Youth and Young Women’s Leadership

Designed to Empower

Leaders share common traits. Empathy, adaptability, courage and strong communication skills—these are the foundation to a leader’s success.

ACIS’ Leadership Projects were created to help young women and young men develop these skills and become the next generation of leaders. ACIS has partnered with educators and leadership professionals to create our programs and ensure they deliver an exceptional experience.

Student in italy basilica with light shining from window

More than Just a Tour

To ensure our leadership projects create a lasting impact, we provide pre- and post-work for both students and teachers. Students will be expected to research themes that will be covered on tour, prepare for their meetings and bring along questions they wish to explore. After the tour, participants will be asked to reflect on their experience and use what they have learned going forward.

Overseas Essentials

Each ACIS Leadership Project includes three components:

Local Leaders in Italy

Connecting with Leaders

Local Leaders in Italy

Students will spend a day in the life of a local leader and engage in a thoughtful examination of his or her skills and attributes. For our Young Women’s Leadership Projects, these leaders will be exclusively women.

Local Leaders in Italy
Vatican mural in Rome

Cultural Immersion

Vatican mural in Rome

Students will immerse themselves in the local culture. On some tours, they will visit area artists to see how their lives reflect in their art, and in others, they will help the community with a service project.

Vatican mural in Rome
Dominican Republic Men's Leadership

International Student Exchange

Dominican Republic Men's Leadership

Participants will meet with area students for a chance to compare their daily lives and develop a greater understanding of how we are different, but also share so many similarities.

Dominican Republic Men's Leadership

“ACIS has tapped into their network of resources to ensure the Leadership Program is a superior experience; I am especially excited about the hands-on workshops and the opportunities to meet women innovators around the world.”

Erin Hennessy Co-Director of Girls’ Leadership Institute, NJ

Current Projects

Young Women's Leadership in Italy

9 Days | Overnights: Rome (3), Tuscany (2), Milan (2)

Leadership Activities

  • 5 Leadership Workshops with individuals such as the head of an immigration relief organization, a female politician, a Tuscan town mayor and a member of the 30% Club at Milan University
  • Global Exchange with a local young women’s group
  • Service Project at a Donne in Campo farm
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Young women attending leadership activity Map of YIT itinerary

Youth Leadership in the Dominican Republic

8 Days | Overnights: Santiago (1), Sosua  (3), Santo Domingo (3)

Leadership Activities

  • 5 Leadership Workshops with organizations such as the Dominican Republic Education and Mentoring Project (DREAM), Deportes Para La Vida, Jiu Jitsu de la Costa Academy, Dominican Assembly for the Environment and Movimiento de Mujeres Dominico-Haitianas (MUDHA)
  • 2 Global Exchanges with area students
  • Community service project
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Participants attending leadership activity with local students Map of YDM itinerary

Young Women’s Leadership in the Dominican Republic

8 Days | Overnights: Sosua (3), Samaná (1), Santo Domingo (3)

Leadership Activities

  • 5 Leadership Workshops with organizations such as the Dominican Republic Education and Mentoring Project (DREAM), Deportes Para La Vida, Health Horizons International (HHI), Whales Samaná and Movimiento de Mujeres Dominico-Haitianas (MUDHA)
  • 2 Global Exchanges with area young women’s groups
  • 2 community service projects
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ACIS group poses together Map of YDR itinerary

Youth Leadership in Costa Rica

8 Days | Overnights: San José (2), Monteverde (2), Guanacaste Coast (3)

Leadership Activities

  • 6 Leadership Workshops with organizations such as the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation, a sustainable fishery, a bird conservation council, a community up-cycling workshop, the Intertidal Explorer Program and a beekeeping and reforestation organization.

  • 2 Global Exchanges with local students and families
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Student shaking hands with a local Costa Rica tour guide map of YCR itinerary

Young Women’s Leadership in London

9 Days | Overnights: London (7)

Leadership Activities

  • 4 Leadership Workshops with individuals such as a female MP, a leading scientist, a women’s suffrage expert and at a Premier League football club
  • 2 Global Exchanges with local students and athletes
  • Community service project
View Tour
Three young women on tour in London Map of YLO itinerary