ICL History
Background, Staff, Board, Supporters
The Institute for Community Leadership (ICL), established April of 1995, is a nonviolence educational organization dedicated to transforming the character of young people, through the teaching and practice of nonviolent and peace-filled principles. Founding leadership of ICL bring 260 years of community organizing careers primarily in Latino, African-American, Native American and disenfranchised community organizations of the Pacific Northwest, and peace and justice efforts from across the country and into the Americas. Our curriculum is based on civil and human rights principles and integrates the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ghandi, other pedagogists, theologians and teachers of peace. ICL is founded on the belief that through learning the principles of nonviolence and the discovery of one's own creativity and innate value, young people think more about others, and contribute to their community. Through that discovery and through giving to the community, they develop integrity and become responsible leaders.
ICL has worked with 32 school districts, 7 tribal entities and nearly 100 community groups in the states of Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, New York, Massachusetts and the countries of Costa Rica, Mexico and Nicaragua. We have published two books "Word Up!" and "The Circle of Equilibrium", a presenter training curriculum, leadership nonviolence workshop curriculum and two sets of nonviolence curriculum for use in schools and community based settings, and extensive national and regional press and televised coverage. Staff of ICL have led more than 55 international and regional youth delegations to 17 states, seven countries, and conducted intensive five to six week residential programs for twelve summers in a row.
ICL maintains three component work areas which include (1) Leadership Poetry Workshops in schools and community programs; (2) Youth Leadership Institute, an intensive, residential nonviolence and leadership training program; and (3) advanced nonviolence and leadership workshops.
...and many individual donors
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