** Important announcements for November 2009**
International applicants wishing to join us at SIT in January 2010, please submit your Certification of Finances (the first step toward a student visa) by November 15th. Check our website for more information, and feel free to contact your admissions counselor at admissions@sit.edu with any questions.
World Learning: a Program at Work Worldwide
by Mel Thompson
IFYE NEWS; The Official Publication of the International Four-H Youth Exchange Association of the USA.
Summer 2009
Mystery Couple Identified! Remember the “mystery” couple with sunglasses referenced in the Winter/Spring 2009 issue? Here they are, with and without the shades – Jenna Shearer Demir, MA-Paraguay 1992, and her husband, Hakan Shearer Demir.
Both Jenna and Hakan are affiliated with World Learning—a 77- year-old global non-profit organization headquartered in Brattleboro, Vermont. World Learning, founded in 1932 as The Experiment in International Living, conducts international education and development programs in more than 75 countries worldwide. The Experiment has been providing high school students with summer opportunities in countries around the world since its founding. In addition, its international education programs includes an SIT Study Abroad and SIT Graduate Institute (formerly the School for International Training), along with the International Development Program. Jenna is a Graduate Admissions Counselor for the SIT Graduate Institute. Hakan, who is originally from Turkey, has acted as adjunct faculty at SIT, from which he graduated in 1999 with a Master’s Degree in Intercultural Management. Jenna completed her master’s in International Cooperation and Development Studies at the University of Pavia in Italy in 2003.
Today, the SIT Graduate Institute offers a robust set of graduate and continuing education programs designed to meet the pressing need for trained professionals with skills to address global issues. It can be a unique and valuable experience for 4-H International exchange alumni and others interested in international development and related programs. For more information on World Learning, visit: www.worldlearning.org and/or e-mail Jenna at: admissions@sit.edu. Read the rest of this entry »
Column: Find your cause
The Campus Activist, The Brown and White
By: Alex Kadis
Posted: 10/23/09
This past weekend, I drove northeast from Lehigh to the small town of Brattleboro, Vt. I did not drive hundreds of miles for maple syrup, nor for moose watching – in fact, I was informed that moose do not frequent that part of Vermont. I was shopping for a graduate school.
After the graduate school’s open house finished, I was invited to listen to Mr. Joseph Sebarenzi speak. Sebarenzi is the former head of the Rwandan Parliament, and a current professor at the School for International Training (SIT) Graduate Institute.
He, like many of his Rwandan brethren, has lived a tragic life. During the Rwandan genocide in 1994, many of his relatives were killed; among them were his parents and his seven siblings. When he returned to Rwanda years later, he did not seek revenge. Sebarenzi said it is important not to hate those responsible for the genocide – he hates the idea of genocide itself. Sebarenzi’s approach toward keeping a proper perspective on genocide is composed of three pillars. Read the rest of this entry »
Tatsushi Arai recently published “Give Peace a Channel: Launching an International Satellite TV Channel for Conflict Resolution Dialogue”. Media Development 3 (2009). Tats also presented a series in Washington DC on his new book Creativity and Conflict Resolution: Alternative Pathways to Peace at World Learning, American University’s School of International Service, George Mason University’s Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. October 12-13, 2009. (More events to come!) Graduate News: October 2009 Page 6
Karen Blanchard will be travelling to Ethiopia in December to continue engagement with five colleagues (an Ethiopian and 4 RPCV’s) on an educational improvement project in Arsi Province, beginning with the school they were part of when volunteers in the 60’s.
Paula Green has been invited by the President of Naropa University to serve as the Spring 2010 Frederick P. Lenz Foundation Distinguished Lecturer in Buddhist Studies and American Culture & Values at Naropa University. Naropa is the recipient of a multi-year grant from the Lenz Foundation, which supports scholarships, a training program in contemplative pedagogy for faculty from throughout the country, a residential fellowship program, and the distinguished speaker series. Paula will be meeting informally with students and faculty, lecturing in a few classes and delivering the official public and published lecture.
Jim Levinson worked on nutrition and food security for the Gates Foundation in Ghana this past summer. He also taught a course on monitoring and evaluation at the Boston University School of Public Health. He is working closely with the newly developed Children’s Investment Fund Foundation based in London. Read the rest of this entry »
There has been much excitement as President Weinberg has stepped into his new role as President/CEO of World Learning. Hard at work strengthening and developing new relationships with other organizations, he has been acknowledging the power of World Learning programs and sharing student stories with others.
