Global Engagement Summit

Center for Global Engagement's Engage Uganda

Ryan Pederson and Liz Voeller — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:15:03 -0700

Gulu: St. Monica’s Girls’ School and Assetmap.org

St. Monica’s

A few weeks ago, I spent a few days in Gulu with our team there. We have five girls who are working with a vocational training school that is mostly attended by teenage girls who had been abducted and raped during the war in the North. The school is incredible—it trains several hundred girls in several different vocational disciplines and also has a nursery connected for the girls’ children. The school is run by a group of warm, caring, and quite fun-loving nuns. One of them, Sister Rosemary, was recently profiled as a CNN Hero, but you would never know that she has received so much publicity as she continues to go about her work with a joyful, light-hearted demeanor, never taking herself too seriously. I admire her ability to move forward in response to so much pain in the Gulu community with such a strong sense of joy and good humor—she doesn’t take matters lightly or flippantly, but inspires others with her joy for life in response to challenges.

At the school, our students are currently working with several teachers to design an extracurricular program that would focus on boosting the self-esteem, leadership skills, and peer mediation of the girls. Many of them are incredibly shy, but have seemed to have opened up a bit already with the Northwestern students. When I arrived to see them on a Sunday afternoon, our students were deeply immersed in games with dozens of the youth at the school and seemed to be having a blast! Another focus of the program is on helping the teachers at the school recognize the importance of participatory learning. Much of the educational system in Uganda is based on lectures and rote memorization. Classroom discussions are rare. If received well, the encouragement of participatory learning could be the most important legacy of this program. So far, the teachers have responded well and seem like they might embrace this new paradigm.

Assetmap.org

While I was in Gulu I also got to sit in on some meetings that a fellow GES leader and Engage Uganda alum, Megha Agrawal, had in hopes of starting up a digital asset-mapping website called assetmap.org. The website would compile a list of the community based organizations and non-governmental organizations working in Gulu along with their particular needs and assets. The site’s software would then make connections between the organizations that would help the NGO Forum in Gulu facilitate meaningful coordination. I think the project is a great idea, because hundreds of NGOs work in Gulu, but there is little meaningful coordination. So far, the leaders of the NGO Forum are very excited about the idea and have started explaining it to many of the local organizations. I’m looking forward to seeing how it progresses, as it could be a great tool for multiple levels of development—from local CBOs to interested funders—and in many different cities.

Masaka

Next, I traveled to a small city in Western Uganda called Masaka, where we have our fourth team. That team is working with World Vision to develop a hygiene education program through a group of drama students at a local school. The NU students will work with these older primary school students to develop skits that they can take back to their communities to advocate for better hygiene practices and more latrine building.

These students were able to see some of the more frustrating aspects of community development as they bounced from idea to idea based off of a lot of confusing input from different members of the community. But overall, they are getting the best experience in understanding that it is not always easy to identify a meaningful way to get at the root of an issue in a community—in this case, sickness due to poor hygiene/sanitation. They are also recognizing the reality that in many impoverished communities, people are more likely to make decisions for how they use resources in a way that highly values short-term benefits over long-term benefits. They are thus battling against a reality that most people will not choose to use resources for a latrine when they cannot see the immediate benefits of health. It will be interesting to see how communities respond to their childrens’ fun but serious dramas advocating for better hygiene and latrine building…

Students help with community-based microlending

Ryan Pederson and Liz Voeller — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:07:35 -0700

Project Profile: Jinja

I wrote the other day that it has been frustrating to not immerse myself in one particular community this summer. While I am still feeling this tension, my short trip to Jinja gave me a glimpse of the benefits of being more mobile.

Our student team in Jinja (which is about a 1.5 hours drive east of Kampala) has been connected through the Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD) with a local NGO called Organization for Rural Development (ORUDE). After a short region-specific orientation with FSD, the Jinja team was plopped down at ORUDE (which, like GYPA in Kampala, also graciously hosted a student team last summer).

