ICA continues to expand its presence and impact on resident engagement in Uptown through local partnerships and programming, namely through a partnership with the One Earth Film Festival (OEFF) and ICA’s Out and About Uptown’s Coast series.

Since 2002, international ICAs have collaborated on the African HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiative, implemented by 10 African ICAs. From 2013 to 2016, ICA Zimbabwe piloted the AIDS-Free Community Campaign in 26 communities in peri-urban Harare. The Campaign Toolbox consolidates what had been learned and organized into key aspects of community responsibility for AIDS prevention into a one-year replicable design. ​

ICA launched the Out and About Uptown series on Sunday, May 21st, 2017, focusing on Urban Ecology. Local partners Susan Ask of animalia project, Melanie Eckner of the Uptown Coastal Initiative, and Ted Jindrich of the Chicago Park District Natural Areas stewards shared their collective expertise covering Uptown’s past, present, and future. ​

Fifty years ago the ICA launched Fifth City as its first human development project in East Garfield Park, Chicago. Today ICA is proud to host a new community play developed by Denise Gathings who grew up in Fifth City as the daughter of Ruth Carter (who served 40 years as the Fifth City Preschool Director). ​

Current ICA Program Manager, Caitlin Sarro, and ICA colleague Terry Bergdall recently spent 6 days on the road visiting ICA colleagues in St. Louis and Kansas City. As a 50+ year old organization, ICA has a wide network of colleagues whose experience and support has help shape the organization for many years. This trip brought together just a few of those individuals and offered them an opportunity to hear more about ICA’s current work and the long-term organizational vision.  ​