The Young Women & Community Leadership program at ASI 2012 brought together a diverse group of twenty young women from across the Atlantic Region to learn about leadership and work towards creating a plan for change in their communities. The three and a half day program at Holland College in Charlottetown not only gave rise to some inspiring action plans from participants, it also produced a colourful zine highlighting the multiple perspectives on leadership shared by these women.
What is a zine? A zine (pronounced ‘zeen,’ like ‘magazine’) is a self-published, small circulation booklet or magazine, usually handmade in a cut & paste, do-it-yourself style. There are no rules for the content or purpose – zines cover all topics and styles. For this reason, it was a great project to unite the participants during the YW&CL program. Over three sessions, participants developed content for the zine, creating pages individually and collaboratively. The zine includes essays, collages, poetry, inspiring quotes, and facts about women’s leadership.
The zine served as an outlet for the young women to share their leadership experiences and engage with the workshop curriculum in a creative and fun way. It became a document of the program and a resource for the women to share what they had learned at the ASI with other delegates and with women from their own communities.
Each participant of the YW&CL program got to take home a copy, as did a few other lucky ASI participants. And now, the zine is available for all to see, download, and share. Check it out – you might even be inspired to create your own!