Given the short duration of the students’ stay, they were told that they had to come up with their project proposal by the end of the first week. When I arrived to check in on them on Thursday afternoon, they had just gone through a crash course on ORUDE’s current operations and were debating three possible project ideas that the Director had suggested would be feasible for their time.

ORUDE currently specializes in training farmers in developing agriculture as a business. Most related to the students’ project, ORUDE links up farmers with microfinance institutions (MFIs) and trains them in the borrowing process. Yet, the current set up sees a lot of the wealth generated by micro-lending captured by the MFIs themselves. Furthermore, the MFIs in many ways act like traditional banks and do not offer credit to the poor rural farmers as easily as one might expect from an MFI. Recognizing these issues, ORUDE has hoped for a while that they could help some of the groups of farmers that they work with form a grassroots lending and credit association. The association would be controlled by the farmers, would give out credit easier, and would keep the wealth in the community, hopefully stimulating the economy. The students’ debated for hours whether they could actually add value to such a project, which depends a lot on the current field officers simply moving forward with important planning meetings. After much discussion with the Director, though, they all decided that it makes sense to move forward with this project now, with the students adding value in a couple of ways: They will help ensure the timely progression of the project, help design the necessary systems and structures of the association, and provide an outsiders’ perspective, continually asking clarifying questions throughout the process. While the students do not have a clearly defined role as of yet, they and ORUDE are excited about the chance to move forward with a project that could serve as an important paradigm shift for the organization and community.

For me, the short trip to Jinja was reinvigorating. I loved being able to see a different organization with a completely different focus than GYPA and try to quickly wrap my mind around what they are doing and what would be feasible for the students to attempt in their short stay. It was interesting to watch the students go back and forth with Justin, ORUDE’s Director, thinking through all logical steps that would be required for each project and try to decide how to match up what would be best suited for their particular skills and interests as well as ORUDE’s current capabilities and needs. Personally, I realized that I thoroughly enjoyed sitting alongside of the students, drawing on the limited experience that I do have in project work to help them think through what would best for them and their host organization. Should be good prep for project consulting at the Center for Global Engagement…

Where/how to make an impact? Development as freedom?

As I was coming back from Jinja, I re-entered into a train of thought that bothered me a lot last summer. As much as I am excited about gaining confidence in assessing what works and doesn’t work for a small community based NGO, I’m wrestling more and more with the question of how to really make an impact in the world. I feel a tension between focusing on one community so that I can build strong relationships there and really be part of a grassroots process versus getting involved in overarching legal, technological, or administrative structures that shape how development is done. I doubt I will resolve this tension any time soon, but if you have any thoughts, shoot them my way!

I also just began reading Amartya Sen’s book, Development as Freedom. Though I am not far along, it has helped me to frame both the Kampala and Jinja projects as endeavors focused on breaking down mindsets or structures that serve as limiting “unfreedoms” in peoples’ lives. The projects help to create new mindsets and structures that allow for more freedom for an individual and community—in Kampala, mindsets focused on hope, educational opportunities, and community empowerment; in Jinja, ownership of a lending association that will bring more economic freedom. Maybe Sen’s book will help me to address my previous question of where I (we) can insert ourselves into this complex world…

Ryan Pederson

Center for Global Engagement's Engage Uganda '08

Ryan Pederson and Liz Voeller — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:42:46 -0700

Center for Global Engagement: Engage Uganda 2008

This summer I am in Uganda for two months, assistant directing the Northwestern University Engage Uganda study abroad program. This program is run by the Center for Global Engagement at Northwestern and is in its second year. Last year, I was one of 16 students working in teams of 5-6 for a local NGO. I worked with a team in a Kampalan slum to do basic education programs through soccer. This summer, though, I will not be working on a specific program; instead I’m overseeing the twenty students in four projects that will be going on in four different cities across the country (Kampala, Jinja, Masaka, and Gulu).

