Feminist Winter Term 2010 is an intensive week-long program for college students interested in meeting with feminist leaders and national feminist organizations in New York City. Our program emphasizes career development and many students elect to add an optional one-week internship. We will be holding Winter Term the week of January 11th - 17th, 2010. Registration is now open and we encourage you to contact us as soon as possible by emailing [email protected].
What is Feminist Winter Term?
Feminist Winter Term is feminist bootcamp that includes hands-on adventures in New York to learn about different approaches, strategies, and skills of feminist activist organizing. We meet with two to three organizations each day and our meetings are interspersed with debriefing sessions with Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards. You can expect to participate in path-breaking feminist campaigns launched from NYC, tackle feminist fundraising, and learn about what professional and seasoned activists do day-to-day.
With three great years of programming behind us, we offer a transformative week of feminist immersion that can't be found anywhere else. Your guides will be seasoned activists and Soapbox co-founders Amy Richards and Jennifer Baumgardner, authors of Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future and Grassroots: A Field Guide for Feminist Activism. We build the sessions with the interests of our group in mind and have been able to honor individual requests for meetings or speakers each year. Many of the speakers, writers, and activists you see on our website live in New York and can be integrated into the session, from Katha Pollitt to Leora Tanenbaum to Marcia Gillespie to Courtney Martin and we have unique relationships with dozens of organizations with whom we have worked over the years. The inspired young women we have hosted were able to explore issues such as sexual rights, the arts, media, and peace and human rights; a hands-on once in a lifetime experience. Each year the week culminates with a networking party that invites all our workshop hosts and other young feminists to join the students informally at the end of the week.
A typical day at feminist winter term might go as follows:
Morning Meeting: Meet with Third Wave Foundation and learn about their grant-making strategies. Meet Third Wave grant partners and learn about young feminist philanthropy through their innovative Why Give? program.
Lunch: Brownbag Discussion with Amy Richards and Jennifer Baumgardner
Afternoon Meeting: Meet with Planned Parenthood NYC and learn about their recent campaigns to ensure access to reproductive services and education for New Yorkers. After learning about the campaign, learn how to phone bank, write a persuasive letter and help spread the message.
Evening Entertainment: Mix and mingle with young New York feminists at a reading at the radical bookstore/collective Bluestockings.
Please also see the list of organizations we have met with in the past at the bottom of this email.
Who Should Attend Feminist Winter Term?
Feminist Winter Term is open to all college students, but is recommended for upper class and recently graduated individuals. Students attend Feminist Winter Term for varied reasons including making connections for internships and future employment, getting ideas for thesis projects, course credit, networking and bonding with other young activists, or just flexing their feminist muscles.
What's New This Year?
- A work-ready intensive day with a session about entering the professional world as a feminist and a temporary internship.
Experience has shown us that many students attending Feminist Winter Term want to know how to put their feminist values to work in the professional world. This includes learning how to stand out, networking with employers and other young professionals, and exploring professional avenues you are interested in. We will also continue to highlight internship and job opportunities at our host organizations and compile a list of these opportunities for you to take back with you.
- We will be increasing the scope of our outreach and expect to host young feminists from many campuses. This will give you the opportunity to network and bond with other activists and hear about what is going on at other campuses.
- We will offer an additional week-long internship based on your interests to anyone who is interested in staying in New York after Feminist Winter Term has ended.
How Much Does it Cost? Are Room and Board Included?
The approximate cost of the week will be $800 per student. This will include hostel accommodations, our program fee, your weekly metrocard, and lunches on the days we are together (approx. 5 of the 7 days). The hostel we choose will be clean and safe, and will most likely include breakfast. This fee does NOT include your transportation to New York City and other entertainment you choose to pursue on your own. If you already live in NYC or want to stay with a friend, we can adjust the cost accordingly.
Will I Get to Have Free Time to Sightsee in NYC?
Yes! You will have at least one day and most evenings to explore all NYC has to offer. We will give you ideas of exciting events, restaurants, and places to check out.
How Do I Register!
Email [email protected]. We will answer any questions you have and send you a registration questionnaire to learn more about your specific interests and a contract with the due dates for payment.
Organizations that we have met with in the past include:
The Feminist Press
BUST Magazine
The Women's Media Center
UNICEF
Women's International Health Coalition
Midwives For Choice
National Advocates For Pregnant Women
The Sackler Center for Feminist Art
Bluestockings Bookstore
Planned Parenthood NYC
The Girl's Project
Third Wave Foundation
Babeland
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Coalition
The Art Club
AIR Gallery
Equality NOW
Sweet Things Bake Shop
Anna, a woman-owned and designed dress shop
The Museum of Sex
The Sister Fund
And individuals such as:
Writer/activist Gloria Steinem
Gynecologist/ACTIVIST Virginia Reath
Sex Education Activist Shelby Knox
Radical Lawyer Lynn Paltrow
Midwife/Activist Stacey Rees
For more about Soapbox: Speakers Who Speak Out, visit www.soapboxinc.com
***
We want to hear about the feminist activism happening on your campus! To submit an article for this column, send us an e-mail. Here we will spotlight feminist themes, issues and events, and serve as a hub for individual young women and feminist groups on campuses across the country to network with each other, share information, and organize students around issues and events.
