The International Youth Leadership Institute (IYLI), a not-for-profit organization founded in 1989, prepares African American and Latino secondary school students to assume active leadership roles in their community and global society.

Description:
The organization’s programs and activities are based on a vision and expectation that young people will be college ready, civic minded and action oriented. Through training and service learning, our students develop literacy proficiency. They learn and apply academic and leadership skills through service projects. Our seminars program extends the school curricula in language arts, government and global studies and make these subjects relevant to students’ life. Our overseas study programs expose students to other cultures and help students to envision community development in a global context.

History:
IYLI was established in 1989 as a program of the Institute for Urban Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. In 1999 IYLI obtained nonprofit status and has since operated as an independent organization.

IYLI sponsors the Seminars Program to help students to examine local problems in the context of global issues and challenges. Students also commit to engaging in community service.

Through the Community Service and Development Program, they develop their leadership skills, gain first-hand knowledge of important social and economic issues, and provide a valuable service to New York City, community-based organizations.

IYLI’s Winter Institute is a Spanish Language immersion program. Winter Institutes have been held in Mexico and Dominican Republic.

The four-week Summer Fellowship Program enables students to investigate in-depth critical global issues in another country (based on the summer curriculum), strengthen understanding of students' own and other cultures, develop and use foreign language skills, learn first-hand about international-related careers and engage in community ethnographic projects to build their research and team working skills. Programs have been conducted in Ghana, Senegal/Gambia , Egypt, Spain/Morocco, South Africa, Israel, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Contact person: Michael Webb, Volunteer Coordinator, (718) 246-2620, (email)
Office fax number: (718) 246-2620

Address:

P.O. Box 657, Village Station New York, NY 10014

Directions:

Seminars take place at Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120th Street. Take the #1 Train to West 116th Street. Seminars are also conducted at New York University. Take the R Train to 8th Street.   Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: West 116th Street,   Walk distance (in minutes): 5