Throughout the summer I’ll update you on the progress of the different projects, as well as my general reflections throughout the experience.

Why Engage Uganda?

First, though, I want to take a moment to reflect upon the whole purpose of the Engage Uganda study abroad program. It was designed about two years ago by Global Engagement Summit founders Nathaniel Whittemore and Jon Marino with the idea that students will best learn about how to make change in their world through hands-on work in cultural immersion experiences. As a student last year, I saw this vision become a reality. For the first time in my life, I was able to apply much of what I have learned through the Global Engagement Summit in a local community, establishing both relationships and a project that would continue even after our leaving (and enhanced by our returning this summer). Along the way, I learned many lessons (sometimes the hard way) about cross-cultural communication, team leadership, the politics of humanitarianism, and Ugandan culture, not to mention invaluable insights into the way I personally handle adversity and see myself entering into this complex world of social entrepreneurship and development.

My hope for this summer is that twenty new students will have similarly transformative experiences, and that we will see the beginnings of four successful community development projects.

As I write today, the first week of the students’ work with their host organizations is over. I’ve now been able to see both the Kampala and Jinja teams in action and am very excited about where things are at this summer!

In this entry I’ll profile the Kampala project (unlike the first email J) and reflect upon what it has been like to return to what we did last year. I’ll also talk about what it’s been like on the coordinating side instead of the student side of the program, and what that has led me to wrestle with.

Profile of Kampala Project

The first three days of the week I worked with the student team in Kampala as they have been meeting with the Ugandans who worked on our project last year, as well as several new participants. It has been a thrill to see old friends from last year and be able to reunite, not with a focus on a specific project, but just as friends. Being able to walk through a community, see familiar faces, and reconnect with old friends is helping me (a generally task-oriented person) really start to understand how fundamental relationships are in “development.” It has helped me to see that the relationships that emerged last year were valuable just for the sake of the relationships themselves.

At the same time, it has also been great to hear that much of what we did project-wise last summer continued in one way or another throughout the year. As we walked through the community, many of the kids from last year came to greet us, having remembered our group from the year before and eager to participate in this summer’s project. Several of the older ones were quick to point out that they really saw an impact from last year’s educational program and the series of spin-off projects that followed. Better hygiene, more kids in school, youth more involved in the community, etc. The warm reception and report of continued impact were quite encouraging!

It was even more inspiring to learn that people are excited for what might develop this summer. Last year our project saw the five of us from NU empower 15 Ugandan “peer educators” to help run a 5-week sports and development program that taught about hygiene, HIV-prevention, and several other life skills. This year’s NU team is currently working with a few of the same peer educators as well as several new ones to build upon what happened last year and add a new theater component to the learning process. The fact that we have students returning again makes a big difference and has set the students up well to work with eager partners.

Early in the week the NU team had a meeting with the in-country director of the NGO who emphasized the importance of these types of capacity-building programs. He told the students that a well-designed program can help youth rise out of the downward cycle of despair that often comes from living in poverty and is only made worse when people turn to excessive use of drugs, alcohol, and casual sex. On the broadest level, this year’s project will be focused on helping the youth in the community gain hope that they can realize their potential.

The next day, the NU team assembled a core group of returning and new peer educators to formulate a more intense working group that would be involved in all the important decision-making. After the first meeting, both the American students and Ugandan peer educators were beaming because they made great strides in planning for the upcoming project and were simply excited to be working with one another. I was excited to see several Ugandan friends who were quite reticent last year thriving one year later and taking initiative in the planning process. It gave me a strong sense that what we did last year was successful and that this year only has more potential to develop new youth community leaders. More broadly, I was affirmed in my conviction that one of the most important impacts a group of students can make is to help their Ugandan student counterparts understand their own individual and collective potentials to create change in their community. Returning this summer has shown me just that, and makes me excited when I think of the potential ripple effects of this emerging partnership in Kampala.

