The Summer Institute is a new immersive two-week creative writing and cultural exchange program held in Iowa City, Iowa, a UNESCO City of Literature, for participants age 18-22 from Pakistan, India, and the U.S. 

This program for students of all academic interests – the arts, humanities, sciences, and everything in between – is free for selected participants, and will focus on creative writing and the power of narrative. The Summer Institute’s innovative, inclusive, cross-cultural approach will empower future thought-leaders and help forge new lines of understanding, promote social justice, and foreground diversity, empathy, and community. Participants will come to see writing as a form of action – a personally-empowering skill that can be employed for social change.

The Summer Institute is supported by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.

2019 SESSION – PAKISTAN/INDIA/U.S.: 6-20 JULY

During the two weeks of Summer Institute programming, mornings will be spent in master classes led by experts in various fields with a focus on creative writing and narrative (master classes are two-to-three hour sessions on a particular aspect of writing, identity, communication, or study). Afternoons will be reserved for generative writing sessions led by faculty mentors, as well as panels and discussions designed to work through conversations of identity and cultural biases, and promote team-building and collaboration. Evening programming may include literary readings, open mic nights, movies, and special workshops, as well as free time to write and socialize. As part of mid-session programming, participants will spend an afternoon at Lake Macbride State Park, where they may swim, paddle boat, share a picnic lunch, and enjoy the outdoors together.

https://iwp.uiowa.edu/programs/summer-institute