The Talloires Network

Action Research Essential for Civic Engagement Success in Higher Education

2010-08-24T15:17:00.004-04:00

Action research is a reflective process of progressive problem solving led by individuals working with others in teams or as part of a “community of practice” to improve the way they address issues and solve problems. This can be effective since it allows practitioners to explore how they are understanding and evaluating community problems. They share new ideas with other practitioners (from whom they sometimes adapt ideas from), and they make decisions on what to include in future university curriculums.

In the last five years, some universities have used action research to fully promote civic engagement. These universities are mostly community and liberal arts colleges, as well as state universities. They are influenced by the communities and societies around them, not only by the academic community within their institution.

For example, The Center for Collaborative Action Research at Pepperdine University strives to create a deep understanding of educational and community problems in a range of different contexts, and to encourage evidence-based reasoning to solve these problems. In relation to community engagement, the University’s Master of Arts degree in Educational Technology includes a year-long action research project. Each student takes on action research in their local communities and works collaboratively with coworkers and peers. The students share their action research experience, identifying common issues and contributing to prior knowledge. To see examples of the work done in the program from previous years, please click here.

There are more opportunities to create groups of educators to discuss ways to advance civic engagement in universities than there were several years ago. In October 2005, Campus Compact and Tufts University gathered scholars from research universities with significant advances in their works to discuss how they promoted civic engagement in their campuses and communities. In two days, the group shared information about the work they have done and exchanged ideas on effective methods of promoting their work. In addition, they decided to adapt a more prominent leadership role in the academic civic engagement movement by creating a case statement. This statement, which can be read here, addresses why it’s important for research universities to advance and welcome engaged scholarship as a central factor of their research activities.

At the Talloires Network, we encourage those interested in action research to attend these upcoming conferences:

8th ALARA World Congress in Melbourne, Australia (September 6-9): participants will meet with action research practioners to discuss historical and current advancements in action research. The dialogues will be based on various categories, including Education and Learning, Community and International Development, and cross-cultural learning with Indigenous and other Peoples and contexts. Participants will ultimately gather information to use in their organizations. For more information about the congress, please click here.

10th International Research Conference on Service-Learning and Community Engagement, "International Perspectives: Crossing Boundaries through Research" in Indianapolis, Indiana (USA) (October 28-30): This conference is for those interested in research or service-learning, campus-community partnerships and civic outcomes of education. Presenters will include administrators and faculty in higher education, K-12 educators and scholars and practitioners in educational policy and community development. Scholars and attendees from outside of the United States are also encouraged to attend to share their perspectives, which will help advance mutual understanding of this work. For more information, please click here.

If these advancements like the ones mentioned continue, action research will remain an important element in promoting civic engagement in higher educational institutions.

Talloires Network Celebrates International Youth Day

2010-08-12T16:25:00.005-04:00

Today is International Youth Day, which this year kicks off the International Year of Youth. This year’s theme is “Mutual Dialogue and Understanding.” On this year’s theme, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has stated, "Youth should be given a chance to take an active part in the decision-making of local, national and global levels." The year will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first International Year of Youth in 1985. To learn more about these special events, read ICP’s latest newsletter.

Higher education institutes worldwide are participating this month to mark the International Year of Youth. Here are some of the many events and activities:

• Though not a higher education institution, the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (India), which recently launched an M.A. program in youth work, is having an essay contest, according to ICP’s South Asia Resource Center.

• The Idente-Youth US Office is currently holding its World Youth Parliament forum (August 11-13) at St. John’s University in Queens, NY. Its purpose is to gather youth ages 17 to 30 to explore the foundations of new societies and to propose guidelines to make them more just.

• For other programs, please read the ICP newsletter and the UN International Youth Year calendar of events.

What is your organization or institution doing for International Year of Youth or in celebration of International Youth Day? Please post your plans below!

Photo courtesy of the UN.

University of Washington to Host 11th Annual Imagining America Conference September 23-25

2010-07-26T15:53:00.009-04:00

Imagining America is organizing a forum to further advance its commitment to public scholarship and practice of the arts, humanities and design in campus/community partnerships throughout the US.

From September 23 to September 25, the University of Washington will host the 11th annual Imagining America Conference. Organizers of the conference decided to hold the event in Seattle, WA, because the event organizers consider it a current city of technological advancement and social justice activism. This year’s theme, “Convergence Zones: Public Cultures and Translocal Practices,” will explore how public scholarship can create new connections among disciplines, communities, and sectors. The convergent intersections of social, cultural and technological practices is supposed to reshape research, teaching and engagement activities while fostering new projects, knowledge and publics.

The conference will include both on-campus sessions and visits to off-campus sites, which will cover teaching/research-based collaborations. Site visits will gather expertise from local, national and international practitioners, as well as feature partnerships that engage through various types of practices, including community arts and media, and environmental restorations and built environments.

For more information about the conference, please read the official announcement from Imagining America. It includes separate registration fees based on member type and conference day. Registrations fees before August 10 are lower than fees paid after the date.

2nd Annual Global United Nations Conference to Be Held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia August 14-18

2010-07-26T15:38:00.005-04:00

Next month, more than 1,000 university students ages 18 to 24 will have the opportunity to enhance their leadership skills and practice developing international relations.

The United Nations Department of Public Information is organizing the second annual Global United Nations Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from August 14 to 18 2010. This year’s theme will be “Towards an Alliance of Civilizations: Bridging Cultures to achieve Peace and Development.” At the conference, participants will role play as foreign diplomats at a General Assembly Summit on intercultural dialogue. They will participate in simulated sessions of the United National General Assembly and other mutual groups in the UN systems. The organizers hope that the conference will help students to develop lifelong skills in leadership and research, writing, public speaking and problem solving. They also hope that the students’ participation encourages consensus building, conflict resolution and cooperation and the enhancement of leadership skills.

For more information about the conference, please visit the official website.

11th Annual National Outreach Scholarship Conference to Be Held October 4-6

2010-07-22T15:00:00.005-04:00

Engaged scholarship involves researching ideas that let academic and community organizations collaborate on various civic service projects. From October 4-6, North Carolina State University will invite college members and community partners to discuss this topic.

At the 11th Annual National Outreach Scholarship Conference, in Raleigh's Convention Center, participants will explore authenticity and sustainability as significant components of engaged scholarship. The five main questions (who, what, when, why, and how) will be the focus of the conference, and will be based on five categories: program, place, people, process, and philosophy. These "tracks" are supposed to invite a diversity of perspectives and experiences reflecting the university's commitment to engaged discovery, learning, application, and integration.

Proposals are no longer accepted, but there is still time to register for the conference. Registering before August 1 for any of the conference sessions gives participants a lower "early bird" fee.

For more information on the conference, including details on how to win free registrations to next year's conference, please visit the official event page.

2nd Annual University Social Responsibility International Conference to Take Place October 5-6

2010-07-22T09:27:00.005-04:00

Advocates of social responsibility will have another opportunity to discuss the topic this fall. The 2nd Annual University Social Responsibility International Conference will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the Putra World Trade Centre. Individuals and organizations that are directly involved with social responsibility, including corporate bodies, governmental and non-governmental agencies, and students, are invited to participate.

The conference, themed “Embracing New Economy with Community-based Social Innovations,” will offer a platform for those interested to share and exchange ideas on social responsibly and other related issues. Throughout the program, participants hope to develop and strengthen relationships by building strong networks and promoting continuous future collaborations amongst themselves.

Conference organizers have accepted paper presentations, poster presentations, and exhibitions highlighting social responsibility program development from various aspects, including entrepreneurship, sustainability, green technology, poverty, culture, and education. Companies that are interested in promoting their technological products that enhance social responsibility are strongly encouraged to attend.

Though full paper submissions are no longer accepted, those interested in participating still have time to register. If they make their payments before August 1, they can take advantage of an “early bird registration fee.”

Please visit the official event website for more up-to-date information. The organizers hope that the conference will be a success.

Welcome to the UN Alliance of Civilizations Forum 2010

2010-07-21T17:00:00.000-04:00

1st Alliance of Civilization Summer Course to Be Held August 15-21

2010-07-21T15:38:00.008-04:00

As a United Nations initiative, the Alliance of Civilization (AoC) has striven to improve understanding and corporate relations among nations and people of various cultures and religions, helping to defy against polarization and extremism. This year, it is coming to the tertiary classroom.

The AoC is organizing a summer school course in the University of Aveiro (Portugal) to be held from August 15-21. The course aims to bring together young people ages 18 and 30 of diverse backgrounds and various regions to strengthen the roles of youth organizations as participants of civil society. It also develops youth’s ability to organize and strengthen its civic participation. The course’s objectives include

developing a common understanding of the situations and challenges faced by
young people in our increasingly cultural diverse but one world;
acquiring know-how on concepts and challenges of intercultural dialogue and cooperation;
co-operating in a network with other participants and their projects; and
getting acquainted with the framework of the AoC initiative.

The participants in this course will be mainly students and representatives or members of youth organizations which are partners in the Alliance. Among the requirements for choosing participants are

being a key multiplier playing an active role within a youth organization, network or service at local, national or regional level, and plan to continue this work in the near future;
seeking gender balance; and
having a diverse social or cultural background.

Applications are due July 27.

For more information about the AoC, watch the promotional video for last May's forum. Look for it in the next post!

Campus Compact College Coaching Corps AmeriCorpsProgram Recruiting Members for 2010-2011 Session

2010-07-21T15:21:00.007-04:00

The Michigan Campus Compact, in partnership with AmeriCorps, is requesting applications from AmeriCorps members interested in participating in the Michigan Campus Compact College Coaching Corps AmeriCorps Program during the 2010-2011 program year. The program will enroll 50 full-time members across Michigan to build the capacity of program serving youth in various ways. Ten members will report to college campuses to provide training for college students serving youth, acting as connectors between campuses, K-12 schools, and communities. The remaining 40 members will work in mentoring organizations to set up one-on-one, small group, or peer mentoring matches; they hope to improve the quality of the mentoring programs they serve. All members will work towards the following program goals:

Build capacity for college students to serve youth as ‘college positive volunteers
Create and deepen partnerships between college campuses, community organizations and K-12 schools to create a college-going community culture
Increase community awareness to emphasize the fact that higher education can be accessed by all.

The start dates for the program will be October 4 and October18, 2010. Members are required to attend one of two recruitment web seminars (August 6 and August 10). For the duration of the program, they are expected to complete a 12-month full-time commitment with a 1700- service hour minimum. They are also required to complete monthly progress report; training will be provided.

Applications are due July 30 at noon. For individuals who need assistance with application completion, the grant program manager will hold a technical assistance call tomorrow, July 22, from 10 to 11 am. More information about the program can be found on the "Request for Proposals" document.

CLAYSS to Host XIII International Service-Learning Conference

2010-07-20T15:52:00.005-04:00

The Latin American Center for Service Learning (CLAYSS), our Talloires Network partner, has been very busy this summer.

CLAYSS is inviting experts and institutions promoting service learning from Latin America, Europe, and the US to the 23rd annual International Service-Learning Conference on August 26-27. The event will take place in Pontifical Catholic University in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This conference has been one of the most important events in Latin America devoted to discussing and promoting service-learning. Its goals are to:

Offer service-learning training to teachers, principals, and government and NGO leaders;
Promote the exchange of ideas and experiences among schools and Universities developing service-learning projects in Latin America; and
Strengthen the networks between civil society and the educational system to the benefit of a better education for all.

For more information about the event, please see the April invitation letter from CLAYSS director Prof. Maria Nieves Tapia.

Centennial College to Host Free Youth Civic Engagement Workshop

2010-07-20T12:11:00.011-04:00

Tonight Canadian citizens ages 13 to 29 will have an opportunity to learn how they can contribute to their communities.

Centennial College (in Toronto, Canada), in partnership with Grassroots Organizing and
Leadership (GOAL), is hosting “Civic Engagement for Youth - GOAL Youth Workshop” on July 20 from 6 to 9 pm. It will be held in City Hall (on 100 Queen St West) at the Council Chamber / Members Lounge.

At the workshop, participants will learn about what youth groups in Toronto are doing regarding civic engagement, as well as how they can become more civically engaged and make a difference in their communities.

To learn more about this workshop, including information about at-the-door registration and directions from the Subway, please visit the official Frontline event page.

Educators and activists to gather for Civic Studies, Civic Practices Conference

2010-07-16T15:09:00.010-04:00

From Friday July 23 to Saturday July 24, educators and civic engagement activists will attend the Civic Studies, Civic Practices Conference at Tufts University’s Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service. Students, scholars, and others interested in discussing this year’s conference topic are also invited to attend.

This conference will conclude the 2nd annual Summer Institute of Civic Studies, which began on July 12. Advanced graduate students, faculty, and practitioners from various fields of study are attending the two-week interdisciplinary seminar to talk about the role of civics in the world. At the interactive sessions for the conference, participants will discuss “citizenship” as creativity, agency, and collaboration, rather than an exclusive “form of membership that separates those who are in from those who are out.” Session topics will include

Enabling Citizen Interaction through Web 2.0: Challenges and Opportunities
Exploring the Meaning of News Media Literacy for Civic Engagement: A Workshop on Civic Education
Activist Civic Engagement & Service Learning Among Marginalized Youth
Civic Education and Election Campaign Participation

For more information about this year's conference, read the full agenda, and watch C-SPAN's coverage of last year's conference, please visit the official event website.

Universia Conference Report from President Lawrence Bacow

2010-06-09T16:12:00.001-04:00

I recently had the opportunity to attend the 2nd International Meeting of Universia Presidents in Guadalajara, an impressive gathering of representatives from over 1200 universities, including over 950 university rectors, presidents, and vice-chancellors. I was able to meet with the heads of several Talloires Network institutions. What I found especially exciting was the strong interest in the Talloires Network and higher education civic engagement shown by rectors from other universities around the world. This experience confirmed my belief that universities in every region are increasingly recognizing the civic roles and social responsibilities of higher education.

The growing global movement for engaged universities has a vital role to play in maximizing the benefits of higher education for individuals and societies. Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel has observed that while talent and ability are distributed evenly throughout the world, opportunity is not. University civic engagement is a powerful tool to correct this injustice by expanding access and opportunities for people around the world and from all backgrounds. I am proud of the Talloires Network’s efforts on behalf of this vision.

Our own recent meeting of Talloires Network leaders and partners in Bellagio, as well as the Universia conference in Guadalajara, were both reminders of the importance of building strong personal relationships and strengthening networks through face-to-face interaction. I am therefore pleased to let you know that we are preparing to hold a global conference of Talloires Network members in Madrid during the first half of 2011. As the first global meeting of Talloires Network leaders since the Network was launched in 2005, this will be a tremendous opportunity to exchange knowledge and ideas, discuss the future of the Network, and build relationships among the membership. I look forward to providing you with more details in the near future.

This article first appeared in the Talloires Network June Newsletter

A "Third Space" for Higher Education

2010-04-06T11:10:00.001-04:00

Just last month, members of the higher education community convened in Philadelphia to discuss new ways of promoting student success. The conference, hosted by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, focused on the role of faculty in the development of university students. One of the keynote speakers, Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor, gave a speech addressing how faculty and students can work together in order to foster greater civic engagement opportunities.

On March 25, 2010, Chancellor Cantor discussed a “third space” of engagement in her speech titled "Academic Excellence and Civic Engagement: Constructing a Third Space for Higher Education." This third space provides a network of people from many different backgrounds to collaborate, share knowledge and work together to make a difference in society. Cantor believes that working as individual, isolated groups can only yield so much success. However, combining talents from all levels of society—the corporate world, higher education, and community—will make an immense impact that could not be achieved by individual groups alone. During her speech, she professed to her higher education colleagues that “diverse communities of experts have far more chance of making progress on what ails our communities than does any one group, disciplinary gathering, or sector alone.” In order to make a greater impact, faculty members of higher education institutions should provide more opportunities for their students to become active participants in this new space of engagement.

To explain her theory, Cantor used an example from her own Syracuse University, an institution devoted to innovative scholarship and a member of the Talloires Network. Under the university’s Department of Art and Design, students can apply the skills they learn in their coursework to design projects in the local community. As illustrated by the program’s website, “concern for sustainable design practices, social issues, and excellence in professional practice” is the central focus of design students’ education.

One specific example of this initiative can be found in Professors Rod Martinez and Bill Padgett’s communications design management class. The task for students enrolled in the course for this semester is to cultivate ideas for ‘branding’ the SALT District in Syracuse. While the district provides an excellent environment for artistic expression, it also is a community in need.

Faculty at Syracuse University saw this need for improvement as an ideal source for service-learning projects. Students utilize their skills of communication and design to improve the visual identity of the community. They work in collaboration with neighborhood residents to ensure they are addressing community needs. Although they are focusing on the visual presentation of the community, the students are also identifying issues in the public service sector. Understanding of social issues, design implementation, and project management is developed both inside the classroom and within the community. By the end of the semester, students improve their skills in communications design management, put these skills to physical practice, and achieve a greater understanding of what they can do to help a local community in need.

Syracuse University serves as an excellent model for providing students and faculty with an opportunity to apply scholarship to community involvement. As more institutions of higher education adopt this idea of a “third space” for civic engagement, a greater community of individuals devoted to social change will develop.

Mozambique: Providing a new resource for inter-university dialogue

2010-04-01T16:05:00.002-04:00

In order to facilitate discussion of important development issues in Mozambique, eight universities have joined in collaboration to produce a new journal about economic, policy, and development studies. A recent article explains the journal, called "Economia, Politica e Desenvolvimento," will produce three annual issues that address topics such as participation in the democratic processes and analysis of socio-professional mobility among civil servants in Maputo. With the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), students and researchers from institutions of higher education will be able to discuss, debate, and discover ways to improve society with other prominent members of the Mozambican community.

In creating this journal, the affiliated universities are providing a space for students to take an active role in their communities. The eight universities involved in this venture include: the Eduardo Mondlane University (from which the journal is hosted and managed), the Pedagogical University (UP), the Polytechnic University (ISPU), the Higher Institute of Science and Technology (ISCTEM), the Higher Institute of Public Administration (ISAP), the Higher Institute of International Relations (ISRI), the São Tomás University of Mozambique (USTM), and the Technical University (UDM). Although these select universities will contribute material for the journal’s articles, university libraries across the country will be able to access the journal, ensuring that the knowledge gained is knowledge shared throughout the Mozambique.

The United Nations Development Programme is also playing a vital role through its sponsorship of the project. During the initial round table discussion about the journal, the UNDP Resident Representative and UN Coordinator in Mozambique, Ndolamb Ngokwey, stressed that this project would fill in an educational gap that has a long history in the country. The initiative will “maximize and consolidate development and governance opportunities and challenges” that students did not have access to or knowledge of in the past. Not only will the journal provide quality academic resources for the university community, it will also give students and researchers the opportunity to become engaged and involved in the development of Mozambique.

