Finding Inspiration Among Our Youngest Members

These students joined dozens of others from across the state for an intensive leadership development weekend. Together, they participated in workshops on community organizing and leadership development. This then gave way to a mock legislative session, where the students served as senators, proposed and presented public policies, and debated these issues on the State Capitol Assembly floor. 

Now, this group of students is among the program’s over 400 alums who are implementing their experiences in their communities, at their schools, and then later in the public and private sectors.

Though a number of years ago, we recognized that one weekend each year is simply not enough to even begin to adequately serve our community’s youth. So we launched the Muslim Gamechangers Network (MGN). Now in its sixth iteration, having previously been hosted at the Lighthouse Mosque, MCA, MCC East Bay, SABA Center, and Yaseen Burlingame, the program is in full swing at Averroes High School.

This three-month social justice training program brings dozens of Muslim high school students together, from across the region, every Saturday. Together they have the space to learn from and interact with community leaders and activists, practice using tools to critically understand their world, effectively challenge injustice, and build legacies of positive change in their communities.