Global Organization of Youth Cultural Ambassadors (GO-YCA)
GO-YCA is a year-long leadership program for students in the San Francisco Bay Area who have completed who have completed GO-YCA Training. The program is youth-led. Members plan activities, lead events, and take real responsibility for their community throughout the school year.
GO-YCA is where the work continues. The questions you began asking at GO-YCA, about identity, culture, and your place in a complex world, do not stop after three days. GO-YCA gives you the structure, the peers, and the space to keep going.
Throughout the year, GO-YCA members accumulate volunteer and leadership hours through meetings, events, and community service. Students who complete 100 or more hours are eligible to apply for the Bronze level of American Volunteer Service Award (AVSA), issued by Volunteer Scholars. WCEO assists with the application process at no additional cost. These awards are open to all nationalities. No U.S. citizenship required.
GO-YCA is a year-long commitment
The program runs from late August through late May, with approximately 12 monthly meetings held every three weeks on Sunday afternoons. Each meeting is four hours. Sessions are project-based and advisor-led, designed to build real leadership skills through doing, not just learning.
There are no meetings during major holidays. Specific dates and schedules will be announced by your advisor at the first general meeting.
Four core values of GO-YCA
Initiative
主動力
Step forward before anyone asks you to.
Resilience
堅毅力
Keep going when things get hard.
Collaboration
合作力
Lead with and through others.
Impact
實踐力
Turn ideas into real change.
Wisdom Culture and Education Organization
GO-YCA 2026 / 2027
A Year in 12 Sessions | 這一年，12 次相聚
How this program is designed / 計畫設計邏輯
Year at a Glance | 年度總覽
All dates and times listed below are tentative. Final schedule will be announced by the advisor team. / 以下所有日期與時間均為暫定，正式行程以導師團隊公告為準。
| # | Date / 日期 | Session / 主題 | Track & Theme | What this session advances / 這場推進什麼 | Time / 時間 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Sunday, Aug 30 | Opening Circle 開場圓 |
Leadership IdentityResilience & Team Building |
The foundation session for the Leadership Identity track. Students build the shared norms and psychological safety that make honest project work possible across the year. The culture established here determines how the group will navigate challenges, give feedback, and hold each other accountable in every session that follows. | 1:00 - 5:00 PM |
| 02 | Sunday, Sep 13 | Roots & Routes 根與路 |
Leadership IdentityIdentity & Leadership |
Students begin building their Leadership Identity project: a documented arc of who they are, how they lead, and how both evolve across the year. This session produces the first artifact, a letter to their future selves, sealed here and returned at Session 11 as evidence of growth. | 1:00 - 5:00 PM |
| 03 | Sunday, Oct 4 | Neighborhood Scan 社區觀察 |
Community ProjectCommunity & Service |
The launch of the Community Project track. Students go into a real neighborhood, identify a problem worth solving, and produce a formal problem statement. This document becomes the brief that drives Sessions 06 and 09, and the project itself is presented publicly at Session 12. | 1:00 - 5:00 PM |
| 04 | Sunday, Oct 25 | Mission Peak Mission Peak 健行 |
Full-Year MilestoneLarge Event |
A full-day outdoor milestone that cuts across all three tracks. Physical challenge in real conditions surfaces how students lead when there is no structure to hide behind. What advisors observe here informs how they coach each student across the rest of the year. | Full Day Tentative 暫定 |
| 05 | Sunday, Nov 15 | Case Cracked 案例破解 |
Professional ReadinessCareer & Professional |
The opening session of the Professional Readiness track. Using a case method adapted from graduate-level programs, students practice structured problem analysis, team decision-making under pressure, and defending a position with evidence. Skills practiced here are applied directly in Sessions 07 and 10. | 1:00 - 5:00 PM |
| 06 | Sunday, Dec 6 | Give an Hour 付出一個小時 |
Community ProjectCommunity & Service |
Students move the Community Project forward through direct service alongside a Bay Area organization. Hours count toward AVSA certification. The experience generates field evidence and community relationships that feed directly into the project they will execute and present in Sessions 09 and 12. | 1:00 - 5:00 PM |
| 07 | Sunday, Jan 10 | Guest in the Room 今天有貴賓 |
Professional ReadinessCareer & Professional |
Students apply the preparation and communication skills built in Session 05 in a live setting with a senior Bay Area professional. They own the research, the questions, and the direction of the conversation. The written takeaway produced here becomes part of each student's professional portfolio. | 1:00 - 5:00 PM |
| 08 | Sunday, Jan 31 | The Pressure Test 壓力測試 |
Leadership IdentityResilience & Team Building |
A high-pressure simulation designed to surface each student's default leadership patterns. Students leave with a written Personal Leadership Pattern Card: a named behavioral tendency, its cost to the team, and a concrete intention to work on. This artifact is referenced at Session 11 as part of their growth evidence. | 1:00 - 5:00 PM |
| 09 | Sunday, Feb 21 | Build Something Real 做一件真實的事 |
Community ProjectCommunity & Service |
The Community Project moves from planning to delivery. Teams execute the work they have been building since Session 03, present real outcomes to the group, and begin preparing their showcase materials for Session 12. Students document contributions for AVSA certification records. | 1:00 - 5:00 PM |
| 10 | Sunday, Mar 7 | Your Story, Their Shoes 你的故事，他的立場 |
Professional ReadinessCareer & Professional |
Students complete their Professional Readiness arc by translating a year of real experience into a narrative that works across contexts: college applications, job interviews, and peer recruitment for GO-YCA. The opening line refined here is delivered at the Session 12 public showcase. | 1:00 - 5:00 PM |
| 11 | Sunday, Apr 11 | Mirror Session 鏡子時刻 |
Leadership IdentityIdentity & Leadership |
The Leadership Identity track closes here. Students receive the letters they wrote in Session 02, review their Personal Leadership Pattern Cards from Session 08, give and receive structured peer feedback, and hear written observations from each advisor. The session produces a completed self-assessment against all four GO-YCA competencies. | 1:00 - 5:00 PM |
| 12 | Sunday, May 2 | Full Circle 圓滿 |
Full-Year MilestoneLarge Event |
All three tracks converge at the year-end showcase. Students present their community projects to families and guests, deliver their personal narratives in front of a real audience, and receive documentation of their service hours to support their own AVSA certification applications. This is the public culmination of a full year of project work. | Evening Tentative 暫定 |
GO-YCA participants are eligible to earn AVSA recognition for documented volunteer hours completed during the program year. Bronze: 100+ hours | Silver: 175+ hours | Gold: 250+ hours
American Volunteer Service Award (AVSA)
Earn recognition for your service.
Issued by Volunteer Scholars · Open to all nationalities · No U.S. citizenship required
Bronze
100+
hours
Silver
175+
hours
Gold
250+
hours
GO-YCA members who complete the required hours will be invited to apply through WCEO at no additional cost. Hours from GO-YCA training and external volunteer activities may also count toward the total.
Your journey with WCEO
Step 01
Camper
Chinese Folk Arts Summer Camp
Step 02
TA
Teach and lead at camp
Step 03
GO-YCA training
3-day leadership conference
Step 04
GO-YCA
Year-long leadership program
Beyond
What's next
GO-YCA members are at an advantage when applying for Super TA and Connexpedition
To join GO-YCA, students must first complete the 2-day GO-YCA Training.
Registration for GO-YCA 2026 will open and the end of May.