Professor Eduardo J. Sitoe, Executive Director of the journal, believes “this publication will foster a country-wide debate on developmental matters, bringing together academia, the business community and society at large” and will allow universities to “contribute towards social problems and challenges." Institutions of higher education in Mozambique, as well as representatives from UNDP, realize their ability to provide an outlet for students to become actively engaged citizens. With this initiative, students, researchers, employers, and members of the community can work with one another to find solutions for their country’s problems. The creation of this journal is a positive step towards fostering civic participation throughout the higher education community.

New award announced to recognize student leaders in public service

2010-03-23T16:07:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, Monday, March 22nd, the Pearson Foundation announced the newly established Pearson Prize for Higher Education. Unlike other scholarship programs that recognize the accomplishments of graduating high school seniors, the Pearson Foundation honors students who have already established a path in their college careers. The Pearson Prize is awarded to university students who have demonstrated leadership in community service while taking on a full undergraduate academic course load.

The Pearson Foundation prides itself on cultivating a culture of compassion. It has made a strong commitment to fostering effective education across the globe and providing opportunities for children and educators alike. By teaming up with other nonprofit organizations, the Pearson Foundation is able to support educational initiatives and invest in students who are making a difference in the world today.

In awarding the Pearson Prize, the foundation has partnered with the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) to administer the prize. NSCS is an honor society that high-achieving university students are invited to during their freshmen and sophomores years. One of the benefits the honor society offers is providing the "tools and encouragement [students] need to take part in transforming the on-campus and community-wide issues that mean the most to them." With the Pearson Foundation, NSCS will fulfill this role by identifying 70 college students who are making great strides in giving back to the community.

The Pearson Prize for Higher Education aims to bridge the gap of financial assistance for students who became involved in their communities after high school. Therefore, the Pearson Foundation will be granting a total of $225,000 to students already enrolled in institutions of higher education. The funds will be distributed to two select groups of students, the Pearson Prize Scholars and the Pearson Prize Grantees. Each group will consist of students from both 4-year and 2-year institutions. The 20 students selected to be Pearson Prize Scholars will receive $10,000 each over the course of two years. The 50 students selected as Pearson Prize Grantees will receive $500 each in one year.

Eligibility requirements and details about the application process are available on the NSCS Pearson Prize webpage. The deadline to apply is April 11, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

The Pearson Prize for Higher Education was created to recognize students who have made a significant impact on their communities. Recipients of the award will not only receive accolades for their contributions to society, they will also serve as inspiration to fellow classmates. These students will prove that, as members of the higher education community, they too have the power to make a difference in the world.

Leaders of Higher Education and Civic Engagement Convene this Week at Bellagio

2010-03-22T11:39:00.003-04:00

Beginning this Tuesday, March 23, members of the Talloires Network Steering Committee, Network Secretariat Staff, and leaders in higher education will meet in Italy to discuss the field of higher education in relation to civic engagement. The five-day conference will be hosted by the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center on Lake Como. During their stay, participants will evaluate the progress the Talloires Network has made and address the next steps to continue the promotion and advancement of social responsibility in higher education.

From March 23-27, 2010, representatives of the Talloires Network, presidents of universities, and leaders of civic organizations will attend presentations and engage in discussions focusing on the civic engagement movement. Over the course of the conference, participants will work with one another to address the specific challenges the Talloires Network faces today. The group of nineteen will examine questions regarding how to strengthen the global movement of higher education civic engagement and how to foster greater relationships between universities and regional networks. Answers to these questions will be presented to the full membership of the Talloires Network in order to assist with efforts of enhancing higher education civic engagement within the next five years.

The Bellagio Center is an ideal space for members of the Talloires Network to meet, as it was established for the purpose of fostering innovation and collaboration amongst international networks. The Talloires Network brings together over 130 universities with programs implemented to change the issues communities face worldwide. The collaboration of international participants at this week’s conference will help the Talloires Network explore ways to improve the role of higher education in community engagement as well as strengthen the larger collaboration of member universities throughout the world.

The ultimate goal of the conference is to develop a vision for the future of the Talloires Network that encompasses the role of global and regional networks, policy advocacy, communications, professional development of faculty, service-learning, the role of social network, institutional leadership, student engagement, and funding. Throughout the week, conference participants will be working hard to move the Talloires Network forward. Participants of the Bellagio Conference 2010 include:

Elizabeth Babcock, Talloires Network Coordination, Innovations in Civic Participation
Lawrence S. Bacow, President, Tufts University
Michael Baenen, Chief of Staff, Office of the President, Tufts University
Russel Botman, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Stellenbosch University
Yazmin Cruz, Project Manager, Global University Network for Innovation (GUNI)
Maureen F. Curley, President, Campus Compact
Martin Fitzgerald, National President, Australian Universities Community Engagement Alliance; Pro Vice-Chancellor (Corporate Development & Community Partners), University of Newcastle
Saran Kaur Gill, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Industry and Community Partnerships, Universiti Kebangsaan
Robert Hollister, Dean, Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service,Tufts University
Ellen Hume, Annenberg Fellow in Civic Media, Central European University
Barbara Lethem Ibrahim, Director, John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement, American University in Cairo
Mónica Jiménez de la Jara, Minister of Education, Chile (2008-2010); Member, Talloires Network Steering Committee
Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, Founding President, Aga Khan University; Member, Talloires Network Steering Committee
Piyushi Kotecha, CEO, Southern African Regional Universities Association
Margaret McKenna, President, Walmart Foundation
Janice Reid, Vice-Chancellor, University of Western Sydney
John Shattuck, President and Rector, Central European University
Susan Stroud, Founder and Executive Director, Innovations in Civic Participation
Nieves Tapia, Founder and Director, Latin American Center for Service-Learning

We look forward to seeing what the participants accomplish during their stay at the Bellagio Center. Check back for updates on the outcomes of the conference next week!

Working towards youth community engagement in the Middle East

2010-03-15T10:44:00.002-04:00

Recent events in Egypt and Jordan have highlighted the growing interest in engaging youth in the Arab world. Innovations in Civic Participation, which serves as the secretariat for the Talloires Network, is working to capitalize on this window of opportunity in the Middle East. ICP has partnered with the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement at the American University in Cairo to advance several initiatives to engage young people in the MENA region. This partnership is currently focusing on three major initiatives: the Ma’an Arab University Alliance for Civic Engagement; a youth community engagement asset mapping project; and the 9th International Association for National Youth Service (IANYS) Global Conference to be held in Alexandria, Egypt, in October 2010. Each of these projects addresses challenges facing the region by building the field of youth community engagement.

The Ma’an Arab University Alliance for Civic Engagement was launched in October 2008, when the Talloires Network partnered with the Gerhart Center to host a regional conference that brought together administrators, faculty, and students from universities across the region to share their experiences of community engagement, explore new approaches, and address obstacles in a systematic way. The Gerhart Center, in collaboration with the Talloires Network, has taken the lead in launching the Ma'an Alliance, which aims to strengthen the community engagement activities of members in the Arab world; demonstrate the impacts of these activities; advance dialogue on the civic roles of universities; disseminate materials and publications in Arabic and English; and plan regional conferences and trainings.

ICP and the Gerhart Center are also undertaking an asset mapping study of youth community engagement programs in the MENA region. The study will provide an overview of existing conditions, highlighting strengths and revealing gaps. Throughout the region, studies, reports and organizational databases on youth programs and policy have been developed in small and disconnected efforts. As such, ICP and the Gerhart Center will bring together the various studies, reports and databases, and organize them through a lens of youth needs and perceptions to facilitate greater utility and analytic potential. The initial phase, supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation, will engage researchers in Egypt, Lebanon, and Palestine. In a second phase, ICP and the Gerhart Center will expand the research to additional countries to allow for greater representation of the diversity of Arab countries in the region. The knowledge created by such a tool can be regularly updated and amended. This mapping research aims at creating a picture of what youth community engagement organizations and programs exist, the policy environment in which they operate, how they are implemented, and what kind of impact they have. The information collected will feed into an online regional database accessible to policy, research, and donor communities. This database will strive to encourage learning, collaboration and future partnerships in support of youth community engagement in the region.

Finally, the 9th International Association of National Youth Service (IANYS) Global Conference will be held at the Library of Alexandria in Egypt the 25th-28th of October 2010. ICP, as the IANYS permanent secretariat, is working with the Gerhart Center and the Library of Alexandria to plan and implement this conference. IANYS is a global network of professionals working to promote youth service around the world. One of the central activities of IANYS is the Global Conference on National Youth Service, held every two years, that provides youth service practitioners and policymakers with a stimulating forum to share information and current developments in the field, nurture connections for developing future projects, and discuss the potential for scaling up national youth service for greater impact on community and youth development. Holding the 9th Global Conference in Alexandria will bring many benefits to the MENA region, as it will provide a great opportunity for increased networking and collaboration among stakeholders in the region who will then be able to use the ideas and knowledge that they have gained to spur the growth of youth service programs in their own countries. It will also provide an opportunity for regional stakeholders to learn from other policymakers, practitioners and researchers from around the world. Furthermore, holding the IANYS Conference in the Middle East will draw considerable attention to youth community engagement in the region. Registration for the conference will open in April. More information will be available soon at www.icicp.org/ianys

The time is right to invest in youth community engagement as a strategy for addressing a range of challenges facing MENA societies. The youth bulge that is currently peaking presents both a challenge and an enormous opportunity, and the current public focus on youth in the region will make policymakers and other stakeholders more receptive to supporting youth engagement programs. Providing young people with meaningful opportunities for community engagement will furnish them with the skills they need to be competitive in today’s labor markets and will increase their sense of social responsibility and citizenship. It will also take advantage of the vast human capital created by the youth bulge to address broader social challenges such as poverty and lack of economic development.

Through the Ma’an Arab University Alliance for Civic Engagement, the youth community engagement asset mapping project, and the 9th IANYS Global Conference, ICP and the Gerhart Center will raise the profile of youth community engagement as a strategy for economic and social development and put it on the agenda of stakeholders across the region. These initiatives will provide opportunities for research, professional development, networking, and exchange of ideas among policymakers and practitioners in the Middle East, as well as opportunities for connecting with their peers globally. Ultimately, these initiatives will contribute to economic and social development across the MENA region.

CGI U. – Helping young people “tackle tomorrow’s challenges today”

2010-03-12T16:47:00.003-05:00

“People are inherently generous…and…the only thing most of us are looking for is an opportunity to make a difference.” Realizing that many citizens of our increasingly globalized world share this sentiment, former U.S. President William J. Clinton has provided a unique opportunity for individuals to join one another in achieving their goal of making a difference. With the establishment of the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U.), the Clinton Foundation has created a space for university students, faculty, and citizens of the world to come together to share service projects and learn new ways of taking action within their communities.

The Clinton Global Initiative University was created as an extension of the Clinton Global Initiative to bring together socially responsible students from various universities to discover ways in which they can face challenges of the world today. In his article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Clinton introduced CGI U. as a way for students to transform “awareness into action.” Through CGI U., students can engage in dialogues with social entrepreneurs, directors of nonprofit organizations, academics, activists and philanthropists to discuss issues regarding poverty and hunger, public health, climate change, education, and human rights. Participants of CGI U. forge lasting connections with individuals and organizations committed to improving their campus communities, local communities, and communities around the world.

The third annual CGI U. Meeting will be hosted April 16-18, 2010 by the University of Miami. Based on their exceptional Commitments to Action, approximately 1,500 students and university representatives have been invited to attend the event. Over the course of three days, members of CGI U. will participate in strategic planning sessions, skill development workshops, and presentations addressing various global challenges. The meeting will conclude with a participant-wide service project, putting skills learned throughout the conference into action.

By providing this opportunity for members of the higher education community, President Clinton hopes that he and his colleagues, who have “more yesterdays than tomorrows[,] can help…cultivat[e] the talent, creativity, and energy of young people and help…focus them on making a difference in the lives of others.” By working with leaders of today, university students learn how they can make an impact on today’s society as well as how they will confront issues as leaders of tomorrow.

To learn more about how you can make your own Commitment to Action, please visit CGI U.’s website. Applications for the 2010 CGI U. Outstanding Commitments Awards are now available. The final deadline is April 23, 2010.

Jordan's Youth: The key to society's future

2010-03-10T15:34:00.002-05:00

It appears that Queen Rania isn’t the only Jordanian political figure urging youth to get involved in society. According to the Jordan Times, last Tuesday the Ministry of Political Development and the Higher Council for Youth (HCY) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that focused on strengthening youth participation in the public sector. Specifically, the MoU called for greater political involvement on behalf of Jordan’s young people.

The Ministry of Political Development and Higher Council for Youth hosted a youth club forum to introduce their new initiative. During the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Faisal Fayez emphasized youth’s vital role in the political development of Jordan. He encouraged organizations to provide opportunities for their members to serve in the public sector and to make their presence known throughout the community.

Also during this ceremony, Minister of Political Development Musa Maaytah made remarks on Jordan’s expanding efforts to provide young people “with the appropriate tools to develop their abilities.” This sentiment resonates throughout the country, as more institutions are promoting the idea of youth service as a function of helping the community as well as advancing technical skills.

Universities in Jordan have become increasingly aware of the need for student involvement in the community. According to USAID, Jordan’s educational system faces great challenges in its ability to connect education acquired in the classroom to skills required in the workplace. Acknowledging the fact that they are training future leaders, many universities have established offices devoted to providing students with opportunities to engage in their communities while enhancing technical and social skills.

The University of Jordan, one of the first universities to establish an office of this nature, has made conscious efforts towards shaping civically engaged students. In August 12, 2002, community service became a mandatory requirement in order to obtain a bachelor’s degree. The goal of the Community Service Office and its requirements is to foster a “spirit of citizenship” and make students aware of the needs of their community. The university’s efforts to empower its students are representative of the universal trend of youth participation throughout Jordan. With the combined efforts of state ministries and higher education institutions, younger generations of Jordanians are being prepared to take responsibility for the development of their country.

With nearly three-quarters of Jordan’s population made up of young people—42.2 percent under the age of 15 and 31.4 percent between the ages of 15 and 29—Jordanian officials have recognized that the youth of today are influential actors in society’s development. Promoting service programs not only helps to develop skills of leaders for tomorrow but it also assists with improving communities today.

Celebrating Women, Celebrating Civic Engagement: A message from Queen Rania of Jordan

2010-03-09T09:40:00.006-05:00

In celebration of International Women’s Day, this article places a spotlight on one female leader who has had a great deal of influence on civic engagement in the Middle East. Recently, the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy & Civic Engagement at the American University in Cairo hosted Jordan's Queen Rania Al-Abdullah, who spoke to students about their impact in society and the difference they can make in the larger community. The objective of Queen Rania's speech was to encourage students to realize the kind of difference they can make in society and take advantage of attending a university that provides support for civic engagement and community service.

Her majesty started her speech with a story that symbolizes where civic engagement and understanding can start. The story itself can be considered a celebration of women making a difference in the world, as it involves a young girl who wanted to change the living conditions of a less fortunate community. The story begins with Raghda visiting an elderly community outside of central Cairo. Raghda met a woman who invited the girl into her home. What Raghda saw when she stepped inside was nothing like what she had expected. Raghda, accustomed to a very comfortable lifestyle, could not believe a family of eight was living in a one-room home with no floor and no ceiling. When she looked up at what should have been the ceiling, the girl saw a blue sky. At this moment, Raghda realized that something must be done to improve these unsatisfactory living conditions. She felt a responsibility to help these families in need. After having this experience, Raghda El Ebrashi, who is also an AUC alumna, founded Alashanek Ya Balady, an organization that helps families rise above poverty.

(Coincidentally, Queen Rania is not the only one who recognizes Raghda’s dedication to civic engagement. Last year, the Talloires Network awarded Alashanek Ya Balady third place for the MacJannet Prize 2009. To learn more about the program, click here.)

The story showed students of AUC that they have the capability to help those in need; they simply must have the will to put those capabilities to use. And, being students at an institute of higher education provides them the opportunity to implement that will. In her speech, her majesty proclaimed, “Our universities must be incubators of this social blue sky thinking.” The American University in Cairo has embraced this duty, promoting community amongst its students and allowing “social practice [to take] its place alongside academic theory.” AUC has taken steps towards fostering greater social recognition and development amongst its students, and the Queen wants other universities to do the same.

Queen Rania addressed the importance of service-learning in the education system. Service-based learning initiatives are gaining more ground in universities worldwide. The Corporation for National and Community Service of the United States, a country that has had one of the longest histories in implementing this initiative, defines service-learning as “a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.” Institutes of higher education have adopted this approach of a new system of learning, creating comprehensive curricula that engage both academics and service alike.

AUC has also contributed tremendously to this trend. The Gerhart Center, responsible for providing this speaking opportunity, has been instrumental in promoting civic engagement amongst its students. Its mission is to serve as a "source of knowledge, a cultivator of partnerships, and a catalyst for innovation, community engagement and a heightened sense of citizenship and social responsibility." Through its efforts in civic engagement, Arab philanthropy, and research and outreach, the Gerhart Center has become a significant resource at the American University in Cairo, assisting students in becoming responsible citizens of the world. The university also offers community-based academic courses, aiming to make “community service an integral part of the students learning experience.” Queen Rania encouraged the AUC to continue to embrace service-learning and civic participation “so students can balance their quest for a career with their call to help others” and serve as a model for other universities in the Middle East.

Queen Rania has become a major proponent of citizens engaging in community service efforts in their communities. She has used her title and influence to spread this message throughout the Middle East, encouraging citizens to share “a sense of duty and pride in promoting the common good.” Because of her international efforts to enhance the role of citizenship, Queen Rania certainly is one of many women worth celebrating on today’s holiday.

To learn more about International Women’s Day, please visit the website.

President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll 2009

2010-03-08T16:24:00.002-05:00

The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, launched in 2006, annually recognizes institutions of higher education for their commitment to and achievement in community service. The President’s Honor Roll increases the public’s awareness of the contributions that colleges and their students make to local communities and the nation as a whole. 25 US members of the Talloires Network made the 2009 Honor Roll. The following Talloires Network members made last year's Honor Roll:

Honor Roll with Distinction
California State University, Fresno
Occidental College
Wartburg College
Tulane University
Augsburg College
Keuka College
New York University
Syracuse University
Portland State University

Honor Roll
Pitzer College
Georgetown University
Indiana University Purdue University, Indianapolis
Berea College
Tufts University
University of Minnesota
Winona State University
Cottey College
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Long Island University
Wagner College
Duke University
Defiance College
Inter American University of Puerto Rico
Lincoln Memorial University
University of Richmond

Learn more at the Learn and Serve America website>>

MacJannet Prize 2010 Call for Nominations!

