Ayni Institute

Most of the advocacy and projects incubated by the Ayni Institute surround promoting liberal expansionist policies on immigration, but the organization has branched out in recent years to advocate other left-leaning policies. ² Since the Ayni Institute began, it has incubated and founded organizations including Momentum Community, Movimiento Cosecha, and Memory Fund. ³ Ayni Institue also claims credit for involvement in starting “IfNotNow,” a campaign targeting Birthright Israel to attack the standing of the Jewish State with young American Jews. ²

Projects

The Ayni Institute is involved with many international projects, many have to do with “complex collaboration across social movements”. The Institute boasts to have trained over 6,000 activists across the world; one of the landmark trainings promoted by the institute is incubating mass protest among community organizations in the United States.

The current programs promoted by the Ayni Institute are mostly focused on the worldwide impact and activity of social movements. The Institute’s programming includes philosophical teachings surrounding learning from one’s ancestors, training on mass protests, advocating for a worldwide strike, environmentalism and leadership. ⁴

The trainings, teachings, and movements funded by the Ayni Institute vary from providing philosophical instruction in left-wing thought to practical training on founding and funding an organization. ⁵

Criticism

While much of the Ayni Institute still revolves around immigration issues, the organization has expanded to advocate for a number of other left leaning issues. Notably, the Ayni institute has drawn criticism for claiming credit for the development of a group called IfNotNow which runs an anti-Birthright Israel campaign targeting the legitimacy of Israel among young American Jews. ² In a post for Medium, Saavedra and colleague Paul Engler credited IfNotNow for bringing “Birthright trips to the forefront of debate in the Jewish community.” ⁶ Left-of-center Zionist commentators have criticized IfNotNow for taking an ambiguous on Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. ⁷

Founder

Carlos Saavedra migrated from Peru to Boston at a young age and was active as a community organizer in Boston before focusing on national and international projects surrounding promoting the DREAM Act, proposed legislation to grant legal status to illegal immigrants who migrated to the U.S. as children. Saavedra co-founded the Student Immigrant Movement in 2005 and the United We Dream Network in 2008.

Saavedra’s organizations pushed the Obama administration enact the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals executive order, which granted legal leave to remain in the United States for certain illegal immigrants. Saavedra stated that while the President would not meet with illegal immigrants: “We gave them a deadline. We told Obama, ‘You need to deliver on past promises to the Latino community.’”⁸

Carlos Saavedra founded the organization that became the Ayni Institute in 2013 to provide community organizing training for fledgling left-wing organizations. He based trainings on his experiences advocating for the Dream Act. ¹