Reflections on Coordinating and the Mzungu (White Man) Life Style

As exciting as it has been to return to Uganda as a coordinator, I’m realizing that I very much miss being in the thick of things making a lot of important decisions with a project and being immersed in one community for a summer. At times I have felt very restless. On the flip side, though, it is a good challenge to learn how to ask the right questions that hopefully lead not only to good projects, but also good learning experiences for the students. It was very exciting for me to be able to step back and watch this year’s Kampala team in action and know that they will do a great job on their own. And I am looking forward to bouncing around to several different projects throughout the summer.

As I have neither been working on a specific project nor living with a Ugandan host family, I’ve found myself in many ways living an American life style in a foreign country—meeting with students, writing emails in nice cafes, having nice dinners with the other staff and professors. On one hand, it is a restful and comfortable existence. But on the other hand, as I anticipated, it has been quite frustrating. I dislike teaching students about community development and then returning home to have a guard unlock the gate into our staff’s large ex-colonial mansion. I haven’t decided that we are hypocritical—in some ways, the space is necessary for our group that fluctuates from 5 to 9 people any given night. But the disconnect from the average Ugandans’ experience has been frustrating for me when I am hoping to take a step outside of my comfort zone this summer. It has resurrected in me a passion for more incarnational community development, living IN the community where I am working. It will be interesting for me to see how this tension resolves itself or grows throughout the summer. More updates coming soon…

Ryan Pederson

South America Business Forum (SABF)

GES Delegate and Staff — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:31:05 -0700

Young leaders building into the future

When you think about the South American Business Forum (SABF), there are a few words that come to your mind: spirit, challenge & hope. Basically because you are thinking of a group of university students investing their free time (and sometimes full time) in organizing an event which aims to change the present reality.

The SABF is a three-day conference held annually, where 100 university students from all around the world and 40 business, political and intellectual leaders gather in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is organized by 16 students of ITBA, aiming to contribute to the development of South America by means of dialogue and action.

This year the event will take place during August, 8-10th under the main topic "Empowering Agents of Change". Facing our 4th Edition, we have defined lots of challenges and changes in all of our departments in order to keep growing and to be able to make the SABF, in some years time, be recognized throughout the world.

The SABF business model has been designed in order to generate its own financial resources. Our event is economically supported by institutions and private companies that share the spirit of the congress. This is a very difficult labour, specially in our developing country where companies are struggling to grow and usually direct a small budget to donations, plus there is an extensive demand from NGOs, foundations and social projects.

This year, we have had more than 1000 students who have registered at apply.sabf.org.ar from places scattered throughout the world like Singapore, Colombia, Nigeria, Albania, India, USA, Canada, Spain, China, Italy, Hungary, Australia and Kyrgyzstan. All in all, there are students from 36 different countries interested in our project. However, each year we face a great difficulty when trying to get those who register to complete the application and submit the essay necessary to do so. Thus, 2008 arrived with a new member, the SABF Blog, where we intend to generate some discussion which will help those who don´t know where to start when writing their essays. It is important to emphasize the work of our delegates who promote the SABF in their own countries. Due to their will and strong spirit, we have representatives all around, and people from countries away from ours can learn about the SABF from the experience of a SABF delegate.

To increase the phenomenon, this year we have started a new Program called "Institutional Support", which intends to promote mutual support with other organizations which share the objectives and values of the SABF. Through this Program, we try to magnify the efforts made by both in the organization of activities and processes related to communication and publicity.

Prominent leaders from South America and the world are selected by their outstanding career, prestige, values and integrity by our Department of Speakers. As years go by, every time more speakers express their interest in participating of the SABF because they believe in its objectives and because they think they can add, from their own experiences, to the preparation of the future leaders. This kind of response reflects the importance of such events. Moreover, we are patiently growing and starting to be listened to everywhere. After great effort and dedication, this year the SABF has been published in several press publications of National reach, like the newspapers "La Nación", "Ámbito financiero" and "El Comercial de Formosa" and the magazines "Apertura.com", "Watt" and "Universia.com.ar".