2009-10-29T15:35:00.002-04:00

The Talloires Network and the MacJannet Foundation are pleased to announce the second annual MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship and call for nominations of exceptional student civic engagement programs at Talloires Network member institutions.

The MacJannet Prize recognizes exceptional student civic engagement initiatives based in Talloires Network member universities around the world and contributes financially to their ongoing public service efforts. It is a program of The MacJannet Foundation, committed to building a community of global citizens, and the Talloires Network, dedicated to promoting the civic roles and social responsibilities of higher education.

Eight prizes will be awarded in 2010, one (1) First Prize of $5,000, two (2) Second Prizes of $2,500 each, and five (5) Third Prizes of $1,000 each. Prize money will be used to further the goals and strengthen the impact of the awarded programs. Winning programs will demonstrate exemplary service in addressing an issue of global significance such as threats to public health in the developing world, efforts to promote literacy, or assisting the economic development of distressed communities.

Only programs originating from member institutions of the Talloires Network are eligible for the Prize. To be considered, programs must be nominated by December 15, 2009. Nominations will be accepted from students, faculty, staff, or administrators at member institutions. Leaders of higher education institutions around the world are invited and encouraged to join the Talloires Network.

To learn more or nominate a program, visit our website>>

Pres. Obama and former Pres. George H.W. Bush speak at Texas A & M forum

2009-10-20T12:02:00.003-04:00

President Obama and former President George H.W. Bush came together to promote public service on Friday at a Presidential forum at Texas A & M University. This event marked Bush's "thousand point of light" volunteer program from his time in office. Obama aims to expand and further grow the spirit of volunteerism and service in the country. In April, he signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, tripling the size of AmeriCorps programs, and he launched the "United We Serve" campaign that ended with a national day of service on the anniversary of the Sept. 11th attacks. He vows to continue to make community service a key priority during his presidency.
See the video and transcript>>
Obama, leaders speak on service at Texas A & M>>
Presidents Obama and George H.W. Bush: Building Bridges Through Service
Obama urges people to serve their communities>>

Strathmore University Reaches out to Local School

2009-09-16T11:50:00.003-04:00

11 students and three staff members from Strathmore University's Community Outreach Program (COP) traveled to Uref Primary School in Ugenya District of Nyanza Province on 19th August for a three day work camp. The objective of the camp was to construct 70 desks for the school. The camp was sponsored by students of Retamar School in Spain.

Typical of rural Kenya, Uref has no mains electricity and piped water. But students at the school were further inconvenienced by the fact that they had no desks and were sitting on the floor during class.

Work to produce the 70 desks began promptly at 8.30am on 20th August. Carpenters were at hand to direct the apprentices from COP. After a fifteen minute crash course on how to use a saw and hammer, work began in earnest. By mid-day, the team had learnt a few tricks on how to use the tools. By lunch time, the carpentry green horns had learnt a few tricks of the craft.

The first job was to saw the timber to the necessary sizes before they were joined. Fortunately, the news of the work camp had travelled far and wide and three young men materialised at the scene with a power saw. A parent of the school who owns a timber yard put the gentlemen at the disposal of COP to assist in the work at his own cost. They sawed the wood and the task was done by the end of the day.

With the timber cut, the team hammered away, first making the vertical sides, then joining them to the horizontal sitting and writing surfaces. Giuda Taddeo and Kenneth Kariuki were at hand to polish off the surfaces.

At the end of Friday, 21st August, there were 30 units ready for varnishing and a few hammered fingers. After supper, the team retired to the tents that what would be its residence for the next two days. The villagers could not understand why the campers declined offer of accommodation in their houses. They didn't understand that sleeping in tents was part of the adventure.

The third day went pretty much the same as the second and by 5.30pm, there were 72 complete desks. A treat was in order after the task was completed. Cornelius Odhiambo, a village elder took the team to River Nzoia and explained the plans to build a hydro power plant there. The team then drove to Busia, and spent time in Uganda.

The team returned to a feast set by the school board which was very appreciative of the assistance. Speaking on behalf of the board, Mr Dickson Odhiambo gave credit to the students of Strathmore who he said were learning to be true leaders.

This article by Brian Njoroge originally appeared on the Strathmore University website>>

Disarmament Movement Needs Youth Involvement to Counter Cynicism

2009-08-06T16:20:00.000-04:00

The following article argues that it's youth-- especially those on college campuses-- that can make a difference in the disarmament movement.

Written by Johan Bergenas. World Politics Review, July 30 2009.
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=4136

President Barack Obama's lofty pursuit of a world without nuclear weapons is off to a peculiar start. But the main reasons are not Kim Jong-il's nuclear saber-rattling on the Korean peninsula, the centrifuges continuing to spin in Iran, or even the political and technical reasons that skeptics highlight to mock President Obama's decision to recommit the U.S. to eliminating nuclear arsenals around the world.

Instead, the twin Achilles' heels of the "no nukes" quest are that patience, rather than urgency, is the prevailing attitude, and that the disarmament community has failed to engage youth movements as an antidote to the cynicism that permeates the entire debate.

While stating "clearly and with conviction" America's commitment to ridding the world of nuclear weapons, President Obama has stressed "patience" as a key component moving forward. But patience is a weak guiding principle when trying to achieve great things, and emphasizing it vis-à-vis nuclear disarmament is in stark contrast to the president's rhetoric as a White House candidate. On the campaign trail, then-Sen. Obama spoke of "the fierce urgency of now" in addressing the most pressing national and international challenges.

To ask for urgency in moving toward zero nuclear weapons is not to say that the path from where we are today to a world without these destructive arms will be short and pain-free. But if the end goal really is to eliminate global nuclear arsenals, then to accept that it will be achieved "perhaps not in my lifetime," as Obama has said, is not so far from the fatalism he warned against in his April 2009 Prague speech.

Passivity about a world without nuclear weapons is a chronic condition and often results in cynicism, which Joseph Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, calls the greatest obstacle to the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons. Cirincione recently called youth "the counter to cynicism," but the disarmament community, to a great extent, currently lacks a strong, broad and engaged youth constituency to support their work.

Cirincione is not the only high-profile authority in the field to recognize the value and need for a youth infusion. During the international Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission's concluding session in Washington this spring, Hans Blix -- former chairman of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission -- looked out over the half-empty room and noted that had the meeting been about global warming, it would likely have been teeming with younger people. Marching against global warming is fine, Blix said, but realizing that there is more then one "inconvenient truth" is crucial, he urged.

The lack of involvement by young people is a significant problem because, although the leaders and experts who were born, raised and socialized in the Cold War environment possess knowledge and experience, pushing back against political inertia and fighting cynicism have historically been achieved by the world's youth.

Fueled by their optimism and even opportunism -- much to gain, little to lose -- youth populations have defied tyrants, overthrown oppressive regimes and torn down theoretically impenetrable walls. In the last few years, youth groups have been essential to put the genocide in Darfur and climate change on the political map, and most recently the cohort helped America reject the cynical assumption that an African-American would never make it to the White House.

President Obama, too, stressed the power of youth in his recent Cairo speech, where he said that "if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward. . . . [Youth] more than anyone, have the ability to re-imagine the world, to remake this world." There is no reason to believe that the disarmament community -- fueled by moral conviction, confronted with a significant national and international security threat, and powered by a sitting U.S. president who himself has benefited greatly from youth movements -- cannot capitalize on this obvious source of energy to raise awareness, create political pressure and reject errant policies of the past. The success of the "zero nukes" movement is tied to its ability to reach this group.

How can this be done in practice?

Besides trying to widen and deepen nonproliferation, arms control and disarmament education on college campuses, initial practical steps that are in the hands of the disarmament movement can be taken to mobilize students.

First, George Shultz, William Perry, Henry Kissinger and Sam Nunn, who through their January 2007 Wall Street Journal op-ed revitalized the disarmament debate, could embark on a college lecture tour, bringing their message to students at college campuses all across the U.S. Their status and prestige would generate significant buzz at universities, and help move beyond the all-too-familiar political bickering currently poisoning the debate. While on the road, the four statesmen should encourage students to start local disarmament chapters and discussion groups and, in so doing, create a national network of committed activists.

Similar outreach campaigns can be carried out in other parts of the world -- for example, in Britain, where Douglas Hurd, Malcolm Rifkind, David Owen and George Robertson, wrote an op-ed on the same subject for the Times of London in June 2008. Russian leaders, including former President Mikhail Gorbachev, have also spoken out in favor of eliminating nuclear weapons worldwide and can play an analogous role to energize youth in Russia and beyond.

Second, the disarmament movement must increase youth representation -- currently largely absent -- at disarmament events, to make sure that this vital group gets a voice and a seat at the table during political, policy and educational forums. Policymakers, experts and educators must make a concerted effort to make sure the younger generation is not shut out of this process, lest it become as disillusioned about the end goal as their predecessors seem to be.

In short, the unconditional and urgent commitment to a world without nuclear weapons is the sine qua non of achieving it as a goal. Only a grassroots youth movement, one free from Cold War-era assumptions about nuclear weapons' centrality to national and international security, can power such an effort.

Student Discussion Series: Summary of Discussion 2

2009-07-29T11:01:00.004-04:00

The Talloires Network hosted another successful discussion among students from around the world, including our Student Peer Advisors. Participants read excerpts from two texts:
• The Community Tool Box: Developing a Strategic Plan
• The Citizen's Handbook: Planning

This provided a common framework and a good starting point for the discussion. Discussion participants offered their definitions of strategic planning, and suggested using frameworks such as a SWOT analysis to ensure that a project’s goals are clear and its activities sustainable.

Several students agreed that strategic planning is crucial for ensuring that a project is successful, and emphasized that the planning process works best when it is inclusive. This can be accomplished by dividing into committees, for example. Strategic planning can also be made into a fun and dynamic process by including games and group activities.

In addition to determining your organization’s vision, mission, and objectives, our Student Peer Advisors recommended:
• Conducting a needs analysis
• Setting an agenda for strategic planning meetings
• Ensuring that volunteers feel a sense of ownership over the project
• Dividing up tasks and giving volunteers responsibilities
• Creating clear objectives with deliverable outcomes and deadlines
• Collaborating with other organizations
• Asking professors for assistance and expertise

Participants found that the approaches to strategic planning suggested by the readings, such as the VMOSA strategy, are helpful. Several noted, however, that the results of strategic planning are not set in stone. Organizations and their leaders need to be flexible and willing to adapt their objectives and approaches. Using such analyses as VMOSA and SWOT is helpful, but it is the interest and dedication of the people involved in the project that are the driving forces. Planning is important, but so is action!

MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship Honors Innovative University Service Programs

2009-07-02T10:30:00.003-04:00

On June 6, eight innovative higher education programs were recognized by the MacJannet Foundation and Talloires Network for their positive university and community impact. Leaders of universities and student representatives gathered in Talloires, France, to award these extraordinary programs the MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship. The winners were previously announced on April 16 after careful review by a selection committee of leaders in higher education civic engagement. Video of the prize winners can be seen here. And the eight programs are listed here.

The first prize went to the Urban Health Program from Aga Khan University in Pakistan, which is recognized by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) grant for Universities in Solidarity for the Health of Disadvantaged Communities (UNI-SOL). This long-standing program provides health and socio-economic support to the residents of the squatter communities in Karachi, Pakistan.

Dr. Muhammed Yousuf of Aga Khan University commented that the “main objective is to provide teaching and learning that is important to medical students to learn about the community dynamics and social issues in Karachi.”

University students at Theewaterskloof International Community Development Project in South Africa design service projects addressing community needs.

Theewaterskloof International Community Development Project was one of the two second prize winners. The project is a cross cultural collaboration between Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa and HAN University in the Netherlands.

Students from the respective universities work together to design service projects in their own area of studies after identifying certain community needs.

Student representative Fattinald Phaka Rangango described the program as one that “creates an environment where we can interact and share experiences – cultural experiences” and it had “brought in a new perspective of how institutions approach community engagement.”

The Operation 7th Day program at Université Saint-Joseph in Lebanon began providing emergency relief following the Israel-Lebanon war in 2006, before expanding into a national scale effort.

The other second prize winner went to Operation 7th Day from Université Saint-Joseph in Lebanon (USJ). The operation began after the Israel-Lebanon war in 2006 and provided emergency relief for surrounding communities in South Lebanon. Social Animator in USJ’s Social Service directorate Gloria Abdo explained that Operation 7^th Day continues “to offer health care for the displaced and education activities and civil engineering activities.” This program in collaboration with NGOs, student and faculty has expanded the initiatives beyond South Lebanon onto national scale efforts.

Rangango from the Theewaterskloof International Community Development Project asks “Do you drop those people that you brought so much hope to and continue and get your degree and leave? Or do you actually go back and say you’re still here for them, for the purpose of sustainability?” Undoubtedly, these programs have affected students and faculty in the long-term. Dr. Yousuf said that their Urban Health Program has “laid a road to help students and expose them to community issues and problems”, and many students have been inspired to choose public health as their future careers. Student Joëlle Hobeika of Operation 7^th Day commented that the program helps them in long-term studies.

Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, founding President of Aga Khan University and a member of the Talloires Network Steering Committee discussed the value of the Talloires Network and the MacJannet Prize: “It has enabled its members to learn from each other about the value, importance and methodology of engaging with the communities in which they function. Such direct engagement in the community is an important means of universities discharging their obligations to societies that have nurtured and sustained them.”

For more information, please visit the Talloires Network and MacJannet Foundation. Keep an eye out for the Talloires 24 Student Discussion Series on July 20!

This article was written by Alice Wu and first appeared in The New Service blog.

First Talloires 24 Student Discussion a Success

2009-06-18T10:53:00.002-04:00

One June 17, the Talloires Network hosted our first in a series of student discussions on the Talloires 24 Discussion Forum. We addressed the introductory topics “What is civic engagement?” and “How can students initiate a civic engagement project?” The discussion was open to the Talloires Network Student Peer Advisors and any other interested students, with 23 students participating in this first discussion. Members of the Talloires Network Secretariat staff also contributed.

The students had a wide-ranging discussion about university civic engagement and how to implement it. Various definitions and facets of civic engagement were suggested. Civic engagement can be both individual and collective action to address a major concern for society, or to address the needs of a particular segment of the society. It should promote peace and social solidarity, a sense of belonging, and awareness among the communities served as well as those who are undertaking the civic engagement projects. The point was made that it should not just address symptoms of social problems, but root causes. Participants agreed that civic engagement may differ in practice from region to region based on local needs and resources, but that the same factors motivate civic engagement around the world, namely a sense of commitment to society and a desire to support the development of communities.

The participants also discussed things to consider when initiating a civic engagement project, including: Identifying the needs of the communities and one’s resources to address those needs, working to understand the society/community you wish to engage with, being realistic about how much time one has to devote to the project, developing a plan of action with specific goals, working with existing organizations and frameworks when possible, getting community buy-in and ownership for the project, planning for project sustainability and continuity, recruiting and training volunteers, and thinking about how to work with a community as an ‘outsider.’

This first Talloires 24 discussion was an auspicious start to the series, and we are looking forward to our next chat on July 20. Students who are interested in getting involved can visit our Student Initiative pages, Discussion Forum, Student Peer Advisor page, and Student Facebook Group. You may also contact Hannah Ayers or John Pollock with any questions.

Tapping the Greatest Resource for University Civic Engagement - Students

2009-06-11T14:22:00.005-04:00

Until recently, the Talloires Network has focused mainly on university administrations and faculty, because it is vital that these stakeholders support civic engagement as part of the mission of higher education. However, we also recognize that the greatest resource that universities have to positively impact their communities is their students. As demonstrated by the successful first year of the MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship, student participation and initiative is critical to the success of university civic engagement programs all over the world. Therefore, the Talloires Network is now making a concerted effort to involve students at our member institutions and become a resource for students who are active in, or wish to be active in, civic engagement activities.

One of the key roles that the Network plays is to connect people from around the world with interests in civic engagement. We recognize that there are many students at our member institutions with diverse and extensive experience founding, leading, and participating in university civic engagement programs. Therefore, we have instituted the Student Peer Advisor (SPA) program to make some of our most involved students available to their peers to give advice and support. Visit our Student Peer Advisor page to learn more about these exceptional students. These students went through a competitive application process to be selected as SPAs, and they have committed to serve in this position for one year.

Students who are interested in seeking advice or exchanging ideas with like-minded peers around the world are encouraged to contact our Student Peer Advisors. To further facilitate communication and exchange, the Talloires Network has also created a Discussion Forum. With active participation from our SPAs, other interested students, and Talloires Network staff, we hope that this Forum will become a valuable resource for students eager to connect with their peers. Through our Talloires 24 Student Discussion Series, we will discuss specific topics related to higher education civic engagement each month. The first discussion in the Talloires 24 Series will be held on June 17 starting at 13:00 GMT and lasting for 24 hours, addressing the introductory topic: “What is civic engagement and how can students initiate a civic engagement project?” We encourage all interested students to take part in the discussion!

For more information on the Student Peer Advisor Program or the Talloires 24 Student Discussion Series, please contact John Pollock.

MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship to be Presented at Award Ceremony in Talloires, France

2009-06-03T14:52:00.000-04:00

The Talloires Network and the MacJannet Foundation will present the first annual MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship at an award ceremony on June 6 at the Tufts European Center in Talloires, France. The Prize winners were announced on April 16 after a Selection Committee of leaders in higher education civic engagement reviewed the 67 applications.

First prize is being awarded to the Urban Health Program at Aga Khan University in Pakistan. The two second prizes are being awarded to Opération 7ème Jour (Operation 7th Day) at the Université Saint-Joseph in Lebanon and the Theewaterskloof International Community Development Project at Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa. The third place winners are:
• Alashanek Ya Balady (American University in Cairo in Egypt)
• Assistance Program for Local Development (Universidad Señor de Sipan, Peru)
• The Human Rights Clinic (Al-Quds University, Palestine)
• Playing for Time Theatre Company (University of Winchester, United Kingdom)
• Women Legal Leaders & Legal Feminism Clinic (University of Haifa, Israel)

The Talloires Network will be flying two representatives from each of the first and second place winners to receive their awards in person at the award ceremony in Talloires. The Urban Health Program at Aga Khan University will be represented by Dr. Muhammad Yousuf, Principal Coordinator of the UHP, and Maliha Naseer, a Community Medicine Resident in the UHP. Opération 7ème Jour will be represented by Ms. Gloria Abdo, Social Animator in USJ’s Social Service directorate, and Ms. Joëlle Hobeika, a medical student at USJ active in Opération 7ème Jour. The Theewaterskloof International Community Development Project will be represented by Prof. Lineo Vuyisa Mazwi-Tanga, Vice-Chancellor of Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and Fattinald Rangongo, a student in CPUT’s Department of Entrepreneurship and active participant in the Development Project. Also participating in the ceremony will be several members of the Talloires Network secretariat staff as well as officials from the MacJannet Foundation Board.

