Accepting Applications 

When: January 3-January 10, 2025

Application Deadline: October 1, 2024

Where: Saly & Dakar, Senegal

*We will begin reviewing applications on April 14, 2024, and will continue to accept retreat participants on a rolling basis until the workshop is full. Applicants can expect a response from our workshop board within one week of submission.

We welcome scholars, academic scholars/writers, historians, ethnographers, literary critics, creative writers, poets, and other storytellers who are interested in carving out time for writing, feedback, and exploration. This immersive writing retreat combines 4 days of rigorous writing in the rustic seaside village of Saly, with 4 days of immersion in Dakar, Senegal’s bustling capital city. It is a great opportunity to jump-start a project in a supportive environment, conduct research for a future project, and receive peer and instructor feedback.

Immersion Writers’ Workshop

Workshop Includes:

  • Housing in double or single occupancy room with shared bathroom

  • Intensive writing workshop instruction in Saly and 4 days of cultural immersion in Dakar

  • Scholarly readings packet and dinner discussion

  • 1 Introductory Wolof language class

  • Transportation to:

    • African Renaissance Monument, Goree Island, the African Civilizations Museum, Sandaga Market, and Village of the Arts, Bandia Reserve, Somone Lagoon, Joal-Fadiouth Shell Island, and the Great Baobab

  • Guided support with 2 polylingual team members

  • On-Site Meals

  • RPA notebook

Decolonizing Education! Immersion Program

When: March, 15-22, 2025

Application Deadline: January 3, 2025

Where: Accra, Ghana

Our "Decolonizing Education" alternative spring break program in Accra, Ghana offers participants an immersive experience aimed at exploring and challenging traditional educational paradigms through a decolonial lens. Over the course of 8 days, participants will engage in critical discussions, interactive workshops, and experiential learning activities focused on understanding the impact of colonialism on education and fostering strategies for decolonizing educational systems. Through visits to historical sites, cultural institutions, community organizations, and tourist stops, participants will gain insights into Ghana's rich history, the legacy of pan-African thinkers like W.E.B. Du Bois, and contemporary challenges in education.

Program Includes:

  • Housing with shared bathroom

  • Meals

  • Scholarly readings packet for daily discussion

  • Journal prompt for daily reflection

  • Introductory Twi language class

  • Transportation to: Kwame Nkrumah Masouleum, Elmira Castle, Cape Coast Castle, W.E.B. DuBois Centre for Pan African Culture, and University of Ghana

  • Guided support with polylingual team members

  • Meetings with local practitioners and healers (translator on-site)

  • RPA tote bag and notebook