2. POSITIONING STATEMENT
USHER’S PLATFORM — WHERE EDUCATION, ART & SOCIAL JUSTICE MEET
• Centuries of inequality have produced a system of social injustice that must be
reformed. What we need is a commitment to cultural transformation. We can do
this by breaking the chains of injustice through education, innovation and
disruption. I am a disruptivator, are you?
Disruptor + Innovator = Disruptivator
3. RELEVANT CONNECTIONS BETWEEN
THE AJ SUMMIT AND UNL
•We need more young people to address issues of social injustice through
creativity, innovation and the arts.
•16 years ago, I launched Usher’s New Look, a non-profit focused on developing
global youth leaders who will use their talents or “sparks” to change the world.
•At UNL, we define spark as the passion that ignites your life’s bigger purpose;
your identity.
•If you can educate a child, you can potentially save them from issues like
poverty and crime.
4. RELEVANT CONNECTIONS BETWEEN
THE AJ SUMMIT AND UNL (Cont…)
•This year, we’re taking it a step further and creating The UNL Spark Lab, an
innovative youth-run hub that will focus on creating solutions through the
intersection of technology, education and culture.
•Headquartered in Atlanta, its opening is scheduled for September 2016. or
more information visit UNLsparklab.org
•This has been my dream for the past few years, and it’s a solution to
addressing some of these issues that have been glaringly staring at us for
some time.
5. •It’s a space to inspire young innovators and
creators.
•The goal of the Spark Lab is to shift
paradigms and unleash the potential for the
next generation of disruptive innovators…
THE DISRUPTIVATORS.
•It’s going to be a place where students will
produce and consume.
•The Spark Lab is really a tool; an innovative
approach to give youth a voice.
WHAT IS THE SPARK LAB?
6. •Imagine a Silicon Valley youth start-up in Atlanta. It will be the first of
its kind in the nation.
•The Spark Lab is not just an activity space; it’s a mentally transformative
space.
•The benefits we’re going to see from the Spark Lab are...more solutions,
more change-agents, more kids graduating high school and better
prepared for passion-driven careers.
WHAT IS THE SPARK LAB? (cont…)
7. •Service as Art—This past December, The UNL
Brooklyn Chapter collaborated with an artist
collective called Image Gallery NYC and
another nonprofit called Care More. They joined
forces and provided over 100 homeless people
with food and care packages.
•This MLK Day, with the help of an org called
‘NYC Together’ UNL Brooklyn youth teamed up
with local police officers from Precinct 90 to
make plans for a co-created mural. Through
artistic collaboration they hope to ease
neighborhood tensions.
RELEVANT UNL STUDENT EXAMPLES OF
EFFORTS TOWARD CHANGE
8. •Mary-Pat Hector is a UNL Atlanta student, a
freshman at Spelman and a sought after activist.
Through UNL, Mary Pat was empowered to
create her own nonprofit campaign called Think
Twice. Through social media and disruptive
billboards, her campaign encourages youth to
think twice before using a gun. She won the
Peace First Prize and was able to put up 45
billboards in Atlanta. Statistics from three inner-
city Atlanta communities where billboards were
placed showed decreases in their rates of gun
violence.
RELEVANT UNL STUDENT EXAMPLES OF
EFFORTS TOWARD CHANGE
