Innovators in Cultural Diplomacy

Americans for Informed Democracy (AIDemocracy) is a national youth network debating and speaking out about US global engagement. We are young global citizens demanding a more peaceful, healthy, just and sustainable world.

We are seeking a new class of Innovators in Cultural Diplomacy, as part of our flagship Hope Not Hate program fostering greater understanding between the US and Muslim worlds. Innovators are proven young leaders eager to lead dialogue and events promoting interfaith understanding on their campuses and in their communities.

Innovators will receive high-level training, lead campaigns in their communities, spark dialogue around US-Muslim understanding, and draft an action plan and curriculum for empowering young leaders around interfaith issues. This is an exciting opportunity to build strong leadership, organizing and communications skills, and to draft and lead concrete projects that make a difference in your community.

About Hope Not Hate: Hope not Hate is one of our flagship projects, launched on the first anniversary of 9/11. It is founded on the belief that the US and Muslim worlds share common values and common challenges, and we need to work together collaboratively and peacefully to build a more stable, prosperous and democratic future. Through facilitating youth dialogue around US-Muslim world relations, and empowering students to propose a roadmap for strengthening these relations over the next decade, Hope Not Hate will cultivate young global leaders who have the skills and the knowledge to build a more peaceful, healthy, just and sustainable world.

To date, Hope Not Hate has engaged more than 20,000 students and citizens in two hundred communities from Macon, Georgia and Vermillion, South Dakota to Amman, Jordan, and Jakarta, Indonesia. The Boston Globe editorial board called Hope Not Hate "a victory of knowledge and inquiry over fear and blind pledges of revenge." Hope Not Hate also received Search for Common Ground's Award for International Understanding in 2005 and received special recognition from Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright at the 2006 Clinton Global Initiative.

The 2013 Innovator Program will include the following:

• Innovators will participate in a two-day retreat in Washington, D.C. in late January or early February 2013, during which we'll discuss the relationship between the US and Muslim worlds, learn approaches and tools for facilitating interfaith dialogue, and build leadership, organizing and event-planning skills. During this time the Innovators will also draft campaigns and actions to lead in their communities.
• Innovators will then launch campaigns on their campus/in their community during spring 2013. Campaigns should include three actions, for example writing an Op-Ed to a local paper, screening a film, and/or hosting an interfaith dinner. They should also include strong social media content, for example blogs and Facebook posts. This is a great chance to be creative and really innovate new ways to spark interfaith understanding. We'll provide ideas, resources and support.
• Innovators will participate in three skillbuilding webinars, focusing on global leadership, communications and campaign strategy.
• They will also receive ongoing coaching and support from the Hope Not Hate Coordinator and other AIDemocracy staff.
• Innovators will share ideas and successes via AIDemocracy's broader social media platform and website, ensuring broad distribution of their work.
• Finally, Innovators will work together to draft a youth roadmap for building stronger US-Muslim relations, as well as a curriculum for training young global leaders on interfaith issues. We'll share the roadmap with leaders and decision makers, and implement the curriculum through AIDemocracy's broader global citizenship program.
• Innovators will have the option to assume leadership positions within the AIDemocracy national youth network during the 2013-14 academic year, and/or deliver the curriculum above to our next class of Global Scholars in July 2013.

The retreat, campaigns and skillbuilding will take place between January and May 2013. Innovators will draft the workplan and curriculum between May and July 2013, and share ideas and successes through our social media platform and website through the end of the year. Thus the bulk of the work is in the first half of the year. The cost of attending the retreat will be paid for by the Hope Not Hate program.

We're looking for Innovators who are:

• Interested in US-Muslim relations, and interfaith issues more broadly.
• Aspiring leaders and changemakers, who are eager to both learn and practice new skills.
• Excited to build leadership, organizing and campaign skills.
• Eager to lead events and campaigns in their communities. Note: Innovators can lead events through existing clubs or campaigns on their campus too.
• Can commit to the requirements of the position.
• Youth, broadly defined. Our work involves everyone from high school students through young professionals.
• Are located in the US.
• There are 8-10 spots available in this year's class.