NM-Powered
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Last weekend New Mexico Youth Organized hosted a retreat to bring together active young "doers" from around the state to network with one another and brainstorm on how to make New Mexico a better state. On the bus ride to the super fancy "Sunrise Springs Resort" the participants took turns hooking up their I-Pods on the stereo blasting everything from reggae to hip-hop and alternative tunes. Before we arrived I already new it was an amazing group, music says a lot about people.
As we entered the resort facilities, checked into our rooms and gathered for the welcoming dinner ceremony, the twenty five bright young faces seemed eager to see what this whole NMYO retreat thing was all about. The truth is, in my role as an organizer of the retreat, I was just as curious to see what would happen as well. Our plan was to have participants "self organize" around the topic of "opportunity" in New Mexico. We had no expectations, only faith in the ideas, conversations and projects that might emerge.
After a round of introductions I was convinced that the right people were in the room. There were; event promoters, poets, video game designers, DJ's, alternative fuels experts, professional artists, bloggers, professional dancers, comedians, sound engineers, native issues experts, custom clothing makers, entrepreneurs, sustainable agriculture experts and a range of other community leaders.
We used the "open space" format, so instead of creating a detailed game plan for the weekend, we presented a completely blank schedule and asked participants to create an agenda themselves. At one point during a conversation about "the role of art in activism," a young Native organizer suggested organizing a "future-fair" event that would use art and music to help educate her community on issues relating to young women of color. Several others liked that thought and a subsequent breakout group focused exclusively on the future fair event.
It was amazing to see how quickly participants took responsibility and got moving on big tasks. Other break away sessions had titles like; green-jobs, creating a professional youth media center, local agriculture issues, NM as sustainable energy hub for the U.S, bringing NM up to speed, education and leadership development. Action plans and collaborations followed soon after. It's inspiring to see what young people are capable of when they are given the resources and space to self-organize.
Check some photos from the weekend.
As we entered the resort facilities, checked into our rooms and gathered for the welcoming dinner ceremony, the twenty five bright young faces seemed eager to see what this whole NMYO retreat thing was all about. The truth is, in my role as an organizer of the retreat, I was just as curious to see what would happen as well. Our plan was to have participants "self organize" around the topic of "opportunity" in New Mexico. We had no expectations, only faith in the ideas, conversations and projects that might emerge.
After a round of introductions I was convinced that the right people were in the room. There were; event promoters, poets, video game designers, DJ's, alternative fuels experts, professional artists, bloggers, professional dancers, comedians, sound engineers, native issues experts, custom clothing makers, entrepreneurs, sustainable agriculture experts and a range of other community leaders.
We used the "open space" format, so instead of creating a detailed game plan for the weekend, we presented a completely blank schedule and asked participants to create an agenda themselves. At one point during a conversation about "the role of art in activism," a young Native organizer suggested organizing a "future-fair" event that would use art and music to help educate her community on issues relating to young women of color. Several others liked that thought and a subsequent breakout group focused exclusively on the future fair event.
It was amazing to see how quickly participants took responsibility and got moving on big tasks. Other break away sessions had titles like; green-jobs, creating a professional youth media center, local agriculture issues, NM as sustainable energy hub for the U.S, bringing NM up to speed, education and leadership development. Action plans and collaborations followed soon after. It's inspiring to see what young people are capable of when they are given the resources and space to self-organize.
Check some photos from the weekend.
Signed, a real live New Mexico Youth (who is not very organized) named Geezy.
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