All our work achieves great results thanks to the Information Technology Department, who provides all the necessary tools to make our efforts generate the best possible outcomes.

To make the long story short, the basis of the SABF is debate and interaction between all the participants and that, after these three days of activities, each one of us becomes aware of the possibilities we have to change the reality in a positive way. Bearing in mind the different cultures, perspectives and experiences lived which are shared in the event, it is what really happens.

When taking action after three days of the Forum, whether it is by creating a company, working in a NGO or simply by becoming a living example for the others, we are contributing to the development of South America; and this is what the SABF is about.

China and rural education

GES Delegate and Staff — Thu, 08 May 2008 06:26:14 -0700

The vast majority of Chinese children receive their schooling in rural areas. These villages and small towns are far less developed than cities and their rural youth face difficult life prospects. About 80% don't continue on past middle school and many become teenage farmers and migrant workers. Their hometowns are dealing with poverty, environmental degradation, and migration of local talent.

Seeing these realities, some friends and I started the Rural China Education Foundation (RCEF). We focus on improving the quality of education for rural students and their communities. We see education as a powerful tool for advancing rural development because it can instill values like social responsibility, creativity, and self-confidence in the next generation of rural citizens. Rural children are the best hope for improving their own hometowns and country. Together with innovative teachers on the ground, RCEF is experimenting with teaching methods and curriculum that better prepare our students for life and for solving problems in their environments.

Support RCEF by helping us win the GES-Global Giving Competition! For more information on RCEF, visit www.ruralchina.org or read our blog!

Above: RCEF aims for schooling to advance community development. Here, a student practices interviewing and data-collection skills by talking with a villager about what kind of books she prefers for a new village library. Afterwards, he adds his findings to those of his classmates and they perform simple statistical analysis to decide how many books of each category to purchase. They feel that their work and learning has a real effect and is important to benefiting their community.

Solar energy in Panama

GES Delegate and Staff — Tue, 06 May 2008 13:49:58 -0700

Want to support a really amazing project with a positive impact on the global community?

NorthwesternUniversity's student group Engineers for a Sustainable World is making a difference by collaborating with the isolated community of Santo Domingo, Panama to provide families with electricity generated by solar panels. We will train and equip community members to install and maintain solar panel systems in the 14 households that comprise their core community.

www.GlobalGiving.com is a website where donors can view different development and aid projects and donate to their favorite ones. From April 24-May 13, 2008, our Panama Solar Power project is participating in a contest to fundraise for our project on GlobalGiving and possibly earn a permanent spot on the site.

We need your support—every little bit makes a difference!

Please visit the site at http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/2100/proj2066a.html.

Thank you!
Bethany Summersgill and Richard Zheng, project managers
Questions? Contact Bethany at bds@u.northwestern.edu

GlobalGiving Competition and what to expect

Nathaniel Whittemore — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:48:02 -0700

http://www.globalgiving.com/cge.html

For the second year in a row, the Global Engagement Summit has teamed up with the GlobalGiving Foundation to offer our GES2008 alumni the chance to compete to raise funds and engage their supporters in an effort to have permanent listing and fundraising assistance at www.globalgiving.com

This year, about 15 student projects ranging from English Education in Papa New Guinea to IT training in Rwanda to International Business education in Argentina are actively hunting for support. These projects represent some of the most innovative and creative approaches young people are taking to changing the world.

The projects have the next couple weeks to engage as many supporters as they can. At the end of the competition, the two projects with the most dollars raised and one project selected by the GES student staff will be awarded winners and invited to continue fundraising on the GlobalGiving site. Additionally, they will share in $7,000 of bonus prizes provided by GES and GlobalGiving. This year, GlobalGiving will also invite any project that raises $4,000 or more from 100 or more donors to stay on the site until their fundraising objectives have been achieved.

