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December 2007

LEAP participants begin orientation

Citizen Exchange Program
LEAP Fellows Kick Off DC Program
As part of a Citizen Exchanges grant, the third class of Legislative Education and Practice (LEAP) Fellows arrived in the U.S. on December 11th. The delegation of eight young professionals and Future Leaders Exchanges Program (FLEX) alumni from Ukraine, Georgia, and Russia, was in Washington for a one-week hands-on orientation to the U.S. political system which included site visits and meetings with State Department officials and Hill staffers. Following the orientation, the Fellows will intern with state legislators in Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Michigan, giving them a rare “behind the scenes” perspective on how representative democracy works. Upon returning to their home countries, the Fellows are committed to sharing their knowledge and experience with other young people through mock legislatures and workshops.

DAS Romanowski with A-SMYLE, FLEX and YES high school exchange students in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Youth Exchange Program
DAS Romanowski Continues to Lead Bureau’s Efforts toIncrease Hosting Capacity
Deputy Assistant Secretary Alina Romanowski traveled to Indiana from December 6th to 8th to lead ECA’s second series of meetings geared to increasing family and school hosting capacity for high school exchange students. During a day in Fort Wayne, Romanowski visited two high schools, spoke at a roundtable meeting with school administrators, and attended a host family dialogue. In Indianapolis, she visited three high schools, met with the superintendent of the Indiana School for the Deaf, attended a luncheon in her honor at the Indiana Department of Education, and spoke at a second host family dialogue. On her last day in Indianapolis, she led a panel focusing on the benefits of international exchanges at the Symposium for Tomorrow’s Leaders sponsored by Indiana Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN). Two Youth Exchange and Study Program (YES) and two Future Leaders Exchanges Program (FLEX) students joined her on the panel.

20/20 Filmmaker Amie Williams answers questions about her film NO SWEAT in Hong Kong.

Visual Arts and Film Programs
AFI Project 20/20 Filmmakers Open Windows for Young Chinese Audiences in Hong Kong and Macao
More than 900 enthusiastic students, film professionals, and members of the general public attended a week-long festival of AFI Project 20/20 films from November 12th to 18th. During screenings at the Hong Kong Arts Center, four universities, one high school, the local American Chamber of Commerce, local and non-local labor associations, American filmmakers Amie Williams and David Boyle, and Rwandan filmmaker J.B.Rutagarama introduced Project 20/20 films. They discussed the shared values the films illustrate with audience members, who praised the films' multi-national dialogue. A teacher who brought 40 high school boys to a screening said, "This is a life-changing experience for the younger generation in this room. You have opened a window for the kids." AFI Project 20/20 is part of the Global Cultural Initiative.

 

Teachers in Pune, India collect water samples.

Citizen Exchange Progam
Four Rivers, One World Teachers Test the Waters in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal
As part of the FY-2007 Citizen Exchanges-sponsored program Four Rivers, One World, coordinated by iEARN, three educators from New York traveled to India, Bangladesh, and Nepal to lead collaborative science and community action workshops in each country. U.S. participants trained 20 teachers in each location to collect and test water samples from local rivers, a method that the teachers will now use to inspire their high school students to conduct their own experiments. Teachers and classes in these three countries and the United States will then collaborate online to share and analyze test results. In the words of a U.S. trainer, “This will show students how they can use science to answer their own questions at any time in the future. After all, the most important part of education is teaching others to teach themselves.”

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November 2007

South Asian Clerics in Louisville
Thirteen South Asian Muslim clerics, scholars of religion, and community activists from Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh were hosted on October 31 at the Muhammed Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky. While there, they engaed in dialogue on the Muslim religion in the U.S., the threat of extremism subverting Islam, and the state of the Muslim faith in the world. The participants are in the U.S. on a “Faith and Community Program” exploring the role of faith in American communities and community outreach by religious groups. They are engaging in dialogue, public discussion, and site visits, and learning about Islam in the United States.

Yemeni Business Professionals in Michigan
Twelve young Yemeni business people have spent 16 days in Dearborn, Michigan (October 15 through October 31) engaged in intensive, business-focused internships in Michigan-based firms. The 12 participants were selected from 30 Yemeni entrepreneurs who participated in earlier 2007 workshops conducted by University of Michigan staff and the Arab-American Chamber of Commerce members in Sana'a. The University of Michigan reports that the Yemenis' programs were tailored to their individual needs, that they engaged in site visits, consultations, and business-development internships in diverse companies, and that a number of contracts and agreements for further collaboration and trade between Yemen and Michigan were signed.

