through the city center to celebrate the United Nations International Day of Peace on September 21st. Participants from Uganda went on to help organize a national campaign for non-violent elections.

Europe Region: Youth leaders from Europe, North America and the Middle East met in Istanbul, Turkey in October to discuss some of the significant challenges they are collectively facing in their regions, such as the threat of religious extremism and the rise of Islamophobia. They learned skills that would help those from the Middle East participate effectively in the region’s uprisings just a few months later.