Bay Area Solidarity Summer (BASS) is a 5-day political action camp to cultivate South Asian American activists, ages 18–23.

It runs Aug 4–8, 2022, near Oakland, CA.

(Sorry, applications closed on March 27.)

Follow us on Facebook or Instagram, and contact us if you have questions, or need extra time to submit your app.

Afghanistan • Bangladesh • Bhutan • Burma • India • Maldives • Nepal • Pakistan • Sri Lanka • Fiji • Diaspora

1. What is BASS?

Bay Area Solidarity Summer, or BASS, is a 5-day training program specifically for emerging progressive South Asian American activists and organizers, ages 18–23. (We explain “South Asian” below.) The training is low-cost or free, and includes curriculum, readings, and access to mentors and a network.

BASS is open to participants from across the U.S., with priority given to people from the West Coast. (Don't have a place to stay near Oakland, California? We may be able to find you a local host.)

2. Why should I attend BASS?

BASS will strengthen your skills as an organizer working for a just, equitable, and sustainable world:
  • learn concrete skills for creating real-world change
  • sharpen your analysis of race, gender, and power
  • explore the 100+ year history of South Asian activism in the U.S.
  • connect with a multi-generational community of peers and mentors

3. When/where is BASS? What about housing?

BASS 2022 will run from Thursday, August 4 to Monday, August 8, 2022.

We are committed to running a COVID-safe in-person event, but can fall back to an online or hybrid format if required. If accepted, we expect you to be with us all five days, from Thursday to Monday, to gain the full experience.

Sessions will run during the day, from roughly 10 AM–5 PM in Oakland, California. We don't directly provide housing, but if you're coming from far away, we can connect you with a local host.

4. Should I apply?

Here's what we’re looking for: people who are excited to build movements for justice, interested in learning, open to receiving mentoring, with at least some prior experience around activism or organizing. You don’t need to know social justice jargon, or have a fancy resume.

We absolutely want you to apply, even if you don’t always feel comfortable in South Asian spaces, or maybe feel impostor syndrome in activist spaces.

5. Who will I meet at BASS?

At BASS, you might meet a Sikh feminist working for climate justice, a Bhutanese refugee youth organizer, an Indian computer science student challenging ICE, or a queer Bangladeshi activist taking on Islamophobia. You'll get a chance to connect with a multi-generational community of activists, and maybe even find the mentor you never knew you needed.

6. How will you handle COVID-19 safety?

BASS will have vaccination requirements, and may require testing and/or masking. We will adjust plans based on the public health situation, and can fall back to a hybrid or online format if needed. Contact us if you have questions.

7. What will BASS be like?

Alumni often describe the program as a life-changing experience. Recent participants have said:

  • "I'm SO excited to have a new, caring network of folks to work with for years to come. Practical organizing trainings, trauma and healing, and multiracial organizing! So concrete AND agitating in the best way!"
  • "There was something so special about this community. We all cared so much for each other, genuinely. I never felt any aspects of competition for who was the most woke, etc. We were all happy to learn and share"
  • "BASS gave me skills, network, and inspiration…Without BASS, I wouldn't be a community organizer."
  • "I really liked getting the chance to speak to so many organizers and activists, both at the sessions and at the community mixers. It felt so real to see these people that I had sometimes heard of or read, and to hear from them and learn from their experiences."
  • "I learned how to take care of myself mentally and address many of the feelings that come up during this work. I don't have to feel guilty about working for-profit and doing organizing after my day job."
  • "I grew up in a community that did not have South Asian organizations or even really POC people, so it was amazing to awaken to all the South Asian history, organizations, tactics"

8. What do you mean  by “South Asian”?

When we say “South Asian,” we mean people with roots in places like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and related regions not always defined by national boundaries. Our community includes members of  the global South Asian diaspora—from Fiji to Italy, Malaysia to Dubai—and people who are mixed-race, transracial adoptees, and third culture individuals.

9. Do I have to be from Northern California?

BASS is open to participants from across the United States, with priority given to people from the West Coast. (Based on where you live, you may want to apply to either CDYR in Chicago or SAYHU in Houston instead.

10. Can I afford it?

We will ask you to put in at least $50, but nobody gets turned away because of inability to pay. If you have financial need, just check the box in the application form to request a scholarship.

11. What if I have access needs?

We will do our best to accommodate your health, religious, or technology access needs. Please contact us for details.

12. Who runs BASS?

BASS is organized by a core group of volunteers who spend nine months every year organizing the program. We invite some of our favorite South Asian and POC activists to be trainers, and get a lot of help from a loving community of volunteers, donors, alumni, and former core. BASS is a project of ASATA, the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action.

13. Why does BASS exist?

BASS was founded in 2011 by South Asian organizers committed to supporting and mentoring the next generation of South Asian organizers, building on the legacy of programs like Youth Solidarity Summer, Organizing Youth, and Rad Desi Summer.  We’re hoping BASS will:

  1. expand the network of organizers in the South Asian community fighting for justice and working in solidarity across movements and communities
  2. build a cohort among participants and create lasting relationships between mentors and youth
  3. create a forum to innovate and share political strategies for a just, equitable, and sustainable world

14. I have another question!

You can email us, or send a quick message on Facebook and Instagram.