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Intense, Not In Tents: Summer Camp With a Cause

Ah, summer camp. A time traditionally full of nature hikes, sing-a-longs, pillow fights, and so much more. But there's a new kind of summer camp on the scene. Around the world, camps are increasingly sending youth back to school both sun-kissed and fired up to enact social change.


By Flickr user johntrainor Take Israel's Sadaka Reut summer program, for example. Sadaka Reut is a joint Jewish and Arab youth activist organization that strives to explode stereotypes and foster understanding in the region. This summer, youth from all over the country will convene to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Using art forms from theatre to graffiti to explore the unrest, the program aims to equip youth with the necessary tools to build an alternative, peaceful future.

Meanwhile, in Togo, Summer Camp 2008 focuses on the theme of reforestation. In between debating and playing sports, youth who are 18 years or older will learn about sustainable environmental practices and have the opportunity to nurture young plants. And over at Chicago's Camp Firebelly, college age graphic designers will hike up their sleeves and strategize solutions for a social justice issue. At the camp that claims it's "intense but not actually in tents," designers will collaborate with a real-world nonprofit and see their work all the way to print.

Did you sing "kumbaya" (or not) in an equally innovative setting? Leave a comment below!