Members of the Talloires Network secretariat staff will also participate in the ceremony. Professor Robert Hollister, Dean of the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University, Susan Stroud, Executive Director of Innovations in Civic Participation, and Elizabeth Babcock, Coordinator of the Talloires Network, will all share their knowledge of higher education civic engagement with award winners. Tony Cook, President of the MacJannet Foundation, will also engage with award winners and offer his perspective on the role of the MacJannet Foundation in promoting global citizenship.

In addition to the award ceremony, representatives of the winning programs will have the opportunity to meet and discuss ideas with one another and with the Talloires Network and MacJannet Foundation staff. The Talloires Network will be holding several capacity-building workshops on topics such as fundraising, program management, and working with students in order to help the representatives gain new ideas and skills to take back to their programs.

The Talloires Network is also pleased to be partnering with the Pearson Foundation to produce a short video of interviews with the program representatives to be shown at the award ceremony and also posted on the MacJannet Prize website. The Pearson Foundation is sending several of its staff to film and edit this video with the program representatives the day before the award ceremony. As the philanthropic arm of Pearson plc, one of the world's leading media and education companies, the Pearson Foundation extends Pearson’s commitment to education by partnering with leading nonprofit, civic, and business organizations to provide financial, organizational, and publishing assistance across the globe.

The award ceremony and the other activities for the winning programs’ representatives will take place at the Tufts University European Center, which is based at the historic Priory in Talloires, France. Located on the scenic shore of Lake Annecy less than an hour from Geneva, the Priory was given to Tufts University by Donald and Charlotte MacJannet to host students studying abroad as well as international conferences and seminars. The Priory also hosted the Talloires Conference 2005, which gave rise to the Talloires Declaration on the Civic Roles and Social Responsibilities of Higher Education and the launch of the Talloires Network.

Why do we care?

2009-05-27T14:31:00.004-04:00

The following remarks were given on April 30 2009 by Lisa Anderson, Provost of the American University in Cairo, at the Gerhart Center Advisory Board Meeting

"The underlying premise of philanthropy and of civic engagement is that it is important that we care about something beyond ourselves, that we act on that concern and that we teach others to do so.

I would wager that everyone in this room thinks those propositions are self evident. But I would also bet that, although some of us have thought about how philanthropy and civic engagement should be fostered, very few of us have reflected very deeply or long on why. Most of us refer, without a great deal of thought, to religious obligations, family traditions, cultural imperatives—all of which are important. Indeed, even now I routinely do what my mother told me to do fifty years ago, and I have no doubt that I will go to my grave honoring her dictates, as I hope my own children will do.

But why does it matter? And what investment does a university have?

Well, let us start with the fact that I identified my mother as an important animator of my own concern with the well-being of others. We begin with our families—immediate, extended, fictive, proxy, metaphorical. We care about those whom we believe to be, or can describe as, related to us.

Over the course of human history, and certainly over the course of individual biographies, the extent of those relations expands. From the relatively tiny families of early human history and of our youth, we have grown, individually and collectively, to see ourselves embedded in worlds beyond our homes and our localities, in vast and far-flung religious communities, in the “imagined communities” of print capitalism that produced nationalisms, and—increasingly—in social networks defined, or at least fostered, by new information technologies. The capacity to imagine ourselves related, in nontrivial ways, to people—and perhaps even things—we will never actually encounter is one of the essential features of the modern human experience, and it is the foundation of the concern—the philanthropy and civic engagement—to which the Gerhart Center is devoted.

What is interesting about this moment in history is how rapidly the societies that will both reflect and foster those networks of relation and concern are changing, both in scale and structure. Much of the last two centuries have been devoted to the construction and contestation of the state as the organizing mechanism of mutual concern. The welfare state--in Europe, North America, Egypt and virtually everywhere else—was a device for mobilizing concern, for realizing and activating mutual responsibilities. My responsibility to others as a citizen was a constitutive feature of that state and of the distribution of resources—time and money—that was one of the important foundations of social welfare.

The flaws, or limitations, of the welfare state—its bureaucratic bulk, its lumbering and clumsy suppression of the light-hearted, nimble, joyful embrace of human ingenuity—produced a backlash, and for a quarter century or more, we celebrated the isolated, individualistic and selfish “magic of the market.” Prosperity was to have been an externality of selfishness, and the rising tide, as the cliché went, would raise all boats. In fact, as the global crises of the last few years—the steep rise in commodity prices, the threat of financial collapse, even perhaps the looming pandemic—starkly illustrated, altruism and indeed, welfare are barely visible in the traces of the market.

Today, we are both released and unmoored—neither the state nor the market provides the anchor in social responsibilities without which we all become unfastened, from our societies and communities. At the same time, however, I think we can begin to see the faint outlines of an alternative—embedded in the new technologies which shape our daily interactions but not entirely defined by them. And here I think nodes like the Gerhart Center play a role even more important than we fully understand.

Our identities will increasingly be the elective families of what our children, and certainly our students, call “social networks,” and these communities will be both the constitutive elements of our identities, and the vehicles by which we express our concern for others—particularly those whom we will never actually encounter. These networks will have less hierarchy than states and more cohesion than markets, less anonymity than the faceless bureaucracy, and more autonomy than the intimate household, and more flexibility than any of these alternatives.

We care because we imagine ourselves related—and in novel ways in two dimensions, space and time. Globalization has shrunk the world geographically—distances are shorter. This is not a novel observation. But it is worth considering that the underlying theory of sustainable development has also transformed time, obliging us to care about not only those who are distant in space but those who are distant in time; future generations.

In this context, it is important to recognize that universities—particularly universities like AUC-- play a pivotal role, negotiating not only between places and cultures but between generations.

Universities, and again particularly, places like AUC, are nodes in an emerging cross-national, cross-class, cross-generational network of relationships, of “families” about whom we care. All of which is to say, that the Gerhart Center, perhaps even more than those of us in this room, than those of us who animate and invigorate the Center, from John Gerhart himself, to Barbara Ibrahim, and Dina Sherif, and the Board members, and the staff and interns—all of us—more than any of us realize, is constructing the future.

The future is about networks of concern, about philanthropy and engagement, about mechanisms and vehicles for sustaining our fellow citizens—those who are with us and those who have yet to appear-- in this new world, this third sector beside and beyond the worlds of the state and the market. It is a complicated time, but heady too, as we all consider the opportunities we have at universities to shape the public debates of the day and the values of future generations. The Gerhart Center’s capacity to identify, animate and celebrate these networks of commitment, concern and community represents in real time an important window into this rapidly changing world, and it is an elegant token of the actual and potential contributions AUC makes to its world.

It is a privilege to be associated with institutions that play such a pivotal role in their communities, and I hope all of you are as inspired by the work of the Center and its staff as I am."

Talloires Network reaches 100 members worldwide

2009-05-18T12:23:00.002-04:00

On May 14, 2009, the Talloires Network reached 100 members when the University of Richmond signed the Talloires Declaration on the Civic Roles and Social Responsibilities of Higher Education and joined the Network. This represents an important milestone for the Talloires Network, an international association of institutions committed to strengthening the civic roles and social responsibilities of higher education, and to advancing the global movement of socially engaged universities.

In September 2005, President Lawrence Bacow of Tufts University convened the Talloires Conference 2005, the first international gathering of the heads of universities devoted to strengthening civic engagement in higher education. The meeting brought together 29 university presidents, rectors and vice chancellors from 23 countries.

These international leaders in higher education drafted the Talloires Declaration on the Civic Roles and Social Responsibilities of Higher Education. All signatories of the Declaration have committed their institutions to educating for social responsibility and civic engagement, and to strengthening the application of university resources to the needs of local and global communities. As stated by the Declaration, “Our institutions recognize that we do not exist in isolation from society, nor from the communities in which we are located. Instead, we carry a unique obligation to listen, understand and contribute to social transformation and development.”

One of the recommendations of the Declaration was to create an international network to inform and support all signatories’ efforts to carry out the Declaration. This recommendation was realized with the launch of the Talloires Network in 2005. The Network strives to build a global movement of civically engaged and socially responsible higher education institutions. The Network advocates for the expansion of civic engagement activities and promotes the most promising practices from its members and others in the field of higher education.
The Network accomplishes this in a number of ways. It gathers and disseminates the best resources and tools in the field; organizes regional and global conferences to share ideas, encourage collaboration and expand impact; recognizes and promotes members’ civic engagement activities; awards the annual MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship to exceptional student civic engagement programs; and facilitates the creation of regional networks of universities dedicated to civic engagement in order to make its work more relevant and driven by local contexts.

Since the 2005 Conference, the Talloires Network has expanded rapidly. The 100 members represent a diverse segment of higher education around the world, based in 38 countries on six continents. Membership includes 70 public and 30 private universities, 13 religious universities, five women’s colleges and universities, and four open universities specializing in distance and e-learning. Members’ student enrollments range from the hundreds to over one million, and the combined enrollment is nearly 3.5 million.

“The 100 members of the Talloires Network reflect the great diversity of higher education around the globe,” says President Bacow, who chairs the Talloires Network Steering Committee. “What has brought our institutions together is a shared commitment to advancing our civic roles and social responsibility. Every new member of the Network brings fresh ideas and resources from which all of us can learn.”

The number and diversity of membership illustrates the growing momentum of the global movement for socially engaged universities and for civic engagement of young people worldwide. There are more than 110 million students enrolled in higher education institutions, over half of which are in the developing world. This enormous cohort of talented and energetic young people, along with the academic, financial and technical assets of their universities, can have a huge positive impact on their local, regional and global communities. Increasingly, higher education institutions and their societies are recognizing the incredible potential universities have to confront social problems and drive local development. Now is the time to capitalize on this momentum and expand investment in opportunities for engaging universities and students for meeting critical community needs.

In engaging with their societies and gearing their teaching, research and service to concrete community needs, universities can also provide students with relevant and practical experiences that will make them more competitive in today’s labor markets, as well as instilling in them a sense of civic responsibility that will inform their actions throughout life. Thus, community engagement has joined teaching and research as one of the three pillars of the university’s mission in many parts of the world. Through the efforts of the Talloires Network and its growing membership, this recognition of the civic roles and social responsibilities of higher education will continue to grow, changing communities all over the world for the better.

* * *

Innovations in Civic Participation and the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University serve as the secretariat of the Talloires Network. For more information about the Network and how to join, please visit the Talloires Network website or contact Elizabeth Babcock, the Talloires Network Coordinator by email (babcock@icicp.org) or phone (202-775-0290).

Charles Darwin University: “Community garden gets the green light”

2009-05-08T10:20:00.002-04:00

The following article, originally published by CDU's newsroom, highlights the latest progress made by the university's Talloires student group:

Members of the CDU Talloires student group from Charles Darwin University are moving forward with their plans to establish a community garden at the Casuarina campus.

CDU Talloires is a new student group committed to engaging with the community in interesting and innovative projects that are sustainable, ethical and forward-thinking.

Community gardens are recognised worldwide as a great way to grow food, improve health, meet people and cultivate vibrant communities.

With a current one year waiting list for the nearby Jingili Community Garden, CDU Talloires seized the opportunity to set up a garden at Charles Darwin University.

CDU Talloires member Leah Galvin said that creating community gardens was a great way to connect with community members and in turn share knowledge.

“We can learn the skills to grow food that's appropriate to our climate and reduce our reliance on importing and transporting food from all around Australia, and it’s about having fun and being outside in the garden,” she said.

Last year, former Vice-Chancellor Professor Helen Garnett met with CDU Talloires and together with Darwin City Council, approved the proposed site on Lakeside Drive. In addition, Professor Garnett provided CDU Talloires with a grant for $5000 to assist in seeding the project.

With the assistance of the CDU Horticulture Team, Grounds Supervisor, Nerida Noble and Coordinator Community Engagement, Linda Cuttriss, students have collected and tested soil samples to ensure suitability of the site and were thrilled to find they revealed that the soil is suitable for growing fruit and vegetables.

Anjea Travers, a CDU Talloires member, said they were a little worried that the soil might be too high in salinity to grow food but when they found out it was ok they were really excited.

CDU Talloires will now work towards securing sponsorship for connection of water to the site and establishing a steering committee to begin formal planning and decision making about how the garden will operate.

Local community members, CDU staff and students with knowledge of community gardens are invited to participate in the planning process.

To get involved or for further information about the CDU Talloires student group, please contact Linda Cuttriss, Coordinator Community Engagement on (08) 8946 6336 or linda.cuttriss@cdu.edu.au

For the CDU Talloires website go to: http://www.cdu.edu.au/communityandaccess/communityengagement/talloires/index.html

Congratulations to the winners of the first MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship!

2009-04-15T14:01:00.005-04:00

First place winner, receiving $5,000:
The Urban Health Program based in Aga Khan University in Pakistan
Established by Aga Khan University in 1983, this innovative program run by Aga Khan’s Department of Community Health Sciences provides critical health and socio-economic support to the squatter settlements of Karachi.

Two second place winners, each receiving $2,500:
Opération 7ème Jour (Operation 7th Day) at l'Université Saint-Joseph in Lebanon;
and Theewaterskloof International Community Development Project at Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa

Five third place winners, each receiving $1,000:

Alashanek Ya Balady (American University in Cairo, Egypt)
Assistance Program for Local Development (Universidad Señor de Sipán, Peru)
The Human Rights Clinic (Al-Quds University, Palestine)
Playing for Time Theatre Company (University of Winchester, United Kingdom)
Legal Leaders & Legal Feminism Clinic (University of Haifa, Israel)

Thank you to everyone who nominated a program. We received 67 nominations from 40 universities in 19 countries around the world, and were highly impressed by the quality and scope of all of the programs.

Please visit our website (www.macjannetprize.org) in the upcoming months to view profiles and videos of our winners, and keep an eye out for next year’s MacJannet Prize competition.

Ahfad University Program Highlighted in VOSESA Bulletin

2009-04-03T16:21:00.006-04:00

It has not been without its challenges, but an innovative volunteer-based programme mobilising local communities to combat female genital mutilation (FGM) in Sudan has met with a fair amount of success.

Implemented in 2006 by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) and Ahfad University for Women in Sudan, there is evidence that this programme has lead to a change in attitude towards the culture of FGM. In some instances the practice is even being challenged.

Sudan’s innovative volunteer programme
The project initially set out to examine previous efforts to combat FMG in Sudan. Based on this analysis, an innovative approach was developed that involves the inclusion of all concerned in the local community through volunteerism and local community action. The project is based on three pillars: volunteering through peer and formal education, sex education, and the inclusion of males and youth among target groups.

A cooperative effort: Previous efforts to combat FGM in all its forms showed that success depends on sustainable community-based interventions that include youth of both genders. Community-based programmes that were designed and implemented by community-based organisations proved to be more sustainable over time (Bedri, 2007). UNV and the other partners capitalised on this prior knowledge and involved both international and community volunteers at different levels.

Critical success factors
The involvement of the Ahfad University for Women as a strategic partner provided technical assistance for the project and greatly contributed to the following aspects, seen as key to the success of the programme:

* the involvement of the project partners in the implementation of activities at different levels;
* co-operation with community leaders; and
* co-operation between the project’s team members and the community workers.

Project results
There were several success stories of youth and women who managed to stop the circumcision of girls in their families. Almost 30% of the girls at the target female school returned uncircumcised after the summer vacation, which is when most of the FGM practices take place.

In addition, the project successfully integrated new strategies for combating FGM that included sexual education, community mobilisation through volunteerism, and the inclusion of males and youth in the strategy.

This article first appeared in the VOSESA journal Focus, Volume 3 Number 3 (March 2009)

Study: does service learning enhance engineering education?

2009-04-01T10:30:00.003-04:00

The following article, entitled, "Do Helping Hands Make for Better Engineers?" was written by Marjorie Howard for Tufts Journal. The study could help determine if service learning activities motivate students and attract more women to the field. The text of the article follows.

Chris Swan and a group of his colleagues are studying something they have long observed anecdotally: women are more interested in engineering when their work involves a combination of academics and community service.

“Some people believe service learning distracts from hard-core engineering skills that we should be providing,” says Swan, an associate professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering. “I agree that we need to teach those skills, but we want to see if you get a benefit from doing a project for, say, a village in Guatemala. We think it may engender a stronger engineering ethic, making you more motivated and confident.”

With a three-year, $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, Swan is leading a team of students and faculty that is studying whether service learning attracts more women to engineering and whether it can enhance engineering education overall. Joining Swan are Linda Jarvin, a research associate professor and director of the Center for Enhancement in Learning and Teaching; Chris Rogers, a professor of mechanical engineering; Adam Carberry, a graduate student in the education department; and Gay Lemons, a postdoctoral associate in engineering. Faculty and students from Purdue University are also participating in the study.

A better understanding of how service learning works can be useful not only in a university setting but also in the professional world, Swan says. He notes that 40 percent of the members of Engineers Without Borders, a national student organization that works on community projects around the world, are women. Yet in the professional world, only about 5 percent of engineers are women. “There is a big attrition rate from getting a degree in engineering to practicing engineering,” he says.

In one part of the study, engineering students will be asked to design a jar opener for a one-armed person. The research team wants to find out if students will use standard engineering design processes for the task, or if designing the tool for a particular person motivates them differently in their work.

In this first year of the study, students also are being surveyed about their views of engineering, how they see themselves as engineers and how they solve engineering problems. The goal is to determine if students who participate in service learning are different from students who engage in independent research but not in service learning.

Swan points out that Tufts already has a strong service-learning component and a higher than usual number of women enrolled in the School of Engineering. Women make up approximately 32 percent of the student body at the school, compared to 15 to 20 percent at the country’s other engineering schools.

http://tuftsjournal.tufts.edu/2009/04_1/briefs/01/

"U.S. faculty: Civic engagement, diversity important goals for undergrad education"

2009-03-26T12:54:00.003-04:00

The following is an excerpt of an article from UCLA, highlighting changing attitudes among faculty about the importance of civic engagement:

Compared to just three years ago, a significantly greater number of today's college teachers consider civic engagement and appreciation of racial and ethnic diversity important educational goals for undergraduates, according to a UCLA report on teaching faculty at the nation's colleges and universities.

The majority of college faculty (55.5 percent) nationwide now consider it "very important" or "essential" to "instill in students a commitment to community service," an increase of 19.1 percentage points since the survey was last conducted in 2004–05, and 75.2 percent indicate that they work to "enhance students' knowledge of and appreciation for other racial/ethnic groups," a gain of 17.6 percentage points over three years.