That sounds like a bold claim, but I have the good fortune of observing examples of deep change emerging from our programs around the world every day.
Consider the story of Nadine Channaoui, a fall 2008 student on our SIT Study Abroad program Bolivia: Multiculturalism, Globalization, and Social Change. During her program, she conducted Independent Study Project research on the plight of migrant children. Through this work, she learned about the lack of literature available to children in local languages. Working with people in the local community, she wrote and illustrated a bilingual children’s book (Spanish-English). Her effort galvanized other students, who wrote and illustrated a series of seven children’s books. Over the last year, she has worked with a team of World Learning staff, local community members, family, and friends to raise money to publish the books. Together they have set up a Web site and are working with bookstores in the United States to sell copies, which allows them to send books to Bolivia.
Nadine’s work is making an impact in Bolivia, but it has also changed lives closer to home by making others more aware of and concerned about the world beyond their backyards and borders. She has also demonstrated the power of relationships across borders that endure and continuously take on new meaning.
This is just one example of the cascade of change inspired by World Learning’s programs. Read the rest of this entry »
Today’s blog posting features student Audra Teague, a PIM 66 student in the Social Justice for Intercultural Relations degree area who also completed the CONTACT Graduate Certificate in Conflict Transformation. Audra is currently working for the Interfaith Center for Peace, and plans to present her capstone in May.
Director hopes to break down barriers
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 6:17 PM
By KEVIN PARKS
ThisWeek Staff Writer
Audra Teague is the head of the Interfaith Center for Peace, located inside the Indianola Presbyterian Church. By Adam Cairns/ThisWeek
Television images of famine victims don’t spur everyone to take action. For a young Audra Teague, they made a profound impact.
She grew up to become executive director of the Interfaith Center for Peace Read the rest of this entry »
Mary Kay Sigda, a PIM alumna and adjunct faculty at SIT Graduate Institute, has recently joined the SIT PIM Admissions team. In today’s blog post, Mary Kay shares ways to deepen your knowledge of the SIT Graduate Institute through personal or virtual visits to campus.
Virtual Open House – FRIDAY OCTOBER 23
Join faculty, current students and our admission team online for a Virtual Open House. We offer two exciting ways to virtually link into graduate school life.
The first is a live chat discussion where our team will be available to instantly answer your questions. The second option is a discussion board where you can post questions a few days prior to and a few days after the Virtual Open House and our team will post a response as they are received.
Personalized Visit to SIT Read the rest of this entry »
Noah Baker Merrill: Cofounder, Direct Aid Iraq
by Staff, Utne Reader
November – December 2009
In February 2007 humanitarian activist Noah Baker Merrill was in Jordan with an Iraqi friend, expecting to interview a family of Iraqi refugees. Word had spread, however, and the pair spent their evening with an entire house of displaced people. As they were leaving, Baker Merrill was paralyzed with anger and grief, overwhelmed by the suffering and loss.
“Stop it,” his friend said. “I understand how you’re feeling and I appreciate it. What we need from you is not to be angry and sad, but for you to work hard and stay with us.” That seed of solidarity led Baker Merrill later that year to cofound Direct Aid Iraq, an innovative humanitarian aid and peace-building network staffed by both Americans and Iraqis. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s so easy to be ‘green’
By KEITH WHITCOMB JR., Bennington Banner
Thursday, April 23
BENNINGTON — In addition to its verdant mountains, Vermont may now claim it has the “greenest” people.
Vermont ranks first in the nation for green behavior exhibited by citizens, according to a study on environmentally friendly behavior conducted by Pitney Bowes Business Insight, a business data provider, and Earthsense, an applied marketing company based in Syracuse, N.Y. The Eco-Insights survey gives demographic information on green buying habits to companies that deal in such products. It’s done twice a year, and samples 30,000 American consumers each time. Earthsense conducts the survey, but uses demographic clusters identified by Pitney Bowes.
According to the survey, Vermonters are 9 percent more likely to exhibit green behavior. Read the rest of this entry »
By Stephanie Wilton-Kumagai, MAT Admissions blog
For many students, experiencing their first New England fall has been an exhilarating experience. Here are some pictures capturing fall moments on the SIT campus and the surrounding area.
Upton Pond by Emily Hall
Neighborhood Farm by Emily Hall
