YES! Egypt Youth Jam

7th – 11th March, 2022

Aswan, Egypt

8th Edition

APPLY TODAY

سجل اليوم

Masaa2 il Fol! 

It is our honor to invite you to apply to participate in a unique gathering: the Egypt Youth Transformational Leadership Jam! This Jam will connect 20 diverse, engaged and committed leaders from around the country for sharing inspiration and skills. Over the period of five days, we will journey together through deep listening, sharing, self-discovery, systemic inquiry and community building. It will take place from 7 – 11 of March by the Nile river in Aswan. All of you are welcome and each and every part inside each of you is welcome! 

What is a JAM?

We call our gatherings “Jams” because we are inspired by music jams. When musicians get together to “jam”, each gets to share their own unique skills as well as learn from each other. Musicians jam in harmony to create melodies together. As they jam, musicians have fun, build community, use their individual talent, expand their horizon by learning from others, inspire and get inspired to create something far greater than the sum of its parts. Similarly, the YES! Jam brings the elements of fun, creativity, inspiration, co-learning, co-living and co-creation to conversations and experiences of social change. The Jam is composed of a facilitation team and a group of participants who act as the Jam’s engine through their wisdom, questions, curiosities, challenges and expressivity. 

The Jam is a gathering of diverse changemakers for three different levels of conversation/awareness about change: the personal (self), the interpersonal (relationships) and the systemic (the whole). It is a space for truth telling, healing, compassion, connectedness and learning. 

The Personal:

On the internal level, it is a place to share and reflect on our life journeys and our work in the world. This means first and foremost deciding to put down the masks that we use on a daily basis; the Jam gives us a chance to leave our box of masks at home and come with our true authentic selves. All parts of ourselves are welcomed and embraced.  It is a time to replenish, recharge and renew, to connect with nature and to gain specific and practical tools for self-care and personal sustainability. It is an opportunity to grow in self-knowledge, to ask meaningful questions, to unlearn our fears and blocks, and to co-create new possibilities together.

The Interpersonal:

On the interpersonal level, we come together to share our cultures, our stories and our struggles with each other, to deepen our understanding of each other and of ourselves. The Jam values diversity and seeks to bring together as diverse a group of people as possible. During the Jam, we hope to discover our commonalities and celebrate our differences. Given the conflicts happening in Egypt, it is not always easy to hold onto a vision of dignity and cooperation that exists beyond the narrative of ‘us’ vs. ‘them’. The Jam seeks to create dialogues that build on what is common among us, in which our differences are engaged, not with antagonism, but with a spirit of shared learning. We see the Jam as a chance to move from the ‘demon-ization’, to the ‘human-ization’ we so desperately need for a healthier future for all. The intention is to build trust and friendship, in a meaningful (not superficial) way. This means challenging stereotypes, inquiring appreciatively, being present with each other, speaking truth, working through tough places and being open to giving and receiving support. We feel that the more authentic our relationships are, the stronger the foundations we will have for developing new collaborations and synergies for living the journey of the change we wish to see in the world.

The Systemic: 

On the systemic level, through the Jam, we become clearer about our vision and work in the world. We vision and practice the world we want; we nurture our beloved community. We get a chance to link issues that aren’t commonly linked, to notice crucial intersection points, and get a clearer picture of the whole. We come together to learn from each other: about what is working, about what mistakes we have made, about where we need help. We have a chance to share tools and ideas to support one another. In turn, we hope this helps us to generate a body of collective wisdom for transformation in the country. We also hope it will enable each participant to feel deepened in their capacity to affect meaningful positive change and carry their dreams forward.

What is NOT a JAM? 

The Jam is not a conference, seminar on a specific topic or a typical meeting.  Also, the Jam is unlike many of the workshops that have been conducted around “hosting”. It is also not a training specifically, though participants usually pick up several dozen tools and practices that they can take forward into their work, families, and communities.  The focus of the Jam is the people in the room – our struggles, hopes, fears, relationships, contexts, visions, identities, possibilities, and more – and what we can learn from and with each other to build the community we want to see. 

Why is an Egypt JAM needed?

Egypt has been going through several changes & challenges in the last few years — political, societal, economic, religious, and ecological changes. With these broader changes on a national level come more personal transformations as well. With differing political, religious, and societal ideologies, Egyptians are becoming more polarized, making dialogue between them that much more challenging. The JAM is an opportunity to have an intentional space where we can slow down and reconnect to ourselves, to each other and to nature. It is a space to re-energize and realign our values and our work as people who work for the well-being of this community in every field. To contemplate and reimagine what rhetoric we want to create in our struggle for justice and peace. 

We invite you to take part in the Egypt JAM to be a part of a group of people who are yearning to reflect, deepen, heal, and co-create a vision for Egypt. We also invite you to be a part of the Jam to connect to a global community who are on similar pursuits around the world.

Who can attend?