The report, "The American College Teacher: National Norms for the 2007–08 HERI Faculty Survey," is issued by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) at the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA, which puts out the national faculty report triennially.

"Civic engagement and diversity are among the core values that many institutions articulate in their mission," said Sylvia Hurtado, a co-author of the report and director of HERI. "It is important that faculty now view this as essential in their work because they are charged with preparing students to live in today's diverse world. Students represent our best hope for social progress."

Read the rest of the article, which examines other findings from the report:
http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/greater-number-of-college-faculty-83029.aspx

Access to and Equity in Higher Education

2009-03-16T17:04:00.002-04:00

The University World News issued a special report on access of higher education by poor, disabled, indigenous, and migrant young people. The series of articles address the access and equity situation in the US, UK, France, Greece, Australia, South Africa, and Spain, focusing primarily on government policy in each case study.

Besides the government, the other crucial actor in the access and equity debate is, of course, the universities themselves.

Tell us: what responsibility do you think universities have in ensuring accessibility to low-income and marginalized groups? What steps can they take to open their doors to these groups? What success stories can we point to as examples of best practices?

E-mail us (ayers@icicp.org) or post a comment.

Visit the University World News website>>

Ministerial Conference on Higher Education in Africa: "Engaging African Universities in the Development Agenda"

2009-03-06T10:57:00.002-05:00

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) in partnership with the organizations listed below, convened a conference in Lusaka, Zambia on February 23-27.

On the agenda were the following topics:
1. Mobilise political commitment for increasing investments in Higher Education in Africa;
2. Facilitate networking at all levels to spur and sustain high quality Higher Education in Africa;
3. Mobilise African universities to re-engineer their human resource development programmes through proactive engagement in the continent's development agenda and to make their due contribution to research and innovation; and,
4. Highlight the importance of higher education to Africa's development.

Below is more information from the conference organizers:
"Despite significant increases in both student intake and number of tertiary institutions, Africa lags behind the rest of the world in investing in its people. There are already warnings of a 'missing generation of African scientists', and the institutions charged with capacity building themselves are in a sorry state. African innovation capacity remains curtailed, retarding progress towards attainment of the Millennium Development Goals in the Continent. The limited capacity means that Africa will not be in position to sustainably tackle the persistent problems of widespread poverty and food and nutritional insecurity, particularly in light of emerging global challenges such as climate change and increasing food and fuel prices. A recent World Bank study notes that African universities and other institutions of higher learning will ultimately be responsible for replenishing the stock of human capital, and for providing them with the required broader set of skills necessary to grow agriculture in the 21st century. Unfortunately, they are ill prepared at the present to train the continent's next generation of agricultural scientists, professionals and technicians. In realization of this, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) notes in its Framework for African Agricultural Productivity that 'urgent action must be taken to restore the quality of graduate and postgraduate agricultural education in Africa'."

Partner organizations:
New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)
Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)
Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA)
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FARNPAN)
African Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry and Natural Resources Education (ANAFE)

Click here for more information.

Eleven Talloires Network institutions receive recognition for community service

2009-02-20T14:11:00.004-05:00

Five Talloires Network members were named members of the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, and six additional institutions were named members of the Honor Roll with Distinction.

According to the website, "The Honor Roll, launched in 2006, recognizes colleges and universities nationwide that support innovative and effective community service and service-learning programs."

The Honor Roll is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and is sponsored by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation and the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development, in partnership with Campus Compact and the American Council on Education.

Honor roll with distinction:
Georgetown University
San Francisco State University
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
Tulane University
Tufts University
Syracuse University

Honor roll:
Cottey College
Defiance College
Portland State University
Southern Oregon University
University of Minnesota

Learn more here: http://www.learnandserve.gov/about/programs/higher_ed_honorroll.asp

Call for Chapters: Cultural Dynamics and Tensions within Service-Learning

2009-01-26T10:35:00.005-05:00

Title: Exploring Cultural Dynamics and Tensions within Service-Learning

Editors: Trae Stewart, Ph.D. (University of Central Florida) and Nicole Webster, Ph.D. (The Pennsylvania State University)

Interpersonal and group interactions inherently require negotiating between diverse cultural practices and ideologies. Although we navigate these differences with relative ease everyday, some instances result in more palpable cultural conflict which can create a barrier to the achievement of goals. Service-learning is no exception.

The literature on the impact of service-learning on participants' acceptance of diversity and development of open-mindedness reports mixed outcomes. Some scholars have found that a primary benefit from service-learning is the opportunity to work with and learn about people whose lives and identities are different from our own. In contrast, an equal number of scholars warn against the dangers of service-learning in reifying stereotypes and conflicts.

This interdisciplinary text will address diversity and cultural conflict in the practice of service-learning within K-12 and higher education. With this in mind, we aim to support a polyvocal approach to defining cultural conflict and discovering effective strategies for marshaling service-learning productively in courses and programs. Written to be accessible and useful to service-learning researchers and practitioners, the text will serve as a resource for all who are engaged in educating students to become active, culturally affirming, and critical participants in democratic societies.

We solicit submissions from a range of genres, including theoretical/conceptual pieces, position papers, case studies, and other traditional academic essays. Manuscripts that address the topic of cultural tensions in service-learning and that simultaneously focus on one or more of the following areas are most welcomed: theoretical, philosophical, historical, or methodological approaches to/reviews of culture and service-learning cultural impacts, assumptions, tensions, and/or conflicts related to the practice of service-learning (conscious or unconscious) pieces that include the following cultural variables - ability, religion, SES, gender, physical appearance, nationality, sexual orientation/identity, ethnicity, linguistic heritage, and health status the interplay of cultures in international or domestic service-learning programs psychosocial dynamics and outcomes connected to engagement in service-learning

Submission Procedure: Interested authors should email a 250 word abstract of their proposed chapter to nsw10@psu.edu by March 1, 2009. Invited authors will need to submit completed chapters of 5,000-7000 words (20-25 pages, including references, tables, and images) by August 15, 2009. We welcome questions about specific article ideas.
Inquiries and submissions should be forwarded electronically to: Nicole Webster, nsw10@psu.edu

Is Obama Missing the National Service Moment?

2009-01-07T11:54:00.002-05:00

The following is an article posted by Steven Waldman on the Huffington Post

The Obama administration may be about to squander a historic opportunity. By all reports, the economic recovery plan doesn't include a large-scale national service program.

Franklin Roosevelt viewed the Civilian Conservation Corps as an essential part of the New Deal, and it became one of its most popular programs. It was, Roosevelt said, "killing two birds with one stone. We are clearly enhancing the value of our natural resources and second, we are relieving an appreciable amount of actual distress."

Too often, modern politicians have viewed national service as a lovely little "worthwhile program," certainly a swell idea but not something that trumps the critical business of saving the economy.

That's the wrong way of looking at it.

First, the current economic collapse affects not only the unemployed auto-worker but his 21-year old daughter just out of college and unable to find a job. The youth unemployment rate is now more than 20%. In hard times, applications to full-time community service programs increase, as other post-college options whither. Already, two out of three people who want to serve in AmeriCorps are being turned away from full time domestic service programs.

Second, these service workers can be a critical part of meeting Obama's recovery goals. National service members can work on permanent and cost effective national improvements such as energy efficiency or improving schools.

A major national service program would also boost the struggling charitable sector, which is facing its own economic catastrophe: in many places, need for services is rising as donations are falling. Full-time national service workers are an in-kind subsidy to the non-profit sector. Most AmeriCorps members do not work for the government, they work for charities like Habitat for Humanity or Red Cross, often helping to manage unpaid, occasional volunteers. Last year, 75,000 AmeriCorps members recruited more than 1.7 million volunteers, according to the Corporation for National Service. National service is a force-multiplier.

Most important, a national service program could help achieve another Obama campaign pledge that otherwise may prove too vague and ephemeral. He's talked about building bridges among Americans. That's nice but he can't do that just through speeches.

Common action breaks down barriers better than talk. Conservative churchgoers and secular liberals end up respecting the sincerity of each other's beliefs when they work together to feed the hungry. Race relations improve more when black, white and brown together save a drowning city than when they attend sensitivity workshops. Interfaith dialogue is less effective than interfaith house-building. And those from military families and those raised by, say, environmental activists will find mutual respect by working together to care for veterans or solve other critical problems.

In fact, the call for service shouldn't be limited to AmeriCorps. Imagine, for the first time ever, a national recruitment drive for all forms of service. Unlike past efforts, this significant recruitment effort - including YouTube videos, Facebook applications, mobile phones etc -- should call people to serve in the military, the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, senior corps, as well as private or faith-based service programs such as the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.

Oh, and by the standards of this economic recovery package, national service is dirt cheap. According to press reports, the economic recovery will cost around $800 billion and create 3 million jobs. By contrast, fielding a full-time AmeriCorps member costs the government somewhere between $11,000-$20,000 including an $4,725 educational scholarship, substantially cheaper than the infrastructure jobs.

So for a miniscule fraction of the recovery plan, we could field roughly 250,000 national service corps members (what Obama promised to do in the campaign, by the way). Add a few billion more, and wrap together military, overseas and private service, and Uncle Sam could finally make a simple, historic, transformative statement: "anyone who wants to serve their country or community in full time service - and then earn money for education - can do so."

A massive, voluntary national service program would accomplish both hard goals -- trees planted, houses weatherized etc -- but a soft goal as well: planting forever the idea in the minds of most young people (and many seniors) that one of the most fulfilling and useful things they could do is serve their nation for a year or two. We're in a crisis. Rather than the government just stepping in, shouldn't we be giving idealistic young people the chance to help solve problems?

This idea may not seem as concrete as a bridge project but in its own way it could be even more durable.

KAAYIA Award Now Accepting Applications

2009-01-06T11:46:00.001-05:00

“The King Abdullah II Award for Youth Innovation and Achievement (KAAYIA) began accepting applications on January 4 from young Arab leaders who are currently heading development efforts in the region. The KAAYIA will provide each of the winners with a $50,000 grant which will support the scaling up of a successful project, founded or co-founded by the award winner, that has demonstrated positive social impact. In addition, part of the grant will be allocated to education and training for award winners, in order to help them meet their specific learning needs as young leaders.

The KAAYIA seeks young leaders who are working to embody the concept of Active Citizenship: "a process that enables citizens to exercise both their rights and responsibilities in a balanced way, guided by moral and social responsibility, political literacy and community involvement." As explained on the KAAYIA website, "Active Citizenship amongst youth is expressed through the initiatives of individuals and groups in finding innovative solutions that contribute to social development through the skills of enquiry and communication, participation and responsible action."

Applicants should be between the ages of 18 to 29 and a citizen of an Arab country. In addition, they should have founded or co-founded an existing venture or project that has demonstrated a positive social impact within the local community over the last six months. The KAAYIA Award winner will be announced at the 2009 World Economic Forum.

Please visit kaayia.org for more information on the award, eligibility criteria, and instruction on how to apply.”

MacJannet Prize Nomination Deadline Extended

2008-12-22T11:57:00.002-05:00

The new MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship will serve to recognize and encourage exemplary university programs which have contributed both to addressing needs of the local or global community, as well as helping to develop and support innovative, committed student leaders who will go on to join the community of global citizens.

Eight prizes will be awarded in June 2009, one (1) First Prize of $5,000, two (2) Second Prizes of $2,500 each, and five (5) Third Prizes of $1,000 each. New deadline for nomination: January 15th.

Visit our website for more information and to nominate a program!

La Universidad, en busca de aportes

2008-12-09T17:06:00.000-05:00

El ministro de Educación y cuatro intelectuales internacionales coinciden en que no sólo debe haber financiamiento del Estado

En una mesa redonda organizada por la Fundación LA NACION y el Banco Galicia, investigadores e intelectuales internacionales de acreditado prestigio debatieron durante dos horas sobre las deudas pendientes del sistema universitario de la región, que hoy exhibe pobres rendimientos de los alumnos, alta deserción y una escasa dedicación y producción científica de sus profesores, entre otros signos externos de debilidad.

Haz click aquí para leer el articulo>>

Financial Literacy program at the University of Western Sydney

2008-12-05T11:01:00.004-05:00

When people think about financial literacy, they tend to think of individuals having the ability to make informed decisions in managing their money. However, financial literacy is equally important for business owner-managers who need to make informed decisions to manage and grow their enterprises. Research reveals that poor financial management is one of the key reasons for small business failures. Small businesses are important to modern economies because they are the drivers of economic growth through their contribution to employment, innovation and growth. Within Australia, 1.8 million small businesses employ 3.6 million people, contribute to 30% of economic activity and have a total capitalisation of $4.3 trillion.

To address these financial literacy needs and increase the engagement of our students in community issues, the University of Western Sydney is developing SMExcellence – a partnership project that provides the business community with free online interactive financial skills tutorials and a portal to information resources about business finance in Australia. More than 300 UWS students from business, computing and media fields interviewed small business owners, learned about the owners’ financial literacy needs and then used that data to develop tutorial content and build the web infrastructure. Evaluations show that participation in the SMExcellence initiative improves students’ knowledge, skills and confidence through their interactions with business owners and participation in team projects. Students from many disciplines will continue to support and grow the program by adding additional modules on other areas of business management and operations.

SMExcellence is guided by partnerships between UWS and more than 20 industry associations ranging in membership size from several hundred to several thousand. The program distinctively positions UWS and its partners as key contributors to the small business community while also enhancing student learning and engagement. UWS students and faculty will continue to build and update learning modules with a goal of reaching 90,000 businesses across Australia by 2011.

Article from the University of Western Sydney. Visit the SMExcellence website here>>

Newcastle University Celebrating its Civic Engagement Activities

2008-11-20T14:04:00.002-05:00

Newcastle University is asking its staff members to contribute to a survey on the University's civic engagement activities. The University would particularly like to hear from staff involved in volunteering or work with communities, disadvantaged minorities, small businesses and other ‘hard-to-reach’ groups, or those who undertake public service or civic duties. The most outstanding case studies will be considered for a series of prizes next year

Professor Paul Younger, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Engagement, announced details of the survey in October. He said: ‘Because it is so diverse, engagement is difficult to define and quantify, and for this reason this work often goes unnoticed and unrecognised. However, we know that many individuals, teams and projects across the University make an exceptional contribution to the engagement agenda.’

One of the anticipated outcomes of the survey will be an opportunity to publish the best of the University’s engagement activities, both through Newcastle University's publicity materials and website and through the University’s membership of the Talloires Network.

Read the full press release>>

SNDT Has Innovative Model for Overcoming Social and Economic Constraints of Students

2008-11-18T17:24:00.001-05:00

Aiming to reach the unreached and to provide access to higher education for those who stay in the remotest part of the state, SNDT Women’s University implemented a novel programme called “mobile education” earlier this year.

University Vice-Chancellor Chandra Krishnamurthy said that the conventional system of education is heavily dependent on infrastructure (read classrooms and institutes) and fixed hours of study. “But we need to understand that social and economic constraints, particularly in the case of women, are factors that dissuade them from pursuing any form of higher education. Our project aims at removing such deterrents,” she said.

A pilot program launched in January 2008 seeks to train candidates in examinations like GRE, CAT and other common entrance tests. The University is collaboration with several industry representatives for the programme like Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL).

"What is Happening in Liberal Education?"

2008-11-17T14:50:00.005-05:00

Carol T. Christ, President of Smith College, delivered this speech outlining seven critical developments in liberal education. One of the developments is "training for citizenship," and President Christ mentions the Talloires Network as an example of this movement towards increased civic engagement.

An excerpt from her speech:
"The idea that the goal of a liberal arts education trains good members of society is a classic one. Newman articulated it in The Idea of a University; I am sure that many of our founders claimed it as their purpose in endowing our colleges. Sophia Smith announced as her intention, 'to increase women’s power for good.' I think that we are seeing today a renewed focus on education for citizenship, often realized through centers for community engagement, which bring our students and faculty into neighboring communities in collaborative projects that combine learning and service. New national and international organizations evidence this development. Campus Compact, whose goal is to educate college students to become active citizens, was founded in 1985 with four members; it now has 1100. The Talloires Network, an international collective founded at Tufts University in 2005 to promote the civic roles and social responsibilities of higher education, now has over fifty members."

Read the full transcript here:
http://www.smith.edu/president/speeches/union2008.html

"Estoy embarcado en una revolución de la educación universitaria"

2008-10-23T11:55:00.008-04:00

The following article, was written by Liliana Moreno for Clarin.com. The author spoke with Bernardo Kliksberg, the former General Coordinator Inter-American Initiative on Social Capital, Ethics and Development of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and a current Special Advisor to UNICEF. Kliksberg speaks on the importance of civic engagement and ethics in Universities. View the original article here:
http://www.clarin.com/diario/2008/10/17/sociedad/s-01783088.htm

Con la clase "'Qué pasó en Wall Street. Lecciones para Argentina", el asesor principal para América latina del Programa de Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD), Bernardo Kliksberg, inauguró ayer el programa "Premio Amartya Sen. 100 jóvenes sobresalientes" en la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas (FCE) de la UBA. El primer paso en la formación de una nueva generación de docentes que entiendan la economía en beneficio del interés público.

En paralelo Kliksberg encabeza una red de 65 universidades iberoamericanas -la UBA es el punto focal-, dispuestas a introducir la enseñanza de la Etica aplicada a la realidad en todas su carreras. Son dos propuestas que aspiran a replicarse de una punta a otra de la región y a intervenir fuertemente en sus sistemas educativos en tiempo real. "Es una revolución en el campo de la educación superior", lo define:

Digo revolución porque con estos programas estamos quebrando resistencias de todo orden. Hay intereses enquistados que implican seguir enseñando más de lo mismo para no tener ninguna incomodidad e intereses ideológicos como que no entre Amartya Sen (Premio Nobel 1998), el máximo economista del planeta, en las universidades latinoamericanas. El programa "100 jóvenes sobresalientes" es, en primer lugar, un intento de darle presencia a este pensamiento nuevo en el mundo sobre el desarrollo y la gerencia.

También los llama "100 agentes de cambio".

Porque la idea es formar a 100 jóvenes egresados en los últimos años de la FCE -elegidos entre 2.500 por sus mejores promedios y sus servicios a la comunidad- en cómo gestionar la economía, las políticas públicas y las empresas privadas con la más alta responsabilidad ética y en beneficio del interés colectivo. Desde ayer y hasta el 28 de febrero 15 especialistas prominentes del país y del exterior, en forma voluntaria, serán sus profesores en disciplinas como gerencia social, visión holística de la economía y responsabilidad social empresarial. Los egresados se integrarán a la docencia en la facultad y en marzo de 2009 ya estarán dando clases para formar a miles. Ahí estará su efecto multiplicador.

'El programa queda reducido a Económicas de la UBA?

