Be the Change!

BE THE CHANGE develops the leadership and self-advocacy skills of young refugee women and girls through arts-centered programming. During the academic year, the cohort meets monthly at Lynden to collectively explore identity and empowerment through artmaking with women artists and topical discussions with women leaders. The participants produce and disseminate a culminating publication of their artmaking and writing. In the summer, we provide participants with a menu of skill-building opportunities: intensive workshops with Lynden’s artists-in-residence; a week-long comics workshop at Lion’s Tooth in Bay View; the chance to plan and implement arts programming at our HOME World Refugee Day celebrations at Milwaukee City Hall and Lynden; and free tuition, room, and board to attend the residential World Affairs Seminar at Carroll University. By modeling female refugee/immigrant leadership—in the choice of artists, speakers, and mentors—BE THE CHANGE invites participants to construct their own vision of the future.

Download the 2023-2024 Be the Change publication here: [pdf]
Download the 2024-2025 Be the Change publication here: [pdf]

Background: Displacement, Women, the Power of the Arts, and the Transition to Citizenship

As the number of refugees in the world approaches 60 million, we are increasingly living among the displaced. Locally, 15% of MPS students are English language learners. In 2022-23, the HOME Refugee Steering Committee (HRSC) at Lynden assessed the needs of their communities, focusing on the struggles of young women and girls whose experiences are defined by their countries of origin or transit, and by familial, cultural, religious, and social structures and institutions that may not have supported female rights. Young refugee women/girls must adjust to new sociocultural and legal norms while navigating familial and traditional cultural expectations. In addition to taking on new racial identities, they confront language barriers and a highly polarized political environment, navigating systemic racism and its localized manifestations in schools and neighborhoods.

BE THE CHANGE eases these transitions through artmaking, leadership development, and cohort-building. According to the Center for Youth and Society at the University of Victoria, Canada, “Arts-based initiatives provide important opportunities for validating the diverse experiences of refugee youth, promoting agency and empowerment, fostering resiliency and creativity, and providing safe spaces for youth to express themselves, have fun, and explore and share their cultural identities” (Refugee Youth & Arts-Based Initiatives, n.d.). We model artistic practices rooted in Lynden’s ethics of care. These practices prioritize interconnectivity and seek to acknowledge and engage with the rich complexity of living, fostering a more empathetic and interconnected understanding of self and world (from “Lighter Touch—Care as Radical Gesture.”) When working with young women, an action-oriented, multi-faceted exploration of creativity can give voice, increase self-worth, and expand horizons.

Participants in BE THE CHANGE are, by definition, citizens-in-the-making. Creating a culture of high expectations, respect for self-expression and learning, and affirmation is especially powerful for these young refugee women, who face specific barriers to leadership: “Cultural stereotypes are used to focus more on men as leaders and decision makers” despite the fact that “women from strong patriarchal cultures have had to step up and take leadership positions ... “(Report of the University of New South Wales Forced Migration Network and the Australian National Committee on Refugee Women). Taking a hands-on, participatory approach enables these young women to envision themselves as worldbuilders, capable of sharing power and shaping decisions. “Rather than attempting to reduce refugee trauma, providers can increase resilience by cultivating skills focused on shaping the environment and communities for refugees” (Zoé Cavnar-Lewandowski and Kelsey Gavin, "The Potential of Refugee Art to Inspire Empathy and Social Action"). By modeling female refugee/immigrant leadership—in the choice of artists, speakers, and mentors—BE THE CHANGE invites participants to construct their own vision of the future while connecting them to the leadership and organizing tools they need to realize that vision.

BE THE CHANGE participants exercise voice and choice by identifying, mapping, and assessing their needs; defining goals and indicators of success; identifying and inviting female leaders to interview with the group; and selecting artworks and writing for the publication. These activities enable them to refine their definitions of leadership, ethics, civic engagement, and connection. Their participation encourages them to think imaginatively and critically about their world. While they often seek speakers who address specific issues of concern (careers in health care or the arts, promoting mental health, pursuing additional education), they also invite “hidden” women leaders in their own communities—a mother who has made a new life for her family in Milwaukee or a judge who has to recertify in a new country—who have gone through forced migration themselves. These interactions establish intergenerational networks of support and mentorship for the participants.

Participants, Facilitators, Goals

BE THE CHANGE brings together c. 25 young women aged 16-22 from across Milwaukee’s refugee communities to build self-advocacy, public speaking, and communication skills, and to practice peer-to-peer mentorship in a safe environment. BE THE CHANGE has served high school students from Bay View, Bradley Tech, Hamilton, Milwaukee High School of the Arts, Pulaski, Rufus King and South Division; middle schoolers from Parkside and Humboldt Park; and several 18+ young women who are in post-secondary institutions or investigating their educational status after missing years of schooling. The first two cohorts included participants from Congo, Eritrea, Afghanistan, and Myanmar; some participants were born in Zambia, Malaysia, Tanzania, and Thailand after their parents became refugees. Eighty percent of the 2023-2024 cohort asked to return for 2024-2025, and they consistently cited the inspiration they drew from meeting young women from other countries and learning about their cultures as a reason to return.

The cohort is co-facilitated by Afghan women’s rights advocate and community worker Maryam Durani, and by Kim Khaira, Lynden’s community engagement specialist. They are assisted by Lynden’s executive director, Polly Morris, and by more than 20 female refugee/immigrant leaders and professional artists.

Working with participants, our goals are to:
•Develop leadership skills by engaging them in program design and collective decision-making.
•Build confidence, self-esteem, and resilience by cultivating a practice of self-and-community care through the arts.
•create a peer support group by building cross-community rapport within the cohort.
•Embed them in HOME’s rich landscape of community partnerships by encouraging relationships with experienced (female) mentors and providing specialized summer opportunities.
•Expand the visibility and impact of the project by creating and disseminating a publication featuring their writing and artwork.

Guest Artists

2023-2024
Brenda Cárdenas, Zuhal Feraidon, Khatera Nazari, Claudia Orjuela, Yuliia Shevtsova, Gabrielle Tesfaye, Ashley Xiong
2024-2025
Nina Ghanbarzadeh, Emma Daisy Gertel, Cris Siqueira, Brenda Cárdenas, Yuliia Shevtsova, Ashley Xiong

Guest Leaders

2023-2024
Kobra Amiri, Risa Berg, Marta Carrión, Frey Faris, Amitha Gone, Yalda Habibi, Angela Rester
2024-2025
Mala Nan Leth, Cordelia Elaiho, Bara Omari, Asmaa Walton, Maggie Bushiri

About HOME

HOME is the theme of our work with refugee community leaders, community members, Call & Response artists, and allies. The HOME Refugee Steering Committee is building a space of leading, coming together, and celebrating refugees.
BE THE CHANGE is made possible through the generosity of the Brico Fund; Lion’s Tooth; MPS Partnership for the Arts and Humanities; Our City of Nation’s, a program of the Medical College of Wisconsin; Rotary Club of Milwaukee – Amigos After Hours; Woman’s Club of Wisconsin Foundation; World Affairs Seminar; and individual donors.