During the next couple weeks of the competition, we'll be inviting the delegates who are promoting these projects to share more information with you, our readers, on this blog. Stay tuned!

Time for Reflection

Ryan Pederson and Liz Voeller — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:49:12 -0700

The summit--for all its learning, questioning, and inspiring--is propelled by a single force: Creativity.

This is what drew me to the summit from the start.

Creativity calls for getting out of your comfort zone. For knowing your foundations, yet knowing no limits. It calls for sharpening your skills to be effective, yet taking risks when the time is right.

We see this at the summit. There's a roller coastering throw-your-hands-in-the-air and shout-for-dear-life enthusiasm during those 5 days, that I've never seen replicated elsewhere. There's an "audacity"--to quote our opening keynote--to take new ideas and run with them. It's exhilarating.

It is this aura of creative possibility that has kept me so dedicated to this group, summit, community over the past three years. And it is this same aura of creative possibility that has frustrated me in my limitations as a student. It is this limitation that I want to touch upon now.

The past year of co-directing the Global Engagement Summit has been a thrilling experience. It's involved up and downs of inspiration, of frustration, yet always a deliberate tone of excitement, consistent throughout. And while I (and other contributors to this blog!) have illustrated the bountiful excitement of a successful summit, I wanted to touch on the frustration that it has produced as well. I feel that it is something many of us face: wanting to do so much, to be overwhelmingly creative, but just not having enough time. I've certainly felt this constraint as a busy student. I'm sure you have, too.

I took on the role of co-director with googly eyes of creating new programs, new outcomes, new connections. I wanted to approach things differently, be more deliberate and innovative about the summit, about how we as a staff worked together. While handsdown I believe we achieved this innovation during this year's summit-- our community development program brought together a dedicated, fun-loving staff, more outcome opportunities are available to participants than ever before, the five-day run was smooth without major hiccups, and there are now talks of an exciting new alumni network community---it was not in the way I expected. My grand plans were cut short by a simple fact--there's just not enough time!

I am profoundly overwhelmed by those of you who go out and start a project, or join a project, within this busy framework. Who dedicate themselves to a cause, to an action, while still being a student--while still having a job. I am curious to know how many of you, dear readers of this blog, do it. How do you pursue the big ideas while getting the everyday done? And furthermore, how do you balance enacting ample creativity with achieving the simple logistical tasks?

These questions have been on my mind throughout the planning process. And yet, during the actual summit, all of that was thrown out the window. I found myself surrounded by growing ideas, being thrown back and forth. Walk a couple steps to the left, hear talks of collaboration in Ghana. Walk a couple steps to the right, hear talks of a formative alumni network. This blog itself--dynamic and continuous--is just one more example of the possibility of collaborative ideas. Here I was, surrounded by as-busy individuals, and the creativity was still possible. For the first time in a while, I let myself jump wholeheartedly into these conversations. It was re-invigorating, to say the least.

I am still invigorated. I realize that school work is inevitable, that the tediousness of logistics is unavoidable, but that possibilities will wait for you. Creative ideas don't stay stagnant. If anything, you get to keep them stored away, growing and collecting interest, while you wait for the perfect opportunity to release them. (If only there was a Creativity Bank that did this for you!) Beyond the relationships, the new ideas, and the inspiration that I gained at this year's summit, there is one profound lesson I have learned: even when you don't think you can do it, you can. You just might have to wait a bit--the right moment will come.

Thank you, everyone, for re-inspiring me. This summit is a powerful thing. I'm so thankful I've been a part of it.

-Liz Voeller

GES Wrap-up from Thepoint.com

Nathaniel Whittemore — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:24:52 -0700

I was extremely fortunate to participate in this year’s Global Engagement Summit. The conference brought 60 students from nearly 40 countries to Northwestern University for a long weekend to take a critical and energizing look at their altruistic ambitions. Delegates were encourage them to discuss their ideas, learn techniques from some established non-profit, business, and NGO leaders and to leave the summit with a better understanding of how they plan to accomplish their goals.