"100 jóvenes ..." fue organizado por FCE con el apoyo del PNUD para América latina, la Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional y el Banco Galicia y el auspicio de más de una decena de empresas e instituciones. Es una prioridad de gestión de su decano, Alberto Barbieri, pero no quedará ahí. La idea es replicarlo dentro y fuera del país. En principio ya fue solicitado por universidades de México, Perú y España.

La red "Unirse" es el otro programa de influencia en los sistemas educativos de la región. 'Cómo se enfoca el tema de la Etica?

"Unirse" -apoyada por el PNUD y el gobierno español- ya nuclea a 65 universidades iberoamericanas. Aquí nuestro objetivo es incorporar la Etica aplicada a la realidad, no vamos a volver a Platón, a los programas de todas las carreras. No como materia sino transversalmente. Sobran los malos ejemplos, como el de los médicos que no se meten para nada en la agenda pública de la salud y sólo se preocupan por la maximización del lucro. A esto lo llamo área gris. Son temas que no están prohibidos por la ley en el ejercicio de la profesión pero están prohibidos por la moral.

Esta iniciativa, 'en qué etapa de su desarrollo está?

Especialistas de primera línea ya elaboraron el programa que será lanzado públicamente el 1° de diciembre cuando cada una de las universidades postulen a dos de sus profesores para recibir el curso. Es decir, durante cuatro meses 130 profesores, dirigidos por ocho tutores, van a recibir una formación on line con los recursos tecnológicos más avanzados del mundo. Cada uno obtendrá un título de las Naciones Unidas y otro de posgrado de la UBA, que será el punto focal de la red. Finalmente estos profesores introducirán el programa en cada una de sus universidades.

'Cuándo se verán los resultados de ambos proyectos?

Muy pronto porque esta es una revolución educativa en tiempo real.

Mexican Technological Literacy Program Awarded "Access to Learning" Award

2008-10-03T16:53:00.004-04:00

Image from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation website

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded $1 million to the Vasconcelos Program in Veracruz State, Mexico for its innovative efforts to connect people to information and knowledge through free access to computers, the Internet, and training. Students from the Universidad Veracruzana, a Talloires Network member, bring these tools and services to rural, indigenous communities using all-terrain vehicles equipped with technology classrooms.

The following comes from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation website. Click here to go to the website.

When Mireya Jimenez Rivera heard that Vasconcelos was coming to rural Cazones, Mexico, to teach computer and Internet skills, she thought it would be a great learning opportunity for her four children. But soon she was in the classroom herself.

Vasconcelos helped Jimenez communicate online with her husband, who has been living and working in the United States for eight years. "I learned how to chat, how to create an email address, and how to search for information," she said. "I never thought that I would be able to learn these things."

After the training, Jimenez began emailing her husband and later set up a web-cam to help the family stay in touch. "Vasconcelos helped my children know their father," she said. "Through the Web camera, he was able to see them grow."

Jimenez is one of thousands of people who have benefited from the Vasconcelos Program, recipient of the foundation's 2008 Access to Learning Award. Created and managed by the secretary of education of the state of Veracruz, Mexico, the program provides computer access and training to underserved communities throughout the state.

Reaching Remote Villages

Situated on the gulf coast of central Mexico, Veracruz is home to 7.3 million people. The majority of its communities are small, rural, and poor.

The Vasconcelos Program works to empower individuals and communities in Veracruz by helping people build technology skills that can improve their lives. As a result, thousands have been able to increase their incomes, attain education, and strengthen their communities. The program serves both adults and children, with a special focus on public school students, who comprise one-third of the state's population.

Vasconcelos uses 24 all-terrain buses to bring computer access and learning opportunities to the state's underserved areas. These state-of-the-art mobile classrooms are equipped with laptop computers, self-directing satellite dishes with Internet connectivity, networked servers, video projectors, interactive white boards, and back-up generators.

Each bus is staffed by a brigade of seven enthusiastic and highly trained people who teach technology skills, facilitate community-building activities, and maintain local technology resources.

Brigade members, many of whom speak a local indigenous language, spend two weeks in the community teaching a variety of computer and Internet courses and updating local technology access points. Outside the classroom, they guide educational and cultural activities designed to open their students' minds and engage them in learning.

Improving Education, Increasing Productivity

During a 2006 visit to the town of Coxquihui, in northern Veracruz, Vasconcelos invited students from the local elementary school to participate in a computer class. The technology excited the children, who were eager to share the experience with their peers.

Building on the children's enthusiasm, Vasconcelos helped the school's digital center secure a gift of three computers from the state. School principal Evaristo Gaona Zaleta said the computers have helped boost student learning by making lessons more meaningful and engaging.

"Vasconcelos not only shows children and adults how to interact with computers, it also creates projects to help them manage their own productivity," Gaona said. Its work has benefited craftspeople, who have learned to market their work online, as well as small farmers, who have learned how to access loans for fertilizers, seeds, and tools. The program has been a boon to business owners as well.

Flavia Esmira Vázquez Rivera, an artist, entrepreneur, and mother of three living in Coxquihui, enrolled her sons in Vasconcelos' courses when the program came to town. But Vázquez herself was inspired to learn how online resources could help her build her small jewelry-making business. She used the Internet to improve her marketing efforts and, as a result, increased her contribution to her family’s income by 25 percent.

In 2007 and 2008, Vasconcelos worked with the national coffee growers union to provide training to 6,500 coffee producers in central Veracruz. Program staff taught the producers how to access their accounts online, review their statements, and find out how much they had been credited for their harvests.

The coffee growers also learned to research the cost of coffee beans on the global market, which helped them renegotiate their prices and increase their incomes.

Building on Existing Resources

Vasconcelos selects locations for missions based on a careful assessment of community needs and existing computer resources, and then it develops a unique education and training plan for each town. Many villages in Veracruz already have limited, free access to computers in government-funded community technology centers.

Unfortunately, these community technology centers are often underused and poorly maintained. Most operate in public schools in underserved communities where people have little or no computer experience or the skills needed to find and benefit from online information.

Vasconcelos works to revitalize these centers by installing up-to-date software and providing ongoing technical support. Brigade members assess these local centers as part of their scouting and planning work, and they often help communities increase the technology resources offered there.

After the brigade leaves, people trained by Vasconcelos are able to use their local technology centers for ongoing computer and Internet access. Villagers can use an online tool—the Vasconcelos Virtual Forum—to get technical support, access software and tutorials, and stay connected to the program.

The Human Factor

To date, Vasconcelos has provided education and support to more than 120,000 people. The program has also trained staff from 75 community technology centers, which are now thriving.

To meet increasing demand, Vasconcelos plans to serve more than 200,000 people with nearly 50 buses by 2010. These high-tech vehicles are essential to reaching the remote communities Vasconcelos serves, but it’s the human factor—not the technology—that helps ensure lasting impact.

According to Mario Fernandez de la Garza, Vasconcelos' general coordinator, the program's philosophy of engaging villagers in their own learning and its collaborative approach to teaching are central to the program's success. "Knowledge isn't imposed—it is shared both ways, with each community we visit," he said. "Locals have a lot to teach us, and the professionals at Vasconcelos are always open to learn from them."

GUNI 4th International Conference on Higher Education Video now available

2008-09-10T11:31:00.002-04:00

You can visit http://www.guni-rmies.net/info/default.php?id=205 to view all the presentations from the conference.

Here is video of the presentation on the Talloires Network by Elizabeth Babcock.

STUDENTS “EMBEDDED” IN THE COMMUNITY

2008-07-08T14:07:00.003-04:00

In recent years, colleges and universities around the world have encouraged both their students and faculties to explore the educational and social benefits of service-learning. This applied educational methodology fuses academic instruction with hands-on personal involvement and problem-solving in the local community. Among its many benefits, colleges have found, are students who progress from being passive recipients of knowledge to highly motivated and involved activists who practice their learning by improving the lives of others in their communities. Through their exercise of social and civic responsibility, students become builders of more democratic, livable and successful societies.

A leading innovator in this field is Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) whose campuses and outreach span arid desert lands from Egypt and Gaza in the West to Jordan and the Dead Sea in the East, from Beer-Sheva in the North, to Eilat and the Red Sea in the South. This Negev region comprises 60% of Israel’s land mass but is home to only 8% of its population. Included are over 200,000 Bedouin who are transitioning slowly from nomadic tribesmen to settled town dwellers. Much of the area’s population is low-income and many residents are recent immigrants from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union.

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev was founded in honor of David Ben-Gurion, Israel ‘s first prime minister, who preached that Israel’s future would be determined by how well Israelis learned to live with the growing desertification endangering so much of Israel and Planet Earth. Today, BGU is a thriving institution of 17,000 undergraduate and graduate students from all over the country and abroad.

What distinguishes the University is its founding mission not only to produce well-trained professionals for every walk of life but to transform the economy and society of its very heterogeneous and under-resourced population. In furtherance of that core mission, BGU has created many approaches to avoid the contentious issues that often separate college campuses from their surrounding communities. One of the most innovative efforts to avoid “we/they” mindsets is: Open Apartments

(OA)
Open Apartments works against the typical “town/gown” divide by literally embedding students in the five most problematic neighborhoods of the city of Beer-Sheva. Over 120 volunteer students are enabled to live rent-free in some 65 apartments leased by the University in return for their deep, daily involvement in the everyday lives of their neighbors. Less as outsiders, more as fellow residents, these OA students create manifold ways to interact with both the adult residents and children and to create novel ways to improve the life of the communities, all while employing classroom learning in their personal development.

Among the myriad approaches, OA students run adult literacy and skills classes, especially for newcomers to Israel, and a large variety of after-school and holiday-period activities for the neighborhoods’ children and youth: sports, games, art, music, costume parties, picnics, a day camp, field-trips, swim days, homework assistance, tutoring, and training in youth leadership, community advocacy, entrepreneurship. A variety of clubs meet at least twice weekly.

Annually, over 2000 residents –from pre-schoolers to seniors--participate in over 100 different activities. Each year, too, Open Apartments residents invite some 2000 non-OA student volunteers to paint and repair the apartments of seniors and other needy residents over a 10-day holiday campaign. OA students also meet together regularly to assess the effectiveness of their work as well as to orient incoming OA participants.

BGU’s OA program is financed mostly through philanthropic gifts with the University providing many in-kind contributions of facilities and donated personnel services. The University collects narratives of what the OA program has done to build a happier and more just community and how it has helped to develop both young local leaders and more thoughtful and effective University graduates

--Samuel Halperin Founder and Senior Fellow, American Youth Policy Forum, Washington, DC (shalperin18@comcast.net) For further information, contact Ms. Vered Sarousi-Katz, Director, Community Action Unit, Ben-Gurion University, Beer-Sheva 84105, ISRAEL (vsarousi@bgu.ac.il) or Ms. Lea Golan (lgolan@aabgu.org)

Student Voices: Indigenous People Education Programs

2008-07-02T09:26:00.006-04:00

by Todd Phillips, Queensland University of Technology

Greetings from down under,

I am writing briefly to update you all about my progress with my commitment to action.

Unfortunately throughout March and half way through April, our director from our university who has been overseeing our programs (as well as our funding) was hospitalized due to health problems. This evidently had huge impacts on the progression of implementing our educational programs and briefly prevented us from traveling out into the rural Indigenous communities throughout Queensland, as we were unable to access funds for our traveling costs.

However, we continued to remain steadfast and grind out our current circumstance by doing what we could, by continuing to work on the development of our educational resources and by liaising with key community members from the Indigenous communities throughout the state. We also looked for funding from alternative means and have been successful. I am glad to report that we are now well underway and on track to meeting our goals.

We have aimed to produce ten numeracy and literacy booklets that are relevant and engaging for Indigenous Australians that will go out to 18 rural Indigenous communities throughout the state of Queensland, which are areas where educational outcomes are the country's lowest. This is an effort to get communities excited about education and ultimately promote self-esteem and provide students with better job opportunities, access to further education (tertiary) and increased life chances.

So far we have completed and implemented four educational booklets and are now working on the remaining six. We have also been asked by the State Education Department to devise a series of educational posters that will acknowledge and promote former and current Indigenous educational mentors (such as inventor and writer, David Unaipon) that will be distributed out to schools throughout the state. This has been a real bonus for us as we will be devising educational resources that will be used in schools across the state of Queensland to promote and acknowledge Indigenous role models. This is especially important, because when we work in communities we often hear from students that "because we are Indigenous we can't be smart".

I hope you are all well and I sincerely wish you all much success in your chosen areas.

Thanking you,

Todd Phillips
Queensland University of Technology
Queensland, Australia

New Interactive Membership Map!

2008-05-20T14:36:00.003-04:00

The Talloires Network now has an interactive membership map, powered by Google Maps. Each pinpoint on the map represents a member institution. Zoom in for a closer look, and click on the pinpoints to learn more about each institution.

Have information or photos you'd like added to your institutional profile? Email fortner[at]icicp.org.

View Larger Map

Student Voices: Update from the Aussie Outback

2008-04-16T09:35:00.012-04:00

by Kevin Kadirgamar, Charles Darwin University, Australia

Exciting stuff's been happening here in the Aussie Outback! We've just finished the Annual National Youth Week which focuses on the celebration of youth talent and empowerment. A main youth issue in Darwin (probably same as anywhere else!) is the portrayal of youth in the media. We hear a whole heap about youth gangs, youth criminals and very little about the positive youth activities. So last week was a good opportunity to get some good ads on the papers for the various youth events.

We've got a 'Multicultural Youth Council' which got set up only last year, and we're re-structuring it this year so that it's open to all youth, and is the only democratic youth forum to address issues faced by young people in Darwin. We had quite an eye-opening weekend recruiting new members over a two-day workshop on identifying and tackling social issues. It actually reminded me a great deal of our Talloires discussions about the difficulties in getting enough students to care about what's going on in the outside world and keeping them engaged!

Last weekend we had real trouble getting enough young people (targeting 12 - 25 year-olds) to attend the workshop - we had it at a community room in a popular shopping centre, and at one point we had to go out looking for people to pull in! But once we had a fair number, and got into talking about things like 'image of youth'; 'gang violence'; 'bullying in schools'; 'global warming' etc... we were really surprised by the response we got. Even the quietest of the lot opened up and we had in depth discussions on problems and solutions. It just shows that deep inside everyone probably does care and would get into action if inspired enough!

This is what Maria and I are hoping to start at Charles Darwin University on the 30th of April. Maria and I are planning to give a presentation to the University staff, students, and the general community on our experience in New Orleans and how we plan to put it into action at CDU. At the end of the presentation, we are hoping to have names of interested students on a register, and follow it up with a networking session soon after.

It could be the start of the 'CDU Talloires Student Group' (haven't come up with a funkier name yet!). The plan is that this group would include students from a range of disciplines, and would be committed to furthering the Talloires aims of community engagement and civic participation on campus. Such a group could even be a consultative forum when we come to drafting the Talloires Student Network Declaration.

At CDU, we are hoping that this group would function as a steering body to initiate community based learning at the campus, with guidance and support with the CDU Coordinator of Community Engagement. It would also help facilitate the succession and sustainability of our international student network (students from this campus group could be elected to be representatives to the network).

The campus group may also be linked in with our CGI-U commitment (an inter-disciplinary, holistic approach, in creating the pictorial health directory). I'd really like to know everyone's thoughts on this. What do think of having such campus groups to strengthen the structure of our student network? Could it be the first step to formalise the creation of the Talloires Student Network, and start on the declaration?

New Student Initiative at Petro-Mohyla University

2008-03-04T10:36:00.006-05:00

By Andrew Lopakov, Petro-Mohyla University

Hi everyone!

My name is Andrew Lopakov. I am a student at Petro-Mohyla University in Mykolayiv,

Ukraine

, and I am one of a delegation of students from Talloires Network institutions who will be attending the upcoming Clinton Global Initiative University conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. In this article I would like to introduce you to a new project developed by our Initiative Group at PMU. Our Initiative Group consists of several teachers from two departments as well as one student. All of us have a strong connection to volunteering, and we have started this project to introduce the concept of volunteerism into the university curriculum.

Petro-Mohyla University has just begun PMU Civic Initiative, a project to develop student volunteering and civic leadership. The aim of the project is to teach university students the basis of leadership and volunteering, and to allow them to create and conduct their own social projects independently or in partnership with an NGO in Mykolayiv.

Volunteering will be introduced as a usual topic in the language curriculum. Students will receive credit for conducting or participating in projects, and for their activity during discussions as well. English teachers will teach 3-5 lessons on the topic, and provide students with a list of NGOs in Mykolayiv and the surrounding region where they can join existing programs. Students who are interested in creating their own social projects will be supported by student leaders and university teachers during the creation and implementation of their projects. Each student or group of students will have its own monitor, a student leader from Mykolayiv, who will evaluate the work. According to the plan for this initiative, all projects should be conducted in March.

We hope that PMU Civic Initiative will inspire students to create social projects when the first phase is finished. And we hope that this subject will be introduced as a core element of the curriculum at Petro-Mohyla University.

We appreciate your comments on the project!

Reflective Engagement at Georgetown University

2008-02-04T13:57:00.000-05:00

Check out Stan Katz' blog on Reflective Engagement at Georgetown University. He discusses their support for the efforts faculty and students to do research on subjects of importance to the general public as well as to public agencies; to promote the civic engagement of students and faculty through experiential learning projects; to communicate more effectively with the many publics outside the university; and more.

Clinton Global Initiative University: An Opportunity for Students

2008-02-01T12:11:00.000-05:00

On March 14 – 16, 2008, President Clinton will host the inaugural meeting of CGI U at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. Hundreds of students, university officials, and global leaders will come together to make a difference within CGI U’s four main focus areas: energy and climate change, global health, human rights and peace, and poverty alleviation.

Because we feel this is an excellent opportunity, the Talloires Network will support travel and accommodation costs for pairs of students from up to 8 member institutions from outside the U.S. We also encourage participation by U.S. members, but expenses will have to be supported by those institutions.

We encourage you to consider sending a pair of students from your institution who are leaders of your civic engagement and social responsibility activities, with an emphasis on efforts to elevate literacy.

This meeting is about action. Before leaving New Orleans, all attendees must make a commitment. No commitment is too small to make a difference, bring about change, or impact lives.

Find out more about how to apply>>

2008: The International Year of Languages

2008-01-30T13:58:00.000-05:00

The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 2008 to be the International Year of Languages.

To celebrate the International Year of Languages, UNESCO is inviting governments, United Nations organizations, civil society organizations, educational institutions, professional associations and all other stakeholders to increase their own activities to promote and protect all languages, particularly endangered languages, in all individual and collective contexts.

