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2002
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About the Social Change Across Borders Summer Institute
Background Information on the Program
The Origins of Social Change Across Borders
The focus of the 2002 Institute
Background Information on the Program
 
Social Change Across Borders is a project which seeks to bring together grassroots leaders from both Latin America and Latino/a communities in the U.S. The Summer Institute curriculum is designed through the collaborative effort of faculty, staff and community leaders to provide the participants with extra training and education as well as the time to reflect on the large global policy trends that affect their work.
     The Institute builds on the recognition that:
  • The rise of internationalization and immigration has led to an increasing set of linkages between Latin Americans and U.S. Latinos. Organizing within U.S. Latino communities now requires a full understanding of the repertoire of cultural and political values immigrants bring to this rapidly growing, demographically shifting population. Similarly, the return flow of people, goods, and ideas has also altered the social and cultural landscape of Latin America.

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  • At the same time, the internationalization of the economy has had worrisome impacts on wages, social welfare, and community development on both sides of the border. Governments and businesses have often failed to offer adequate responses, increasing the importance of a "third sector" consisting of community based organizations (CBOs) in the U.S. and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Latin America. Going beyond traditional political divides, these grassroots organizations are pursuing new strategies for economic opportunity, social justice, community consolidation, and cultural self-expression.
  • Given that many of the pressures on communities are, in fact, a result of globalization, the work of these community organizations on both sides of the border would be enhanced by improvements in their own transnational relationships. This process of transnational organizing is already evident in various efforts around labor, community, and cultural issues though the building of further cross-border community ties will necessitate time and space for leadership to reflect, and strategize, about the changes ahead. 
  • Since the inception of the Institute, there has been an increasing consciousness around transnational organizing. New binational coalitions to protect immigrant rights, strengthen home-town associations throughout the US, the response to the natural disasters in Central America, and the campaigns against the free-trade movement are examples of this phenomenon.

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  • The wide-reaching impact of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 has created many new challenges for transnational organizing. The current global political climate has seen an alarming increase in the importance governments as well as popular opinion have placed on security and stability at the expense of civil liberties and the peaceful negotiation of conflict through mutual compromise. Polarized by a perceived need to take sides on a new "war on terrorism", the rights of immigrants, transnational organizations fighting for social justice and the rights of minorities living within the US are put at risk.
         
         
Our response to these broad trends has been to create a space for community leaders to share best practices and collaborate for community and transnational action. As an educational retreat, the Summer Institute will provide an overview of international political economy issues, the integration of theory with field experience in the local area, collaborative discussion about best practice organizing strategies, workshops on computer use, and other practical skills, and, most importantly, a structured opportunity for participants to develop new networks and resources for action.
 
  
I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that the Institute has truly changed my life, and I hope to apply everything we experienced here, to share it, and to develop it to the greatest extent possible... 

—1999 Participant

  
 
New collaborators, enhanced skills, and an opportunity to meet with other community leaders on the themes of internationalization, social justice, and transnational futures: 
all in the peaceful setting of Santa Cruz and the Monterey Bay.