Di Institute for Social Leadership

Lead to change

DI INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL LEADERSHIP Lead to Change

Shop 4 Marescaux Plaza Marescaux Road, Kingston Jamaica www.leadtochangeja.wordpress.com Email: leadtochangeja@gmail.com Tel: 799-0102

Opening Hours : Monday to Saturday 9:00am—9:00pm

Team: Zanj Racc (Director) Uche Onobe ( Artist– Director /Manager—ISL) Anya Marshall (Operations Management and Support) Damion Palmer (Operations Management and Support) Georgia Love ( Co-founder/Director) Afifa Aza (Co-founder/Director) Motza Ramon (Operations Management and Support)

Di Institute for Social Leadership (ISL) was started in December 2013 in Kingston, Jamaica; with the aim of providing learning opportunities and social support services for Youth and Adults.

Social Leadership is an idea that we have been exploring from our work with the SO((U))L HQ.

What is Social Leadership?

Social Leadership means each of us accepting Individual Responsibility to actively create communities which support the growth and development of all its members.

We discovered Social Leadership in our own work as activists, and found that activism, particularly in Jamaica was reactive.

Activism asks us to change.

We found that rather than ask for/demand change, we should encourage ourselves and others to lead, or Be, that Change.

We understand that education is crucial to this process. We believe that education in Jamaica has been focused on job and career development, and that opportunities for learning are restricted to those who attend Universities (which is approximately 10% of the population).

Having benefited from higher education, we understand how important it is for each of us to continuously expand our minds.

We personally place a high value on reading tas a way of discovering the world...Reading as a way of exploring new possibilities.

The vision that drives ISL, is the creation of a Space that brings those opportunities for learning to everyone.

Education is the platform on which we engage and teach Social Leadership.

In our previous experience working with youth and adults, we experienced the importance of creating spaces that help to address some of the harshness of the reality of living in Jamaica.

We encountered children and young adults who witnessed very violent acts in their community or school and did not have the support to deal with those experiences.

We also understand that both youth and adults face many challenges in growing up and living life based on the socio-cultural dynamics of where you come from, and “who you are� in Jamaica.

This can create challenges which will restrict our ability to learn.

This fuels our belief: Supporting the individual benefits the community.

Art is the vehicle that we use to bring the ISL to Life.

The ideas that we think are valuable and the way that we imagine the space emerging is driven through a creative and artistic approach.

We play, we experiment with the things we want to create. We constantly challenge ourselves to be flexible and fluid in our methods; and we learn quickly so we can change quickly.