To facilitate partnership and monitoring, UNESCO will make a communication toolkit available, as well as a list of possible fields of action and a list of the projects currently undertaken in the framework of the International Year of Languages. Read more>>

Many members of the Talloires Network are already using the resources of higher education to work for the preservation and revitalization of native languages. Some examples include:

Encouraging Multilingualism at the University of the Western Cape
South Africa's first center for the promotion of multi-lingualism, where Afrikaans, Xhosa and English speakers are encouraged to learn each other's languages, opened at UWC in 1999. The University's long history of promoting multiculturalism in South Africa has presented the Department of Afrikaans-Nederlands with the ideal context to play an extraordinary role: the social upliftment of the disadvantaged through the promotion of their languages. Read more>>

Yolngu Studies at Charles Darwin University
Yolngu Studies is Charles Darwin University’s global classroom of the languages and culture of Yolngu people of North-east Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, Australia. Yolngu Studies is unique in the world for its contribution to the body of external knowledge of a major Aboriginal language group. In 2005, the Yolngu Studies program won the Prime Minister’s prize for University Teacher of the Year, Australia’s most prestigious teaching award.
Read more >>

ACORNS Native American Languages Program at Southern Oregon University
The ACORNS program supports language revitalization efforts of Native American tribes, hence its name: [AC]quisition [O]f [R]estored [N]ative [S]peech. The Acorn is sacred to the tribes of Northern California and Southern Oregon. The name ACORNS is in honor of these tribes who helped spawn this effort.
Read more>>

Environmental experts stress ‘service learning’

2007-12-17T11:13:00.000-05:00

This article first appeared in the Gulf Times
Published: Sunday, 25 November, 2007, 02:07 AM Doha Time

Judith Hallinen, Cherie Clark-Moore and Kim White

Staff Reporter
ENVIRONMENTAL experts from around the world emphasised the need to incorporate ‘service learning’ into the school curriculum at a symposium in Doha yesterday.

Guest speakers from the US, India and Malaysia discussed ways to enhance community-based service learning with visiting teachers and educational experts from different countries.

The two-day symposium on Global Environmental Issues is jointly hosted by the American School of Doha (ASD), Reach Out To Asia (Rota) and HSBC.

Service learning is defined as a teaching method that involves learning and reflecting by combining classroom curriculum with meaningful service. It integrates community service with instruction to enrich the learning experience, teaches civic responsibility, encourages life-long civic management, and strengthens communities for the common good.

Judith Hallinen, director of the Leonard Gelfand Centre for Service Learning and Outreach at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania described some of the service learning programmes provided to students at CMU.

“Students at CMU-Qatar will also be doing service learning in Spring 2008, by visiting local schools, labour camps and other places,” said Hallinen, who has worked extensively to improve educational programmess for children in elementary and secondary schools in her region.

The head of Rotasia, Cherie Clark-Moore highlighted the community-based services her organisation has offered to students of Qatar and other countries, particularly rebuilding of a children’s school in Indonesia.
Cherie said Rota’s schools and universities are being “twinned” with educational institutions in Qatar, elsewhere in the Middle East and throughout Asia via an online Knowledge Network Portal. The website is www.reachouttoasia.org.

“It offers collaborative educational online projects for students and teachers, access to advice from online subject experts, cultural exchange projects, online discussion and communication, student-to-student and teacher-to-teacher mentoring and we encourage all schools to join in,” she said.

Kim White, a science teacher, anthropologist and naturalist based in India, talked about ways schools can organise expeditions.

“Three main components of a school field trip should be adventure, culture and community service,” said White.

White is the founder of ‘Into the Wild’, an NGO dedicated to culture and nature conservation through education and community service. Its website can be accessed at www.intothewild.org.

Ann Durham, a teacher of ASD, introduced the audience to an international organisation of teachers and students that addresses global issues.

The Global Issues Network encourages students to engage in ‘real’ issues, while allowing them to translate knowledge into positive action. Teachers can also refer to its site (www.global-issues-network.org) for curriculum-related material on a wide range of topics.

Más voluntariado, mejor país

2007-12-11T09:24:00.000-05:00

Addys Then Marte - 12/5/2007
De Listin Diario: http://www.listindiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=39275

¿Hay voluntariado en la República Dominicana?, es una pregunta muy escuchada por quienes promovemos el voluntariado. Indudablemente la respuesta es sí. Hay muchos voluntarios valientes, capaces, pero comúnmente ignorados, olvidados o anónimos.

Cada 5 de diciembre se celebra el Día Internacional de los Voluntarios. La República Dominicana toma parte en esta celebración. Como forma de reconocer a los voluntarios dominicanos, desde el 2001 la Red Sirve Quisqueya, no deja pasar por alto este día.

A nivel internacional, hoy más que nunca, el voluntariado se escucha como una de las respuestas a muchos de los problemas que agobian la humanidad. Actualmente se recurre cada vez más al voluntariado para afrontar las consecuencias de los desastres naturales que, se supone, serán más frecuentes producto del cambio climático

El voluntariado es rico en cuanto a la diversidad de áreas sensibles al desarrollo en las que puede actuar. Es por esto que las Naciones Unidas, en diferentes mensajes a propósito del Día Internacional de los Voluntarios, ha insistido en que el voluntariado es clave para que los países puedan lograr la consecución de los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio (ODM).

En nuestro país, en áreas como el medio ambiente, se destaca la participación de jóvenes voluntarios ambientalistas en acciones de reforestación o vigilancia de áreas protegidas. Un ejemplo de esto es el movimiento de voluntarios Brigada Verde, integrado por más de 400 jóvenes. En el área de educación, voluntarios como el Grupo de Jóvenes Café con Leche de Herrera apoyan en procesos de aprendizaje, con acciones que van desde dirigir las prácticas de educación física hasta innovar en la construcción de juguetes educativos.

El voluntariado también adquiere cada vez más reconocimiento por su impacto económico. En el ámbito nacional si intentáramos esbozar el impacto económico del voluntariado, podemos hacer una aproximación a partir de las 60 horas de servicio voluntario en la educación media. Según estadísticas de la Secretaría de Educación, para el año escolar 2005-2006 la matrícula estudiantil era de 95,281 estudiantes para 4to curso de educación media y 102,097 para tercer curso.

Estos 197,378 estudiantes, en base al requisito de 60 horas, estarían realizando 17,764,020 horas de servicio voluntario durante los años 2005 y 2006. Si estimamos el valor de una hora según las escalas de salario mínimo establecidas por la Secretaría de Trabajo tendríamos como aporte voluntario unos RD$685,691,172. Comparativamente el valor económico es superior a la suma de los presupuestos de la Secretaría de Estado de la Mujer y la Secretaría de Estado de la Juventud para el 2007.

Pero el valor del voluntariado también es rico en impacto en la vida de quienes lo practican. Al respecto un estudio sobre voluntariado, de la George Washington University plantea:

A través del servicio voluntario los jóvenes tienen oportunidad de ampliar sus conocimientos y adquirir experiencia, explorar opciones y seleccionar sus carreras. El trabajo voluntario deja como beneficio en los jóvenes madurez, autoestima y satisfacción general, al ser reconocida su contribución social. “El impacto positivo de la autoestima está basado en la creencia de que uno se siente más valioso y útil cuando ayuda a otros”.

Contribuye al desarrollo de una conducta social más constructiva, pues se mejora la disciplina y reduce comportamientos de riesgo, la delincuencia, el ausentismo escolar y el uso de drogas. En lo relativo a la Participación Cívica, el estudio señala que quienes practican el voluntariado adquieren conocimientos y valores cívicos, tienen una mayor probabilidad de ejercer el voto y refuerzan del compromiso con la búsqueda de solución a los problemas sociales.

En términos de aprendizaje, el voluntariado se proyecta actualmente a través de la metodología pedagógica Aprendizaje-Servicio, que combina el contenido curricular con acciones de servicio. En países como Argentina se promueve el aprendizaje-servicio desde el Ministerio de Educación, alcanzando un 13% de las escuelas de ese país. Sugieren, entre los resultados, la reducción del índice de repetición de grado y deserción escolar.

Ante tantas bondades del voluntariado nos preguntamos que falta en la República Dominicana para que reconozcamos en dimensiones más justas su potencial. Somos de los pocos países de la región que no cuenta con una política pública de voluntariado.

Bernardo Kliksberg, asesor especial de la ONU, destaca, haciendo referencia a los países líderes en voluntariado a nivel mundial, que: “las escuelas lo cultivan cuidadosamente, los medios masivos lo resaltan permanentemente, lo líderes dan ejemplos continuos, hay desgravaciones fiscales, las políticas públicas lo apoyan, la legislación le otorga todo orden de facilidades, y la opinión pública lo valora profundamente”. (Voluntariado y Servicio en América Latina y el Caribe.)

Es tiempo de que en la República Dominicana veamos el voluntariado. Con la pobreza, que más allá de los informes de los organismos internacionales, ha quedado mostrada al desnudo con el paso de la Tormenta Noel, veamos en el voluntariado uno de nuestros grandes recursos, y en la solidaridad de nuestro pueblo un capital que no amerita de endeudamiento ni de un incremento de nómina. Más bien amerita de políticas que lo promuevan, lo reconozcan y valoren.

La autora es Directora Ejecutiva de Alianza ONG
athen@alianzaong.org.do

Education for All by 2015: Will We Make It?

2007-12-03T15:47:00.000-05:00

From the UNESCO Courier

In 2000, the international community committed to six goals aimed at assuring education for all by 2015. We are halfway there and we have good reason to be optimistic. But much remains to be done in early childhood education, gender parity and literacy. More

Educación para Todos en 2015: ¿Alcanzaremos la meta?

El año 2000 la comunidad internacional se comprometió a alcanzar seis objetivos encaminados a garantizar la educación para todos en 2015. Ahora estamos a mitad de camino y tenemos motivos para ser optimistas, aunque todavía queda mucho por hacer en tres ámbitos: la enseñanza preescolar, la paridad entre los sexos y la alfabetización. Más

L’Éducation pour tous en 2015 : un objectif accessible ?

En 2000, la communauté internationale a fixé six objectifs visant à assurer une Éducation pour tous jusqu’à 2015. Nous sommes à mi-chemin et nous avons de bonnes raisons d’être optimistes. Mais il reste beaucoup à faire en matière de préscolaire, de parité entre les sexes et d’alphabétisation. Continuer

«Образование для всех» в 2015 году: добьемся ли мы успеха?

В 2000 г. международным сообществом было сформулировано шесть целей, направленных на достижение «Образования для всех» к 2015 году. Половина пути пройдена, были достигнуты положительные результаты. Однако предстоит огромная работа в таких областях как дошкольное образование, равенство полов и распространение грамотности.

Подробнее

التعليم للجميع بحلول عام 2015: هل نواجه هذا التحدي بنجاح؟

في عام 2000، التزم المجتمع الدولي بتحقيق ستة أهداف ترمي إلى ضمان التعليم للجميع بحلول عام 2015. لقد وصلنا اليوم إلى منتصف الطريق ولدينا أسباب تدعو للتفاؤل في مسعانا هذا. لكنه ما زال يتعين علينا إنجاز الكثير في تنمية الطفولة المبكرة، والمساواة بين الجنسين في التعليم، ومحو الأمية. التفاصيل

Scholarship winner to attend Ahfad University for Women

2007-11-27T15:56:00.000-05:00

From Garowe Online

SUDAN: Blue Nile Dairy Co. names CAPO scholarship winners
26 Nov 26, 2007

[ Khartoum, Sudan - November 26, 2007] Sudan will gain a new rural advisor and a doctor thanks to the Blue Nile Dairy Company, which has just announced the winners of its two CAPO scholarships for young women.

Fatima Adam Wahinab (17) has won a scholarship to train as a doctor at the Ahfad University for Women; while Abeer Jumaa Jilda (18) will study under the Rural Extension Education and Development programme (REED).

The CAPO scholarships were created to mark the 10th anniversary of the Blue Nile Dairy Company and cover all of the costs of living and study for the scholarship winners for the full period of their studies.

In return the winners have agreed to use their university training to provide services for their local community for the same length of time as their studies.

In her application, Fatima said she wants to work in rural areas where there is a lack of doctors.

“Rural areas lack doctors, especially the specialists and this obliges them to go to developed areas in search of treatment. This creates a huge burden for them and incurs extra costs which they can’t afford to pay.

Fatima said she also wants to encourage women’s rights to education and for them to be able play a larger role in health care in rural areas.

Becoming a field advisor under the REED programme was Abeer’s choice because it is a qualification that is valued and respected by Sudanese society.

“It is valued because it plays a role in finding solutions to all problems and crises faced in rural areas. I will be able to help our Sudanese society take care of children and all individuals,” she said.

Blue Nile Dairy Company General Manager Akhtar Zahid said he looked forward to following the progress of these young women with interest.

“Education is the key to many things. By making these scholarships available we will be changing the lives of these two worthy young women, we will be reaching out into their communities as well.”

Ahfad University for Women was established in 1995 and offers qualifications from six schools of study: Family Sciences, Psychology and Preschool Education, Organisational Management, Rural Extension, Education and Development, Medicine and Pharmacy.

La Universidad Socialmente Responsable: una manera de ser

2007-11-19T09:53:00.000-05:00

En 2001 se puso en marcha en Chile el Proyecto “Universidad Construye País”, que pretendía llevar a cabo una acción coordinada y conjuntada de responsabilidad social en las universidades del país. Una de sus promotoras, la rectora de la Universidad Católica de Temuco, Mónica Jiménez de la Jara, analiza en este artículo la evolución del proyecto y sus raíces conceptuales, desgranando los aspectos de mayor importancia que existen tras las teorías y las prácticas de responsabilidad social universitaria.

This article was first published in the GUNI newsletter. You can link to it here

El año 2001 nació el Proyecto “Universidad Construye País”, que hoy constituyen y conforman una red de catorce universidades chilenas [1]. Desde entonces hasta hoy, ha corrido mucha agua bajo el puente, tanto en Chile, en América Latina, como en el mundo; incluso en mi propio caso personal. Hoy dirijo una universidad que se caracteriza por ser una universidad de movilidad social en contexto indígena y en la que tengo la envidiable oportunidad de aplicar de lleno y directamente la práctica de la responsabilidad social universitaria.

Contexto Regional: Latinoamérica y el Caribe

Resulta importante destacar algunos de los elementos de nuestra realidad latinoamericana que generan el contexto para que las Universidades nos planteemos el necesario compromiso social de nuestras instituciones, la responsabilidad social, como una ética que impulsa nuestro accionar. De acuerdo a cifras de la CEPAL, 224 millones de personas se encuentran en condiciones de pobreza en América Latina y el Caribe; de ellas, 98 millones son indigentes. Vivir en pobreza no es sólo carecer de los ingresos necesarios para cubrir necesidades básicas; es también padecer la exclusión social, que impide una participación plena en la sociedad (Ottonne, 2006)[2].

La pobreza condiciona las oportunidades de desarrollo de las familias, lo que se transmite de generación en generación. El bajo nivel educativo de amplios estratos de la población constituye un importante mecanismo de transmisión intergeneracional de la pobreza. El escaso nivel de educación y la falta de acceso a una educación de calidad de los jóvenes de estratos más pobres bloquean su principal canal de movilidad e inclusión social (Ottone, 2006). ¿Pueden las universidades quedar indiferentes a esta realidad?

El Concepto de Responsabilidad Social Universitaria (RSU): nuestra definición inicial

Una de las primeras actividades del Proyecto Universidad Construye País, después de haber sensibilizado a rectores, académicos y estudiantes de las diversas universidades y de haber constituido los equipos en cada universidad participante, fue realizar en 2002 una elaboración compartida del concepto de Responsabilidad Social y de los indicadores para medirla (Universidad Construye País, 2006).

En aquel momento definimos la “Responsabilidad Social Universitaria como la capacidad que tiene la Universidad como institución de difundir y poner en práctica un conjunto de principios y valores, por medio de cuatro procesos claves: gestión, docencia, investigación y extensión”.

La siguiente cuestión era definir cuáles son esos valores y principios declarados:

- En el plano personal: dignidad de la persona, libertad, integridad

- En el plano social: bien común y equidad social; desarrollo sostenible y medio ambiente; sociabilidad y solidaridad para la convivencia; aceptación y aprecio a la diversidad; ciudadanía, democracia y participación.

- En el plano universitario: compromiso con la verdad; excelencia; interdependencia y transdisciplinariedad.

Definimos además “de qué” se era responsable; “ante quién” se respondía y “cómo” responde la universidad.

Al preguntarnos ¿”de qué” es responsable la universidad?, acordamos que era lo de vivir, de poner en práctica los principios y valores declarados; es decir, era responsable de poner al centro de su vida académica y organizacional, una concepción ética, que debería expresarse al tomar decisiones de gestión, docencia, investigación y extensión. En el corazón de la universidad estaba la ética, estaban los valores y principios declarados.

¿”Ante quién” se responde? Primero se responde ante la propia comunidad universitaria, ante los académicos, funcionarios y alumnos, ante cada uno en particular y ante todos como comunidad. Luego se responde al país, al Chile de hoy y del futuro, la universidad tiene que visionar el futuro y adelantarse a las necesidades que el país le hará por nuevos servicios. Además en una sociedad globalizada, la universidad tiene que responder a los requerimientos de América Latina y del mundo.

¿"Cómo" se es responsable? Por medio del desarrollo de los procesos claves de gestión, docencia, investigación y extensión universitaria, atravesados por instancias de reflexión que le otorguen la profundidad y la contingencia social que requieren las respuestas universitarias. Se es responsable desde las funciones cotidianas, por lo tanto la RSU no es una actividad extra-programática, es parte de su esencia, de su “ethos”, de su forma de ser Universidad.

Otras definiciones de Responsabilidad Social

Hoy, en la experiencia latinoamericana, nos encontramos con otras formas de definir la Responsabilidad Social, definiciones que no son contradictorias con la planteada por Universidad Construye País, pero que aportan miradas y acentos diferentes que muy bien vale la pena considerar en la discusión del concepto.

Francois Vallaeys, filósofo francés asentado en la Universidad Católica de Lima, define la Responsabilidad Social Universitaria (RSU) como: “Una política de calidad ética del desempeño de la comunidad universitaria (estudiantes, docentes y personal administrativo) a través de la gestión responsable de los impactos: educativos, cognitivos, laborales y ambientales que la universidad genera, en un dialogo participativo, con la sociedad para promover el Desarrollo Humano Sostenible” (Vallaeys, 2007).

Quizás lo central de la diferencia de los planteamientos de otros autores latinoamericanos con la definición primera de Universidad Construye País, está en que nuestra institución acordó un conjunto de valores y principios, que no clasificó en momentos de la evolución de la ética [3] o de acuerdo a la teoría de los Derechos Humanos [4]. Hoy, en América Latina se ponen acentos y énfasis a los que se adhieren conjuntos de universidades. Por ejemplo las Universidades adscritas a la red AUSJAL [5], privilegian los derechos humanos de segunda generación, económicos y sociales y enfatizan las necesidades de Justicia Social que tiene América Latina. Otros, como Francois Vallaeys [6], ponen el acento en temas planetarios, en el efecto invernadero, en el ahorro de energía, etc.

