DIVAS for Social Justice is offering a free STEAM based program for middle school students funded by The Department Of Youth & Community Development and Con Edison. For the past seven years, DIVAS has been able to serve over 500 children in Laurelton, empowering and exposing participants to emerging technologies.
The STEAM for Social Change Program is a project of DIVAS for Social Justice. The STEAM program is the organization’s after-school program in New York City. The program runs Monday -Thursday at The Linden SDA School- 3-6 PM. This program is open to students 11-14 years old.
The mission of the STEAM for Social Change program is to encourage and empower youth to use technology towards a social action project in their community.
Youth are trained in digital media, coding, robotics, 3D Printing,laser cutting while examining and researching their communities through traditional and interactive mediums.
The goals of the overall program are to:
- Expose and Empower youth in underserved communities to STEAM based activities.
- Provide technology based real life solutions that could be implemented and presented to the community regarding community issues.
- Build leadership skills in youth to become the change agents of their community.
- Build alliances with parents to advocate for STEM/STEAM exposure in underserved communities.
This year participants will work on the Anti-Gun Asset Mapping Project. The goals of this project are focused on the overall goals and the importance of localization:
Overall Goals
- A greater understanding of how gun violence is a health crisis, and how it affects communities of color
- Teach students the fundamentals of community mapping for community activism
- Develop a clear understanding of community assets. Focusing on economic development & health & wellness
- Allow students and facilitators to develop technical skills through open source materials for deliverable output
- Develop critical thinking skills through research of community assets that are effective in preventing gun violence
Goals for localization
- Meeting with the community partner who will facilitate, understanding their facilitation style, and communicating the goals and ethos of the asset-based approach
- Understanding what embeds in the community means for each of the community partner
- Understanding if the community is willing to put in the extra work that defines this as embedded in the community (i.e. connecting with others and local assets)
- What local civic engagement could look like, local elected officials, CBOs, civic organizations, and funding opportunities
In addition, students will participate in a book club and go on trips that include the following:
-Visiting the organization’s social justice makerspace
-New York Hall Of Science Makerspace
-Garden of Resilience Trip and much more.
To learn more about this free program and receive an application you can reach out to :
Juana Torres Franco- Co- Site Director- juana@divasforsocialjustice.org
Melania Vargas- Co- Site Director- melania@divasforsocialjustice.org
For more information on DIVAS for Social Justice, please visit: http://www.divasforsocialjustice.org