FLEX alum in Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Youth Programs
Tajik FLEX Alumni Raise Money for Local Orphanages
one Cookie at a Time
FLEX alumni in Dushanbe and Khujand, Tajikistan, raised over $500 in cash and in-kind support to support local orphanages through their “Buy a Cookie, Help a Child” fundraising events held in June and October. On October 17, alumni sold 200 cookies in less than three hours at the American Center, Aga Khan Humanity Project (AKHP) and Relief International Organization. These dedicated alumni, who have an ongoing relationship with an orphanage for physically disabled children in Dushanbe, have made it their goal to support these children and encourage volunteerism and activism among youth. In addition to the funds raised through cookie sales, other businesses have matched funds raised and donated items needed for events at the orphanages. The efforts of these alumni increase awareness of disabled and orphaned children in their community while helping them raise money for orphanage outreach programs.

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October 2007

U.S. and French participants in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Citizen Exchange Program
French See Integration in Action in Charlotte
Participants from Limoges, France just completed a program in Charlotte, North Carolina, studying the integration of immigrant and minority communities from an American perspective. The delegation consisted of city government officials, social workers, teachers, and youth advocates who work with Limoges' Muslim and Eastern European migrant populations. The participants were particularly interested in a look at the mayor of Charlotte's immigration study, a visit to a Latin festival, tours of area elementary and high schools that have diversity programs, and a meeting with local police department personnel to discuss issues of public safety and community policing. The program culminated in a dinner at a southern-style restaurant, accompanied by a jazz band. The program, coordinated through an ECA grant to Sister Cities International, involves several French cities where ongoing tensions endure in the aftermath of the 2005 riots that swept across France. The project aims to show ways that localities and minority groups can work together to bridge societal divides and to curb any influence that extremist groups might have across racial and religious minorities, especially among youth. Participants from Charlotte will travel to Limoges early next year for the second phase of the project.

Nepalese journalist with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala (center).

Citizen Exchange Program
American Citizen Exchange Participants Meet the Nepali Prime Minister
At the conclusion of a ten-day program of media trainings and workshops in Kathmandu, a group of American media experts and Nepalese journalists met with Nepali Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala on Wednesday, October 3. During the meeting, the Prime Minister gave strong statements supporting freedom of the press, denouncing violence against journalists and pressures against media outlets. The Prime Minister praised efforts to improve media standards and practices in Nepal. The meeting offered an opportunity to showcase the work of the in-country partner, the Nepali Press Institute, and the Citizen Exchange program that is being implemented by World Learning, Inc.

Youth Program
FLEX Alumnus Brings Education to Disabled Students
A concern for the education of Uzbek children with physical disabilities led to FLEX alumnus Anatoliy “Tolik” Kochnev’s creation of the Uzbekistan Online School for the Disabled. In 2006-2007, 30 Uzbek students connected to the Internet to take classes in Russian Literature, English and Social Studies, all certified by the Ministry of Education. As the iEARN Country Director in Uzbekistan, Kochnev received assistance for his online school from the National Youth Movement “Kamolot,” Peace Corps volunteer John Hary, local non-profit UzSciNet, the UN Development Program, the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs through a Global Connections grant to iEARN. To access the Online School’s Russian language website, visit www.school.iearn.uz.

Turkish Dancers in New York City

Cultural Visitor Program
Turkish Dancers Learn New Moves
From September 23 – October 7, four modern dancers and two hip-hop dancers from Istanbul, Turkey participated in a cultural exchange in Washington, D.C. and New York, NY. The program was designed to introduce modern dancers to hip-hop and hip-hop dancers to modern styles. Their program included master classes at Dance Place, Strathmore, Trisha Brown Dance Company, and the Jose Limon Dance Company. The modern dancers were introduced to Mark Morris and the Martha Graham techniques. The hip-hop dancers took master classes with hip-hop dance pioneers Kwikstep and Rokafella. The dancers attended a vast array of world-class performances at the 2007 Fall for Dance Festival in New York. They made site visits to the Liz Lerman Dance Company when they were in DC and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company when they were in NYC that included a class about the Laban movement vocabulary. The dancers returned to Istanbul with a wealth of new dance and educational techniques to share with their fellow dancers and students.

