The Experience
AYLF Year One: The Fellowship
Monthly seminars during the first year of the 5-year AYLF program include: Engaging collaborative and individual activities, guest speakers, text-based dialogue as a platform for exploring your values and experiences, exposure to concepts, ideas, and models for community action and implementing change.
SAMPLE 10-SESSION CURRICULUM
1. The Aspen Experience
Welcome to AYLF, overview of the Aspen Institute, AYLF curriculum, facilitators, and cohort team building activities.
2. The Good Society
The world as it is and the world as it should be. Apply these lessons to your own community while employing critical perspectives.
3. Who Am I as a Leader?
Identities, values, and strengths and what leadership means to you and your individual leadership approaches.
4. Who Are We as Leaders?
Collective leadership and the role of identity. Apply insights to the cohort’s Community Impact Project.
5. Change Strategies
The role of power in the world and in creating social change and progress within your community. Engage with community influencers about the most pressing needs in your community.
6. Co-Creating Change
Apply strategies to create change within your community. Presentations of cohort Community Impact Projects and impact.
7. Inspiring Direct Action
Learn from organizing/direct action expert and local subject-matter experts. Apply experiences and lessons to
cohort’s Community Impact Project planning.
8. Community Impact Project Bootcamp
Launch Community Impact Project (paid internship)! Gain insights from subject-matter experts to help structure your collective work into function-specific teams. Finalize a work plan.
9. Sustainable Action
Civic Action Experience: reaffirm your commitment to change/progress. Examine how to sustain both individual and collective action towards progress.
10. Building a Life of Meaning (Graduation)
Day 1: Explore moving from a life of meaning to a life of significance. Community Impact Project presentations. Day 2: Graduation ceremony celebrating completion of the Fellowship!