Community Updates
As the Program Associate at One Common Unity (OCU), I work closely, day to day, with the Program Director and Program Facilitators to ensure FLY BY LIGHT is the best it can be and that everyone has what they need to succeed. Of the five OCU pillars in our Fly By Light curriculum, social-emotional learning (SEL) is a…
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OCU showcases are the heartbeat or pulse of our work. They’re like gifts wrapped in sandpaper, each student or group unraveling their light onto the mic as they show how they grew, from beginning to end, from being with FLY BY LIGHT. The showcases give folks an active view of what it looks like to…
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As a FBL program facilitator, artist, photographer, activist and gardener, I am passionate about holistic wellness, nature, yoga, plants, social justice movement work, and cooking. I grew up in Washington, DC and am proud to be working here. In Fly By Light programming, I use visual art, photography, dialogue and creative writing to support students…
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by One Common Unity’s Program Director, Shaden Dowiatt Fly By Light (FBL) is a youth development program that weaves together the pillars of Artistic Expression, Social Emotional Literacy, Health and Wellness, Environmental Leadership, and Social Justice. In the FBL program, youth leaders have the space to express, grow, transform and heal. Fly By Light is unique because it…
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The birth of the Fly By Light youth program was the midway point; it was the decision to focus our energy and place all of our efforts toward one program. In this way we stopped spreading ourselves thin by trying to do everything, and instead kept our energy focused on just doing one thing really…
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When Hawah reached out to me to film the follow-up reunion film to the original FLY BY LIGHT movie, it was not even a choice, but an immediate jump! For the joy of reconnecting and reflecting and playing once again in the mountains with young people, I simply love, and for the responsibility to continue…
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Our FIRST story is FLY BY LIGHT the film because of its pivotal impact. It signals chronologically, the end of our first ten years and the beginning of the next ten years for One Common Unity. This powerful film communicated our story by documenting the unique way we approached and engaged in positive youth development…
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When I contemplate telling 20 stories about One Common Unity (OCU) that span over the past 20 years, I think: we have to know our history. We have to remember, always, why we started this work and why we continue this work. When we are grounded in our history, we make sure we keep learning,…
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We know that the work of justice and peacebuilding starts within each of us. As such, at One Common Unity, we have initiated a long-term internal process to ensure that OCU embodies fully anti-racist and anti-white-supremacist practices.
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District and international youth leaders share critical issues and envision leadership in their communities WASHINGTON (September 27, 2019) — On September 27, One Common Unity, in collaboration with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and Amigos de las Americas, was proud to facilitate a youth exchange…
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