Visual Arts & Film Programs
American Roadside Architecture Exhibit Travels to Nepal
After a tour in Hungary, in the next stop on its tour, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs' (ECA) American Roadside Architecture exhibition provided Nepalese artists, architects, photographers, intellectuals, museum officials and students with a cultural outlet and inspiration for preserving the architectural history of their own country. The Deputy Chief of Mission of U.S. Embassy in Nepal, Randy W. Berry, opened the ECA organized photographic exhibition with the architectural historian and photographer of the exhibition, John Margolies on September 5th at the recently inaugurated new Embassy building in Kathmandu. After the Deputy Chief of Mission’s introduction, John Margolies addressed the 50 photojournalists in attendance. He presented his photographs and spoke about the historical significance of the photographs, as the unusual “kitsch” architecture he captured disappears from the American landscape. Mr. Margolies also delivered presentations to, and had discussion sessions with, 125 students of architecture at Tribhuvan University and with 50 photojournalists and media personalities in Kathmandu. In addition, during Mr. Margolies’s visits to two major Nepali media organizations, he discussed his photographic work in America with reporters, news editors, photographers and photo-editors. The exhibition was covered in Nepal’s four largest daily newspapers, reaching several hundred thousand readers. The exhibition was on view through September 11, 2007.

Students at School #1 in Isfara, Tajikistan crowd around a computer during their webchat with FLEX student Amirkhorn Bozorzoda.

Youth Programs
Tajik FLEX Student has Webchat With Students Back Home
Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX) student Amirkhorn Bozorzoda awoke at 2:00 a.m. on September 29 in his host community of Horicon, Wisconsin, so he could participate in a webchat with students from his home school in Isfara, Tajikistan. Amirkorn’s classmates asked him a number of questions about life in the U.S. and how it differed from life in his native Isfara. The conversation was in both English and Tajik and gave the Tajik students an opportunity to practice their spoken English. They were especially impressed that his American host family had purchased a laptop computer for him. Amirkhorn has been in the U.S. for only two months but his Tajik classmates rated him as already having become “really cool!”

Participants from Lyon visit St. Louis City Hall

Citizen Exchange Program
French Participants Explore Integration in St. Louis
Eleven participants from Lyon, France just completed an ECA-sponsored program in St. Louis, Missouri designed to explore the integration of immigrant and minority communities in France and the U.S. Of particular interest from the Lyon participants were issues of access to employment, education, and engaging in the local political system. Meetings and trainings with local schools, law enforcement, religious leaders, social services agencies, and government officials were held. The delegation was made up of local government officials and community leaders from Lyon’s large Muslim population. During their program, two members of the Lyon delegation appeared on the the Don Wolff show on KMOX radio in St. Louis to talk about the program. That show can be found at:
http://www.kmox.com/pages/66661.php?contentType=33&contentId=4206.

The program, coordinated through an ECA grant to Sister Cities International, involves several French cities where ongoing tensions endure in the aftermath of the 2005 riots that swept across France. The project aims to show ways localities and minority groups can work together to bridge societal divides and to curb any influence that extremist groups might have among racial and religious minorities, especially among youth. Participants from St. Louis will travel to Lyon in the fall for the second phase of the project.

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September 2007

Youth Programs
LEAP Fellows Inspire Russian Youth to be Active in Their Political Processes
From September 6-9, 2007, eight Legislative Education and Practice (LEAP) Program Fellows implemented two highly successful Youth Legislative Institutes in Barnual and Pskov, Russia. The Institutes were a culmination of a series of presentations they conducted among their peers across Russia upon their return from the U.S. in May 2007 after completing six-month internships with U.S. state legislatures. The eighty young Institute participants represented 19 Russian universities, 23 non-governmental and youth organizations, 9 regional and municipal governmental institutions and 6 youth parliaments across Russia’s 11 time zones. Massachusetts State President Pro Tempore Senator Stanley Rosenberg, who hosted two of the LEAP Fellows, joined the Pskov Institute as an expert advisor. Alexey Ekard, Vice-Chair of the Russian Altai Region Legislative Council Committee on Education, Culture and Youth Affairs sums up nicely the goal of the Institutes: “The Youth Legislative Institute in Barnaul is a true embodiment of the intersection of cultures and a great example of dialogue between our two nations. It is marvelous that people from different countries, regions and cities have such an opportunity to discuss contemporary legislative issues in Russia and in the United States.”

