Summer Camp for the Next Generation of South Asian American Changemakers, Artists, and Activists
July 25-29, 2013 • Berkeley, California
Pakistan • India • Bangladesh • Sri Lanka • Bhutan • Nepal • Maldives • Diaspora

What is BASS?

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The 3rd annual Bay Area Solidarity Summer (BASS) is taking place July 25-29, 2013. Join Desi youth from across California at a 5-day residential summer camp in Berkeley to learn about progressive social justice issues affecting South Asians, art, history, and leadership skills. BASS alumni often call the program "inspiring" and "life-changing." 

BASS is open to youth 15 to 21 years of age and of South Asian heritage. The program costs only $50 for 5 days of instruction, meals, and housing at a historic hotel in Berkeley, minutes away from the UC Berkeley campus. (100% scholarships are available for those with financial need.) Applications are due by May 1, and may be evaluated in the order they're received.

The summer camp will include workshops, panels, a field trip, and lots of opportunities for arts and activism. BASS is an environment where Desi youth can feel safe, supported, and inspired. The program is run by a diverse group of volunteers of South Asian descent working to increase civic engagement and social justice education for South Asian youth.

BASS is a project of the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action (ASATA).

Highlights from previous years

BASS 2012
  • creative writing workshop with award-winning author Minal Hajratwala
  • a workshop on gender led by alumni and health educators
  • creation of a South Asian American history wall
  • a workshop on South Asian worker organizing
  • live street art, hip-hop, and tabla sessions
  • a workshop on addressing racial violence and Islamophobia
  • a walking tour of 100+ years of Berkeley South Asian radical history

BASS 2011
  • keynote speeches by author and professor Sunaina Maira and immigrant rights activist and law student Prerna Lal
  • spoken word workshop led by hip-hop artist Chee Malabar
  • a workshop on gender led by UC Berkeley's group Khush
  • a workshop on Islamophobia, profiling, and racism
  • an environmental justice themed hike through the Oakland hills
  • a youth activist panel featuring young community leaders
  • a workshop on South Asian narratives and legacy

Apply, volunteer, or more info

What participants and parents say about BASS:

  • "All the workshops & organizers were great and amazing. I’d rather learn about this then go to my school. This environment is so supportive, while also challenging our minds." 
  • “My son had a great experience at BASS. It's an awesome idea, grooming today's kids to be tomorrow's activists and leaders! BASS is a unique platform to engage youth into constructive politics, for widening their horizons, giving them some hands-on experience and education into history, human rights issues, and the law. It also enables them to be more independent, and to bond with their peers and the people they meet at the camp.”
  • "I enjoyed meeting all the supportive organizers, the other participants, the community & the workshops, I learned so much from everyone and I learned so much about myself. I enjoyed the care and effort put into everything by the organizers."
  • "I really enjoyed meeting a lot of really interesting South Asian activists with so many stories. I also really liked the conversations, they made me think about things I hadn’t thought of before."
  • "I loved BASS because I learned so much and it was the first time I felt such community. I've never felt so at home with a group of people I just met!"
  • "I am so grateful, so so so grateful for this opportunity – this weekend has felt like a dream. Thank you so much."