• Persons are eligible to apply from all over Egypt, whether they are Egyptian nationals or not. 
• Fluency in Arabic language since the Jam will be held in Arabic.  However, translation will be available.
• Methods and venues of social engagement: entrepreneurs, NGOs, communities, families, neighborhoods, educationalists, healers, philanthropists, governmentalists, parliamentarians, environmentalists, academics etc.
• Issue- or work-focus: all spectrum of social change is welcomed. For example, community media, local economies and globalization, indigenous issues, education, food security, cultural regeneration, cultural exchange, interfaith, health and physical well-being, ecology, spiritual healing and recovering from trauma, arts, sustainable living tools and practices, political participation, socially- and ecologically-conscious building and architecture, upholding and honoring diverse forms of human dignity, etc.
• Diversity in Ethnicity, Religion and Gender are all welcomed.

Dates and Venue: 

The Egypt JAM will take place from March 7 – 11 for five days in Aswan, Egypt. The venue is a magical place called Fekra Cultural Center located by the Nile river in Shalal, Aswan.

Fekra is aspiring to become an eco center that models how to live with nature and is currently a hub for artists and cultural curators. The Facebook of Fekra is  here. 

Our food menu will be mainly vegetarian sourced locally from what we grow in the land with traditional meals at some of the local people’s houses. For this reason, we ask you to be very clear and specific in the application form on any dietary restrictions or food preferences so it can be taken into consideration. When we are there, it will be difficult to make changes.

Financial Contribution:

We ask participants to contribute to the cost of the Jam. So far the Jam has no sponsors and it is a self-funded activity. We work on a shared economy basis. Meaning, we apply a sliding scale of contribution. People who are able to pay more will cover the tuition of people who are paying less to cover the jam expenses. 

The expense per participant for the Jam is: 5,000 EGP. 

We want you to know that the fees shouldn’t be a reason for you not participating in Jam. A limited number of partial scholarships for participation will be available. Also, if you want to go beyond the maximum scale of contribution, feel free to consider making a donation to the YES! Egypt Jam to help us bring in more applicants with financial difficulties. At the end, this also enriches the Jam’s diversity and our co-learning experience.

The jam contribution covers: tuition for the jam (facilitator’s honorariums, materials) as well as lodging, food transportation to and from train station / airport in Aswan for the entire duration of the Jam. Please note that transportation to Aswan is excluded.

Payment plans on monthly installments are available. 

In all cases, if you really think the Jam is the right place for you and that there is a calling for you to attend, please do not let money stand in the way of your participation. At the end, this is about creating the community we wish to see and if you are the right person to be in the group, you and us can work together to find a way to bring to the Jam. For example, we can consider you trading some skills of yours in exchange for a reduction of your Jam tuition fees. And we may be able to provide partial scholarships if there are other participants who contribute more than their own cost.

Language of the JAM

Given the nature of the country, the Jam will be predominantly conducted in Arabic. It is possible for a person who speaks only English to participate, since we expect that there will be a large contingent of people who speak both Arabic and English and who can support him/her in translation, although some working knowledge of Arabic is useful. 

About the YES! Network:

YES! is global a nonprofit organization that connects, inspires and collaborates with change-makers to join forces for thriving, just and sustainable ways of life for all. We work at the meeting point of internal, interpersonal, and systemic transformation. YES! is a vibrant and dynamic body of people – staff, board, global program partners, alumni, and supporters – on a learning journey, seeking to live and work more consciously in alignment with our values. The organization and program principles focus on restoring balance and sustainability; means-to-end consistency; partnerships across historic divides; and intentional space for the role of love and spirit. YES! brings these core elements into social change movements worldwide by convening transformational gatherings called Jams and building lasting partnerships with diverse social entrepreneurs worldwide. YES!’s JAMs support some of the planet’s most potent and dedicated young social change leaders and are currently being held on six continents.  If you want to learn more about the history of the JAMs, or to see where else they are happening in the world, please visit http://www.yesworld.org.

How To Apply? 

Please click on this link to go to the application form. We are only able to process and contact applicants who submit full applications (all questions answered). We invite you to give optimal time for the application and speak to us from your heart. 

رابط التطبيق باللغة العربية

To keep the Jam intimate and participatory, we only have 20 spaces available for Jammers this year. We will take applications on a rolling basis, meaning, we will admit applications as they are filled. So the sooner you fill out your application, the better, to be able to book your spot. 

Covid Precautions

In case of someone getting symptoms of COVID we’ll be having rapid tests available on site as well as an isolation facility.

Priority deadline: January 31st, 2022

Final deadline (if spaces are still available): February 10th, 2022

For any further inquiries, please email us what is on your mind at:  egyptjam@gmail.com. 

We look forward to Jamming with You! Hob Keteer .. 

Mongy, Yousof, Monica, Karim and Manal

Who is putting the Egypt Jam together? 

Below you can find the profiles of the Egypt Jam Facilitation Team: