Intercultural youth leadership programming is a special part of the Baltimore Wisdom Project's work. Our goal is to bring groups together within the city across cultural and socio-economic divides so that new generations of integrated leadership is cultivated in Baltimore. Currently, our two main intercultural programs focus on African American and Jewish American relations.
Olam Ubuntu Youth Leadership Program
Now in its second year, our Olam Ubuntu Youth Leadership Program continues to build participants’ capacity for thoughtful intercultural dialogue. Olam Ubuntu brings together a carefully selected cohort of young Jewish American and African American Baltimoreans ages 12 through 15 to discuss, interact, debate, and share as they envision “a world where I am because we are.”
The name of the project—Olam Ubuntu—combines “Olam,” the Hebrew word for world (as in Tikkun Olam—meaning, to repair the world), with the Nguni-Bantu concept of “Ubuntu,” which means, “I am because we are.”
The program was devised by Gabriel Pickus and Ras Tre Subira who also serve as teachers. They work in conjunction with Baltimore’s Beth Am Synagogue and local leaders in the Reservoir Hill neighborhood. The program brings together an equal number of Jewish and Black youth.
Baltimore city remains deeply segregated by race and income, and Olam Ubuntu intervenes within this continuing problem by creating occasions for sustained intercultural dialogue between African American and Jewish American youth. Our workshops and field trips give youth opportunities to learn about the most pressing issues facing our communities. By learning about each other from each other and with each other, we empower our youth to act together and unify Jewish American and African American Baltimoreans.
During our workshops and field experiences, we introduce youth to the dense and complex history of cultural marginalization in the city represented by issues of race, mass-incarceration, unaffordable housing, and homelessness. We also talk about the Baltimore Uprising of 2015 in the Sandtown neighorhood, and about community initiatives that address city residents’ disparities. Lastly, we discuss Black and Jewish identities, education, and segregation, and how these experiences have evolved in the city.
Our goal is to create young ambassadors for intercultural dialogue who will be empowered to build wise cross-cultural bridges within their families, neighborhoods, communities, faith centers, and schools. Olam Ubuntu understands thoughtful intercultural dialogue and an embrace of cross-cultural integration to be essential for building the capacity for social change within our youth leaders of today and our adult leaders of tomorrow.
Social Justice Teen Fellowship
The Baltimore Wisdom Project is proud to collaborate with the Social Justice Teen Fellowship Program through the Baltimore Jewish Council and the Elijah Cummings Youth Program. Six times during the year, we help prepare an enthusiastic cohort of youth of various faiths and ethnic backgrounds as they prepare to serve as community ambassadors on diversity and inclusion at home, in Israel, and abroad.
Gabriel Pickus works with the youth at Baltimore's Pearlstone Center (or other locales) to enhance their capacities team building and intercultural dialogue on racism, anti-Semitism, diversity and social justice.
We also involve the youth in expeditionary learning on tours of Baltimore hotspots so that they experientially learn the cultural and political history behind the city's complex geography.
Olam Ubuntu Youth Leadership Program
Now in its second year, our Olam Ubuntu Youth Leadership Program continues to build participants’ capacity for thoughtful intercultural dialogue. Olam Ubuntu brings together a carefully selected cohort of young Jewish American and African American Baltimoreans ages 12 through 15 to discuss, interact, debate, and share as they envision “a world where I am because we are.”
The name of the project—Olam Ubuntu—combines “Olam,” the Hebrew word for world (as in Tikkun Olam—meaning, to repair the world), with the Nguni-Bantu concept of “Ubuntu,” which means, “I am because we are.”
The program was devised by Gabriel Pickus and Ras Tre Subira who also serve as teachers. They work in conjunction with Baltimore’s Beth Am Synagogue and local leaders in the Reservoir Hill neighborhood. The program brings together an equal number of Jewish and Black youth.
Baltimore city remains deeply segregated by race and income, and Olam Ubuntu intervenes within this continuing problem by creating occasions for sustained intercultural dialogue between African American and Jewish American youth. Our workshops and field trips give youth opportunities to learn about the most pressing issues facing our communities. By learning about each other from each other and with each other, we empower our youth to act together and unify Jewish American and African American Baltimoreans.
During our workshops and field experiences, we introduce youth to the dense and complex history of cultural marginalization in the city represented by issues of race, mass-incarceration, unaffordable housing, and homelessness. We also talk about the Baltimore Uprising of 2015 in the Sandtown neighorhood, and about community initiatives that address city residents’ disparities. Lastly, we discuss Black and Jewish identities, education, and segregation, and how these experiences have evolved in the city.
Our goal is to create young ambassadors for intercultural dialogue who will be empowered to build wise cross-cultural bridges within their families, neighborhoods, communities, faith centers, and schools. Olam Ubuntu understands thoughtful intercultural dialogue and an embrace of cross-cultural integration to be essential for building the capacity for social change within our youth leaders of today and our adult leaders of tomorrow.
Social Justice Teen Fellowship
The Baltimore Wisdom Project is proud to collaborate with the Social Justice Teen Fellowship Program through the Baltimore Jewish Council and the Elijah Cummings Youth Program. Six times during the year, we help prepare an enthusiastic cohort of youth of various faiths and ethnic backgrounds as they prepare to serve as community ambassadors on diversity and inclusion at home, in Israel, and abroad.
Gabriel Pickus works with the youth at Baltimore's Pearlstone Center (or other locales) to enhance their capacities team building and intercultural dialogue on racism, anti-Semitism, diversity and social justice.
We also involve the youth in expeditionary learning on tours of Baltimore hotspots so that they experientially learn the cultural and political history behind the city's complex geography.