LEAP Fellows are young Russian FLEX Alumni with careers in the public sector. They served in U.S. state legislatures across the country from December 2006 to May 2007. The third class of ten Fellows arrives in the U.S. in December 2007. Due to overwhelming success, the program has been expanded to include Fellows from Russia, Georgia and Ukraine.

Crowd gathers at the opening ceremonies of the 2007 10th International Istanbul Biennial

Visual Arts & Film Programs/Biennales
Biennial Opens: Istanbul
Thanks to support from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the United States was officially represented at the 10th International Istanbul Biennial, taking place from September 5 through November 4, 2007. The U.S. was specially honored at the Opening Ceremonies of the Biennial as one of three leading non-Turkish supporters of the exhibition. During the ceremonies award plaques honoring the long standing Turkey-U.S. relationship were presented to Consul General Sharon by the new Turkish Minister of Culture. Three of the Biennial’s U.S. artists - Daniel Faust, Teddy Cruz, and Sam Samore - together with three leading U.S. curators presented workshops to upcoming visual artists and the arts community in Mersin, Turkey. Their visit to Mersin also included a presentation of their work, lectures, panel discussions and a studio visits with local artists and the arts faculty at the University of Mersin, all of which contributed to extending the Biennial’s reach to broader audiences.

Crowd gathers at the opening ceremonies of the 2007 10th International Istanbul Biennial

Tucson FLEX and YES students celebrate citizenship day 2007 through "Media Daze" event
To mark the 220th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, FLEX and YES students in Tucson, AZ spent September 17 exploring the meaning of America's freedom of speech with tours of the local TV station, radio and newspapers to discuss the U.S. Constitution firsthand and learn how the news is reported to the American public.   This "media daze" event opened with a breakfast meeting with Tucson City Councilwoman and former journalist Nina Trasoff who facilitated an open dialogue that encouraged students to compare and contrast observations of the press in the diverse countries represented.  The group then toured the KUAT and KUAZ public television and radio stations where they met with the News Director Peter Michaels and then later with blog journalist Mona Darwich-Gatto, who shared her perspectives as a Muslim-American weekly newspaper columnist.  Ending the day at the Arizona Daily Star, the students not only toured facilities, but also observed the Editors Roundtable, where key staff prioritize the day's news and develop the lead stories for the next edition.  Given recent global media issues, the students' hot topics of discussion throughout the day were on media ethics and government censorship.  Metro Editor Hipolito "Poli" Corella shared several insider stories and emphasized that the Constitution distinctly refers to freedom of speech and press as belonging to the public and the media, not the government. 

Lahore-based newspaper The Daily Times covered the U.S. program of Pakistani educators in the August 18 edition.

Pakistani educators return home to extensive press coverage
Upon completion of a three-week July Citizen Exchange training program in New Hampshire on the Plymouth State University campus, and in Washington, D.C., 15 Pakistani educators and administrators returned home to Pakistan to a flurry of newspaper coverage. The program was covered in The Daily Times, The Nation, The Sun, Pakistan, and Ausaf. This was the fourth consecutive summer that Pakistani educators have trained in New Hampshire, bringing the total number of participants to eighty over the four years of programming.

International Exchange Students Save Host Father’s Life
Three American Serbia & Montenegro Youth Leadership Exchange (A-SMYLE) students, along with one Youth Exchange and Study (YES) student from Afghanistan, helped save the life of host father Harold Shirk, 77, at a party in Ridgeway, Ohio. Harold was walking to his car when he collapsed and fell unconscious.  Both Vladimir Sudimac and Nemanja Trifunovic (both from Serbia) jumped in to help. Vladimir tried to perform vitals, although Harold’s pulse was weak, and Vladimir and Nemanja continued to access vital signs and were communicating with the ambulance team. Both students also began heart and body massages to promote circulation and continued to supply oxygen until the ambulance arrived. Once the ambulance arrived, Darko Markovic and Bashir Kazimi helped Vladimir, Nemanja, and the ambulance squad place the straight board under Harold and transport him to the ambulance. The physicians and ambulance squad were very impressed with how these young teenagers were able to remain focused on saving a life and said they acted appropriately. Harold is alive today and is very appreciative of all the assistance these young men gave to help save his life. 