Nuestro proyecto Construye País es una red de universidades muy diversas, donde confluyó el humanismo laico y el humanismo cristiano y dejó libertad a las Universidades para poner sus propios énfasis. Lo importante del planteamiento fue que puso los valores y la ética, en el centro, en el corazón de la universidad, solicitando que cada una explicitara sus prioridades y trabajara en coherencia con ellas. Detrás de este planteamiento está la convicción de que los valores se aprenden desde la emoción- motivación; la vivencia o experimentación de ellos y luego la reflexión y argumentación. Por tanto las universidades deben definir y comprometerse con los valores que están dispuestos a vivir y que son claves en su proceso de desarrollo.

Sobre procesos en la universidad e impactos fuera de ella

Otra diferencia encontrada es la que se refiere a procesos e impactos. Construye País puso el acento en los procesos universitarios y no trabajó los impactos que la universidad genera. Así, el foco inicial de Construye País está en los valores y principios que la Universidad pretende encarnar al desarrollar sus funciones básicas; mientras que el foco de la propuesta de Vallaeys está en los impactos que la Universidad genera en cuatro (ahora cinco) dimensiones claves que se relacionan también con sus funciones específicas.

La explicitación de los valores y principios permite ahondar en el fundamento, en el sentido de lo que nuestras universidades se proponen hacer y aportar a la sociedad. El énfasis en los impactos nos recuerda que finalmente las intenciones no dejan de serlo hasta que generan hechos capaces de transformar efectivamente la realidad. Por otro lado, el foco en valores y principios nos ayuda especialmente a fijar metas y a seleccionar estrategias coherentes con los mismos. Asimismo, nos permite someter esas definiciones a constatación empírica, o sea verificar si la estrategia seleccionada nos permitió efectivamente avanzar en el sentido deseado.

Parece existir complementariedad en ambos enfoques, y esto me parece un gran aporte de otros autores. Cabe recordar, sin embargo, que la RSU se ejercita por medio de los procesos claves de la universidad y, por lo tanto, no es una actividad extra-programática, o sólo propia de sus alumnos, sino que, como hemos dicho, compromete la esencia de la universidad, su modo de ser, su ethos.

Nos resta aún, trabajar los impactos que se producen con la acción u omisión en su gestión. En este sentido Zaffaroni (2007) [7] distingue cuatro áreas de impacto, las que fueron ampliadas a cinco en la última reunión de AUSJAL en Caracas. Se distinguió que la Universidad produce:

1) Impacto Organizacional, equivalente a la Responsabilidad Social Empresarial. Toda organización, por ser tal, produce impactos por medio de su gestión. Debería existir una ética de la Gestión, donde los valores estuvieran en el centro y donde esta ética se expresara en el clima laboral; en la relación con los clientes y proveedores; en la relación con los funcionarios -académicos y administrativos- y en la relación con sus estudiantes. En esta área de impactos hay que desarrollar un conjunto de políticas de responsabilidad social, relacionadas a cada uno de los aspectos antes señalados.

2) Impacto Ambiental. Las universidades producen impactos en el medio ambiente, tales como desechos o residuos contaminantes; uso indiscriminado de agua y energía; ruidos molestos; basuras sin separación en el origen. A su vez la universidad puede concienciar a su alumnado sobre los problemas ambientales a los que se enfrenta la sociedad y contribuir activamente a superarlos.

3) Impacto Educativo. Este ocurre en el procese de ; cuando los alumnos se forman como ciudadanos democráticos; cuando la comunidad universitaria tiene la posibilidad de participar activamente en proyectos de servicio a la comunidad; cuando participan en la reflexión de las experiencias realizadas; cuando los miembros de la comunidad educativa se comprometen voluntariamente en proyectos de servicio; cuando hay un trabajo interdisciplinario en proyectos de servicio a la comunidad; cuando se producen mejoras continuas en los currículo a partir de las experiencias realizadas, etc.

4) Impacto Cognitivo. Cuando las líneas de investigaciónse abren a temas del desarrollo humano sostenible; cuando los proyectos de investigación asumen los temas étnicos; de género; de pobreza; de la discapacidad; cuando los proyectos de investigación incluyen la integración de diversas perspectivas disciplinarias; cuando hay un aprendizaje compartido con otros actores de la comunidad; cuando el conocimiento generado cumple con los estándares establecidos por la universidad sobre calidad y pertinencia; cuando los conocimientos generados son difundidos entre la comunidad académica, entre los actores relevantes en el tema y en la opinión pública en general, etc.

5) Impacto Social. Cuando la universidad abre sus puertas y recibe alumnos de los sectores más desfavorecidos de la población; cuando la universidad se hace cargo de sus alumnos reales y logra que se mantengan en el sistema con buenos rendimientos; cuando desarrolla programas para nivelar a los estudiantes en competencias básicas; cuando trabaja la deserción y la titulación oportuna; cuando cuenta con una serie de beneficios estudiantiles que permiten realizar lo descrito; cuando los proyectos sociales que emprende la universidad han cumplido con los objetivos que se plantearon; cuando la universidad mantiene convenios con actores sociales para desarrollar proyectos conjuntos; cuando las acciones emprendidas tienen un alcance significativo; cuando hay un presupuesto de la universidad destinado al vínculo con los actores sociales relevantes de la comunidad, etc.

Sin lugar a dudas las nuevas miradas, los nuevos aportes y los nuevos énfasis harán que, entre otros aspectos, la red Construye País reflexione sobre los impactos de una gestión socialmente responsable y acordar sistemas e indicadores para medirlos sistemáticamente. El debate es enriquecedor y espero que redunde, finalmente, en la consecución de nuestros objetivos, una nueva manera de ser universidad, que impulse prácticas efectivas de responsabilidad social de nuestras instituciones.

Mónica Jiménez de la Jara, actualmente Rectora de la Universidad Católica de Temuco-Chile. Trabajadora Social de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile y Magíster en Trabajo Social de la Universidad Católica de América en Washington DC. Líder del Proyecto Universidad Construye País que agrupa a 14 universidades Chilenas, creadora de la Corporación Participa y de la Corporación Aprender, actualmente presidenta de las Fundaciones AraucaníAprende y La Frontera.

Mónica Jiménez de la Jara

Rectora

Universidad Católica de Temuco

NOTAS

[1]: Hoy integran la red, la Universidad de La Serena; Universidad de Valparaíso; Universidad Católica de Valparaíso; Universidad Federico Santa María; Universidad de Talca; Universidad Católica del Maule; Universidad de Concepción; Universidad del Bío-Bío; Universidad de La Frontera; Universidad Católica de Temuco; Universidad Austral de Chile; Universidad Alberto Hurtado; Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana; Universidad de Chile y Universidad de Santiago de Chile.

[2]: Ernesto Ottone, Secretario Ejecutivo Adjunto de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe, “Hace falta un debate público sobre acciones afirmativas” en libro editado por Fundación Equitas: Caminos para la Inclusión Social en la Educación Superior, 2007.

[3]: Ética de la Bondad; Ética de la Justicia; Ética Planetaria

[4]: Derechos Humanos Civiles y Políticos de Primera Generación que se centran en el valor de la Libertad; Derechos Humanos de Segunda Generación, Económicos y Sociales que se centran en el valor de la Justicia y Derechos Humanos de Tercera Generación, Derecho al Desarrollo Sustentable, a la Paz, a la Solidaridad Internacional. que se centran en el valor de la interdependencia y la solidaridad internacional.

[5]: AUSJAL: Asociación de Universidades confiadas a la Compañía de Jesús en América Latina (Red AUSJAL), cuya secretaría la tiene la Universidad Andres Bello de Caracas, Venezuela

[6]: Francois Vallaeys, es un filósofo francés, radicado en Lima, Académico de la Universidad Católica de Perú, Lima, quien enfatiza los Derechos Humanos de Tercera Generación, su preocupación es planetaria, los temas ambientales y de la paz son prioritarios. Para él las generaciones de derechos humanos son inclusivas; es decir, no puede haber una preocupación planetaria si no la hay por las libertades y por la justicia social. Presentación realizada en la reunión de AUSJAL, Caracas, junio 2007.

[7]: Cecilia Zaffaroni, Universidad Católica del Uruguay, distingue cuatro áreas de impacto: Impacto Educativo; Organizacional; Cognitivo y Social. Reunión AUSJAL en Caracas, junio 2007.

The socially responsible university: a way of being

2007-11-19T09:41:00.000-05:00

In 2001, the project "Universidad Construye País" was launched in Chile. Its aim was to carry out coordinated, joint social responsibility activities in the country’s universities. One of the people behind this project is the rector of the Catholic University of Temuco, Mónica Jiménez de la Jara. In this article, she analyzes the development of the project and its conceptual roots, and discusses the most important aspects of theories and practices of university social responsibility.

This article first appeared in the GUNI newsletter. You can link to it here

The Universidad Construye País project was set up in 2001. Its network now includes fourteen Chilean universities[1]. Since 2001, many changes have occurred in Chile, Latin America, the world, even in my own life. Today, I manage a university whose main characteristic is that it promotes social mobility in an indigenous context. Thus, I am in the enviable position of being able to directly apply a range of socially responsible practices.

Regional context: Latin America and the Caribbean

The situation in Latin America has prompted universities to consider social commitment or, in other words, social responsibility to be an essential principle driving their actions. According to CEPAL figures, 224 million people live in poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean. Of these, 98 million are indigenous peoples. Living in poverty does not only mean a lack of resources to pay for basic necessities; it also involves social exclusion, which prevents full participation in society (Ottone, 2006)[2].

Poverty affects development opportunities in families, and is transferred from generation to generation. The low educational achievement of broad segments of the population is one of the main mechanisms of the intergenerational transfer of poverty. Young people from poor social strata often have low educational levels and lack access to quality education. Therefore, their main channel of mobility and social inclusion is blocked (Ottone, 2006). Can universities remain indifferent to this situation?

The social responsibility of universities: our initial definition of the concept

One of the first activities of the Universidad Construye País project—once it had raised the awareness of rectors, academics and students from various universities and formed teams in each participating university—was to define the concept of social responsibility and indicators for measuring it. Work on this task began in 2002 as a joint effort (Universidad Construye País, 2006).

At that time, we defined the social responsibility of universities as the capacity to disseminate and put into practice a series of principles and values, by means of four key processes: management, teaching, research and extension activities.

We then had to define our declared values and principles:

- On a personal level: dignity for the individual, liberty and integrity.

- On a social level: public good and social equity, sustainable development and environmental issues, sociability and solidarity for successful coexistence, acceptance and appreciation of diversity, civic responsibility, democracy and participation.

- On a university level: commitment to truth, excellence, interdependence and transdisciplinarity.

We also defined what universities are responsible for and to whom and how they should respond.

In terms of what universities were responsible for, we agreed that they had to put our declared principles and values into practice. In other words, they were expected to base their academic and organisational responsibilities on ethical concepts. These concepts should influence management, teaching, research and extension decisions. Ethics and the declared values and principles must be at the heart of universities.

Whom should universities answer to? Firstly, universities should answer to their own communities, including academics, other employees and students—both individually and as a community. Then, they should answer to their country, to the Chile of the present and the future. Universities must have a view of the future and anticipate the country’s needs for new services. In addition, in a globalised society, universities must answer to the needs of Latin America and the world.

How can they be responsible? Through the key processes of management, teaching, research and university extension, which should include moments of reflection to provide the depth and social contingency required of a university’s response. Universities should be responsible in their daily functions. Thus, social responsibility of universities is not an extracurricular activity; it is part of universities’ essence, their ethos, their way of being.

Other definitions of social responsibility

Other definitions of social responsibility can now be found in Latin America. They do not contradict the Universidad Construye País definition. However, they provide different views and emphases, which are worth considering in this discussion of the concept.

François Vallaeys, a French philosopher at the Catholic University of Lima, defines social responsibility of universities as a policy of ethical quality in the activities of the university community (students, lecturers, administrative staff), through responsible management of the educational, cognitive, labour and environmental impact of the university, in a participative dialogue with society to promote sustainable human development (Vallaeys, 2007).

Perhaps the main difference between the approaches of other Latin American authors and the initial Universidad Construye País definition is that our institution agreed on a series of values and principles that it did not classify in terms of the development of ethics [3] or human rights theory[4]. In Latin America today, emphasis is placed on principles that are adhered to by groups of universities. For example, universities that are members of the AUSJAL[5] network prioritise second-generation human rights, which are economic and social, and emphasise Latin America’s need for social justice. Others, such as François Vallaeys, [6] emphasise global topics, such as the greenhouse effect, energy saving, etc.

The Universidad Construye País project involves a network of very different universities, in which secular and Christian humanism meet. Therefore, members are left to put their own emphasis on social responsibility. The main aim of the Universidad Construye País approach is to put values and ethics at the very centre of universities. Each university in the network was requested to specify its priorities and to be consistent with them in its work. Behind this approach is the conviction that values are learnt from emotion and motivation, then experience and experimentation, followed by reflection and discussion. Therefore, universities should define and commit to the values that they are willing to apply and that are essential to their development process.

University processes and their impact outside universities

Another difference between the definitions of social responsibility relates to processes and impacts. Universidad Construye País emphasised university processes, rather than the impact of universities. Thus, the initial focus of the project was on the values and principles that the universities aimed to embody and develop in their main functions. In contrast, the focus of Vallaeys’s proposal is on the impact that universities have in four (now five) key dimensions, which are also related to specific functions.

In specifying values and principles, we can examine the bases of social responsibility in greater depth, in terms of the intended actions of our universities and their contributions to society. In contrast, an emphasis on the impact of universities highlights the fact that intentions are only intentions until they generate events that can effectively change reality. Focusing on values and principles helps us to fix goals and select strategies that are consistent with these goals. Likewise, it enables us to submit these definitions to empirical verification, i.e. we can check whether a selected strategy enables us to advance effectively in the required direction.

These two approaches appear to be complementary, due to the major contribution of other authors. However, social responsibility of universities is effected through key university processes. Therefore, it is not an extracurricular activity or an activity for students alone. As stated above, it involves the very essence of a university, its way of being and its ethos.

We still need to work on the impacts produced by implementing or ignoring actions in the university management. Zaffaroni (2007) [7] distinguishes four areas of impact, which were increased to five in the last AUSJAL meeting in Caracas. Universities have:

1) Organisational impact. This is equivalent to corporate social responsibility. All organisations inevitably have an impact resulting from the ways in which they are managed. A management ethic to which values are central should be applied. This ethic should be expressed in the work culture, in the relation between clients and suppliers, in the relation between employees—both academics and administrative staff—and in the relation with students. In this area, a series of social responsibility policies need to be developed for each one of the aforementioned aspects.

2) Environmental impact. Universities have effects on the environment, in the form of waste and pollutants, indiscriminate use of water and energy, annoying noise and waste that is not separated at source. In turn, universities can raise students’ awareness of the environmental problems facing society and contribute actively to overcoming them.

3) Educational impact. This arises when students are educated in values and in an understanding of the society that they are part of; when students are educated as democratic citizens; when the university community can participate actively in projects that serve the community; when members of the educational community participate in reflecting on experiences; when they commit themselves voluntarily to service projects; when there is interdisciplinary work on projects that serve the community; when there are continuous improvements in syllabuses on the basis of experience; etc.

4) Cognitive impact. When research areas open up to sustainable human development issues; when research projects address themes related to ethnicity, gender, poverty and disability; when research projects integrate different disciplinary perspectives; when learning is shared with other community actors; when the knowledge generated meets standards of quality and relevance established by the university; when the knowledge generated is disseminated to the academic community, relevant actors in the field and the general public; etc.

5) Social impact. When the university opens its doors to receive students from the most disadvantaged sectors of the population; when the university takes responsibility for its students and keeps them in the education system with good results; when programmes are developed to give all students the same level of basic competence; when studies are undertaken on dropping out and on appropriate qualifications; when there are a series of student benefits that help to achieve the aforementioned; when the social projects undertaken by the university comply with the proposed objectives; when the university has agreements with social agents to develop joint projects; when the activities that are carried out have considerable scope; when there is a university budget allocated to forming links with relevant social agents in the community; etc.

These views, contributions and different emphases will help the Universidad Construye País network to reflect on the impacts of socially responsible management and agree on systems and indicators to measure it systematically. This debate is enriching. I hope that it will help us to achieve our objectives and to bring about new ways of being university, in which effective practices of social responsibility are boosted.

Mónica Jiménez de la Jara is currently rector of the Catholic University of Temuco, Chile. She has a qualification in social work from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and a master’s degree in social work from the Catholic University of America, Washington DC. She is the leader of the Universidad Construye País project that brings together 14 Chilean universities, founder of the Participa and Aprender corporations and is currently the chairwoman of the AraucaníAprende and La Frontera foundations.

Mónica Jiménez de la Jara

Rector

Catholic University of Temuco

FOOTNOTES

[1] The universities that currently make up the network are the University of La Serena, the University of Valparaíso, the Catholic University of Valparaíso, the University of Federico Santa María, the University of Talca, the Catholic University of Maule, the University of Concepción, the University of Bío-Bío, the University of La Frontera, the Catholic University of Temuco, the Austral University of Chile, the Alberto Hurtado University, the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, the Metropolitan Technological University, the University of Chile and the University of Santiago de Chile.

[2] Ernesto Ottone, Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, “Hace falta un debate público sobre acciones afirmativas”, in the book published by the Equitas Foundation: Caminos para la Inclusión Social en la Educación Superior, 2007.

[3] Ethics of goodness, ethics of justice, global ethics.

[4] First-generation civil and political human rights, which are focused on liberty; second-generation human rights, which are economic and social and focused on justice; and third-generation human rights, which are the right to sustainable development, peace and international solidarity and are focused on the values of interdependence and international solidarity.

[5] AUSJAL: Association of Universities Entrusted to the Company of Jesus in Latin America (AUSJAL network), whose secretariat is at the Andres Bello University, Caracas, Venezuela.

[6] François Vallaeys is a French philosopher resident in Lima. He is an academic at the Catholic University of Peru, Lima. He stresses third-generation human rights. His concerns are global: he considers that environmental topics and peace are priorities, and that the generations of human rights are inclusive, i.e. there can be no concern for global issues if there is no concern for issues of liberty and social justice. Presentation given at the AUSJAL meeting, Caracas, June 2007.

[7] Cecilia Zaffaroni, Catholic University of Uruguay, defines four areas of impact: educational, organisational, cognitive and social. AUSJAL meeting in Caracas, June 2007.