Having been peripherally involved in GES (formerly the International Youth Volunteerism Summit) for the past three years, it is particularly interesting to see the new ways in which the Internet is being used to put projects into action. Before the summit was over, many of the delegates had organized themselves into an online alumni group so that, despite global geographic divide, they will be able to stay in close touch. Delegates, who are required to the conference with projects (at varying stages) in development, are anxious to figure out how to best make the Internet work for them in their overall efforts. This year it was difficult to run into someone who had not somehow integrated web-based techniques into the execution of their plans.

From Alec Ross from the One Economy Corporation sharing insight on his efforts to bridge the digital divide to Christine Arnold of Prevent Human Trafficking talking about taking aim at human slavery and exploitation, participants were given great opportunities to hear from ambitious and awe-inspiring professionals who are making something happen both on the web and on the ground.

Guest Column from GES co-founder in Uganda

Nathaniel Whittemore — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:06:08 -0700

I admit it. I came to Uganda last month with a lot of fears. Would I be able to really accomplish anything meaningful? Was I doing the right thing? Would I lose touch with family and friends in ways not easily repaired? These fears were compounded by the fact that I was leaving such exciting projects like helping to build the Center for Global Engagement at Northwestern.

But, nonetheless, I left.

On April 1, I began a year long research project to explore how residents of Northern Uganda are rebuilding communities after two decades of displacement, and how government and international actors are aiding in this process.

I would argue that my fears are common to young people venturing off into the world in pursuit of real relationships and positive change across cultural boundaries. When you're truly honest with yourself, I think you'll agree.

Fortunately, my GES community is alive and well in Uganda and has—to a great degree—helped me make the transition to life here.

There is Halle, the founder of One Mango Tree and former GES delegate that lives across the hall from me in my flat. There are the Resolve Uganda guys that I met at GES as workshop facilitators—Michael, Peter, and Stephen—that provide research and simple living advice through regular email contact. And the list goes on…

To some extent, its sad and surreal for me to know that you're all there enjoying a powerful and productive summit while I'm an ocean away. But, we all have our own stories to write, and my current chapter unfolds in Uganda.

As you soak in the amazing-ness that is GES2008, find comfort in the fact that the GES community you're now a part of will be there when you depart for the place where your next life-chapter unfolds.

jon looking incredulously as he prepares to dig into some delicious Matoke and Boo

Workshop: Microfinance and Economic Innovation

Nathaniel Whittemore — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:58:25 -0700

Katy McElligott of the Microcredit Summit Campaign presents the microfinance and microcredit innovations. The campaign’s goal is to alleviate poverty by addressing the first millennium goal – to reduce by one half those living under the $1/ day poverty level. The need for microcredit was discusses and the current controversy of commercial investment in microcredit. Participants wrestled with how to set interest rates and add microcredit components to their own projects. McElligott concluded with a presentation of innovations in microcredit including the Jamii Bora Revolution, kiva.org, microplace.com and advocacy through groups such as results.org that pressures the World Bank. She encouraged the group to get involved by learning more, building awareness, becoming and entrepreneur, advocating, and giving.

Workshop: Healthy Working Groups

Nathaniel Whittemore — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:54:46 -0700

Carol Orme-Johnson’s workshop entitled “Healthy Working Groups” communicated to workshop participants various effective methods to positively engage groups working together. Through various icebreaker activities including “Bean Bag Toss,” “Concentric Circles,” and the “Yes Game,” participants were equipped with the tools to get groups working together off to a productive start. Workshop members also learned the importance of taking the time to get to know group members and developing personal connections before delving into the task at hand. Carol Orme-Johnson, who works with Teen Empowerment demonstrated that although taking the time to conduct icebreakers may seem like an inefficient use of time, these exercises generally turn out to be fun and the group as a whole benefits from the experience. Martin, a delegate from Buenos Aires, commented that incorporating icebreakers into a group meetings gives group members the chance to “get to know each other on a more personal note.” Peong Vattana, a delegate from Cambodia, added, “The more we talk to each other, the more we get closer.” Overall, Carol Orme-Johnson emphasized that icebreakers work for groups because they help people learn to communicate effectively, are attention-grabbing, and help people to establish understanding.

