History
The Cabral Leadership & Innovation Center (CLIC) has a history that goes back over a decade. In 2012, the Cape Verdean Association of Boston, formerly known as CVC UNIDO, established the Youth Leadership Academy, which focused on leadership, organizing, job readiness, and public speaking skills for Cape Verdean youth in the city of Boston. The Youth Leadership Academy, started by Paulo. A. De Barros and with support of Peter Robey, and then later on by Irlando Goncalves and Edvaldo Ferreira who joined in 2013 and 2015, respectively. Initially, their efforts focused on engagement with 12 Boston youth hired through the YEO, formerly known as Department of Youth Employment Engagement (DYEE). During the summers, these teens and young adults completed various projects intended to benefit community residents. Paulo and Edvaldo have continued the legacy of the program until this very day.
Back in 2012, the youth participating in the Youth Leadership Academy contributed to the creation of the first Cape Verdean mural in the city of Boston; a K-12 education campaign on bilingual education; and the implementation of a youth summit for community residents. In addition, the youth also completed multiple needs assessments in Boston. For example, they led the completion of a needs assessment where 500 surveys were collected from residents of both the Dorchester and Roxbury neighborhoods (i.e. 250 surveys from Dorchester and 250 surveys from Roxbury). The youth were then trained by local higher education faculty, Dr. Carlos Monteiro and Dr. Ambrizeth Lima on how to input data and how to analyze the data collected during the survey project. Between 2012 and 2021, the Youth Leadership Academy facilitated an intake process in the Bowdoin/Geneva corridor, and consistently implemented education campaigns, provided jobs to young residents, and hosted social and community building events every summer. Similarly, in 2021, members of the Youth Leadership Academy also conducted a community needs assessment during the latter stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, where data was used to identify needs and opportunities related to financial wellness, community and civic engagement, education, and advocacy, for example. And since 2012, CLIC has served over 350 youth and young adults.
Since the program’s inception, the participating youth and young adults also spent time learning about Amilcar Cabral, his fight for revolution, his legacy, and the leadership philosophies that guided his efforts in the 1960s and 1970s in Africa. It is because of Amilcar Cabral that CLIC even exists today!
Currently, CLIC engages approximately 55 participants each year during the summer months and school year. These youth and young adults gain new skills and experiences through workshops, community events, peer mentorship, arts-based activities, civic engagement, sports, and leadership roles. At the same time, the youth and young adults have made meaningful contributions such as the recent advocacy efforts at the Boston City Council forum on K-12 bi-lingual education and dual language programs for Cape Verdean English language learners, and the Mayoral Forum on mental health, youth employment opportunities, immigration, and housing.
Looking forward, CLIC’s focus since 2021 is on establishing an unprecedented innovation center in Boston to advance the center’s mission of unlocking “the potential power in youth and young adults to create, innovate and transform the future”. Through actions guided by our Seven Pillars, CLIC looks to drive youth development in the spheres of entrepreneurship, financial wellness, digital literacy, workforce readiness, and more!
Visit our Program Offerings page to learn more about what CLIC has to offer.