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Summer program for youth offers unique opportunity to explore African diaspora

The Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on Africa and its Diasporas at York University invites youth ages 14 to 18 (or Grade 9 to 12) to participate in its sixth annual Student Summer Program.

Young people involved in the program will participate in daily activities (art, dance, creative writing, sport, storytelling, music, workshops, trips and classes) that will give them an overview of the contributions of African peoples and cultures to the historical development of the world. Experienced educators, facilitators, volunteers and students from York University will deliver all the sessions.

Some of the themes covered in the program are:

  • African, Caribbean and Afro-Latin at American histories;
  • the trade in enslaved Africans and their resistance (historical and contemporary representations);
  • legacies of the histories of migration, citizenship, race, education and gender relating to persons of African descent;
  • current themes in politics, business and economies in Africa and the African diaspora;
  • popular culture and identities: music, dance and sports;
  • museums, archives and the preservation of memory, including folkloric traditions in communities in Africa and the African diaspora, and specifically in African Canadian contexts; and
  • introduction to technology to digitize historical records: working sessions with photographs and documents featuring communities in Africa and the African diaspora.

The program runs July 6 to 17 at York University and will be provided at no cost to the youth selected to participate. There are 30 spaces available. Meals (breakfast and lunch) and transportation (bus tickets) will be provided. The sixth annual Student Summer Program will be held at the Archives of Ontario building on the Keele campus. It will run from 9am to 3:30pm each day. Applications are due Friday, June 12. Click here to download a PDF of the Harriet Tubman Summer Program registration form.

Young people participating in the summer program will have an opportunity to accumulate community hours and an official certificate from the Harriet Tubman Institute at York University will be awarded to students upon completion of the program.

For more information and to submit the application form, contact Abubacar Fofana León, summer program director, at ext. 33058 or afrolatinlibrary@gmail.com, or by fax at 416-650-8173.