Workshop: Creating Systemic Change: Grassroots Activism and High-Level Decision Making

Nathaniel Whittemore — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:51:14 -0700

Sameer Dossani, an activist with experience dealing with institutional obstacles, encouraged the delegates to take a step back from the specificity of their individual projects in order to analyze the broader institutions that will be encountered during the implementation of their projects. In a discussion-oriented workshop, delegates explored the accountability of societal, national, and local institutions through distinct examples. Sameer then asked the delegates to strategically approach these institutions in order to realize systemic change. The delegates considered the uses of insider versus outsider strategies, coming to the conclusion that a combination of both inside and outside pressures best accomplishes positive change. At the conclusion of the workshop the delegates acknowledged the importance of understanding the structure of institutions in the formation of effective strategies to implement their project and systemic change.

Workshop: Engagement 101

Nathaniel Whittemore — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:49:56 -0700

Engagement 101 focused on the philosophies that motivate service. Discussion centered on different realms of relatedness to the people and issues of interest. Delegates talked about practical ways of taking issues that seem “abstract and non-related” into a realm that is “real and related” to themselves personally and also to family, friends, and potential donors. The philosophies behind Project Focus were used as a model to bring seemingly distant issues and people into a more accessible light for the average American. Delegates discussed the responsibilities that we have as socially engaged youth to involve others in our pursuits and the challenges that come with trying to convince others that our projects are worthwhile. The workshop focused on the importance of becoming truly invested in the communities with which we work. It also centered on our responsibility to allow others—be it family, friends, or the community itself—to share in the cross-cultural engagement in order to bring about sustainable and empowering change.

Project Focus is on the web at www.projectfocus.org

Workshop: From Short Term to Sustainable: How to Achieve Lasting Resultes

Madeline Grennan — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:26:28 -0700

        It is important to see short-term development for what it is, as not the most sustainable form of development, but still with an important value add that can have both immediate and sustainable affects. Construction is a common form of short-term development that can have positive ramifications, but as with all development, without understanding a community’s assets projects cannot reach their full potential. A school library he had worked on building did not reach its full potential, at least at first, because of a misunderstanding of the community’s assets. The school’s lack of experience with a formalized check-out system for books among other things made it hard to turn the short term construction into a sustainable project of change. Development should be responsive to community needs and therefore must incorporate their actual, not perceived needs. Knowledge of existing physical infrastructure, social norms, protocol/process, politics, and roles/knowledge of projects and goals are essential to achieving lasting results. With this information it is possible to develop a project with local ownership.
        Saul Garlic stressed the necessity of the “train the trainers” approach to development as a means to reaching sustainable development. This gives another dimension to ownership and by creating a complex system of local community leaders and members (note complex does not require complicated) the loss of outside influence, whether money resources or physical presence, will not lead to the collapse of the program. There is inherent tension between the roles of donor and community, but by educating donors it is possible to give freedom for local ownership.
        In defining sustainability by its original meaning environmentally Saul was able to point out how sustainable development isn’t actually the key because the purpose of development is not to sustain the status quo, but to see improvement and growth. The goal of developmental organizations should be to leave the community to develop from within. The questions of two delegates Bethany and Eric, both with projects both involving engineering, highlighted the hard to answer questions of development. Bethany’s environmentally conscious engineering project questioned how to reconcile the goals of the organization with the needs of the community and Eric’s brought up how it is difficult to gauge when and how an organization should phase itself out of a community, since that is the dream of an organization – to no longer be needed.