Citizen Exchange Participant Becomes Minister of Justice in Turkey
Fahri Kasirga, a recent program participant on a current Citizen Exchange grant to The Institute for the Study and Development of Legal Systems, was named the Minister of Justice for the Republic of Turkey on May 8 of this year, prior to the general elections in July. The current grant supports reforms to the Turkish legal system and police oversight procedures in Turkey. In July, four officials from the Turkish Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Justice visited the primary criminal justice institutions in California to study the oversight models currently in operation for its police forces and prisons. Minister Kasirga traveled to the United States in December of 2006 under this Citizen Exchange program when he was still Under Secretary of the Ministry of Justice. During the December program, the delegation met with high level judges, police officers and lawyers involved in various aspects of the California and federal legal system, including U.S. District Courts, Public Defenders Office, County Sheriff Department, District Attorney Office and County Probation Office.

Turkmen and American teacher discuss technology issues at Fairfax, VA school

Web-savvy Turkmen Teachers and Students
Since its inception in 2006, the Global Connections and Exchanges (GCE) program has offered more than 1,000 Turkmenistan teachers and students expanded access to computer and Internet technology.  Over 300 students expanded their world view by participating in online activities, including forums and collaborative projects with peers in the U.S. and other countries.  Fifteen Tech Age Girls from five regions gained valuable leadership and technology skills at a two-week summer camp followed by internships at the U.S. Embassy, Peace Corps and the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe. In addition, exchange and seminars offered teachers opportunities to learn how Internet technology is incorporated into the curriculum. As a result, their students have created 60 blogs and 16 websites. 

The Lebanese players take to the court at Fairmont Heights High School in Maryland

Lebanese Hoopsters Take to the Court in the U.S.
Twelve Lebanese basketball players (six boys and six girls) completed a two-week sports diplomacy program this week. Their program included time in Las Vegas, NV where they attended an Olympic Qualifier match featuring NBA stars and attending the Tarkanian Basketball Academy at the University of Las Vegas. They spent a week in the Washington, D.C. region attending camps at American and George Washington Universities. The Lebanese spent a day at Frederick Douglas High School in Virginia attending classes, visiting the media lab, and playing pick up games with other students. The players were featured performers at a Pep Rally at Fairmont Heights High School in Maryland at the end of their program where they played a game against members of the girls and boys varsity basketball teams before a screaming audience of over 1000 in the school gym.

Grant Opportunities/Grants Awarded
Quest Brings American Sign Language Theatre to Hong Kong
Hearing impaired students in Hong Kong got the opportunity to experience visual theatre through a cultural arts program called “Quest: Arts for Everyone.” This Maryland based theatre arts organization for people with disabilities worked with its partner organization, the Hong Kong Theatre of Silence, to present popular American songs through a series of performances and workshops in American Sign Language. Four workshops were held at the Lutheran School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Hong Kong. The principal collaborative performance drew an audience of over 400 people to the Hong Kong Cultural Center and received intensive media coverage that included TV and radio interviews, and newsprint articles.

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August 2007

U.S. Department of State Sports Envoy Cal Ripken engages with twelve Chinese coaches outside of the Ripken Baseball Academy in Aberdeen, Maryland.

Home Run for Chinese Baseball Coaches
On August 17, twelve Chinese Baseball Coaches completed a five week baseball training program with a brief pep talk from new U.S. State Department Sports Envoy Cal Ripken. The coaches were impressed by the facilities at MLB Urban Youth Academy as well as those at Ripken's Baseball Academy. The group stated that the major difference between Chinese and American coaching styles was that the Americans were primarily positive and supportive of their players at all times while Chinese were normally more harsh and negative. All twelve coaches will work with Cal when he visits China in October.

Zambian Citizen Exchange program participant Chris Mudenda presents on his work at the Rotary Club in Altadena, California. (Image from Pasadena Star News)

Zambia's best, brightest
That was the headline in the Pasadena Star-News on July 13, opening a story on the Zambian young adults who came to the U.S. for two weeks to learn how to start new businesses under a Citizen Exchange grant. The Altadena (California) Rotary Club has assisted these participants to partner with the Rotary Club of Lusaka (Zambia) and train 200 young people in IT skills and business planning. Eight who produced the best business plans were rewarded with the trip to the U.S. to continue their learning and to report on their plans. Chris Mudenda is planning to repair and recycle computers; other business plans include a cyber café, sausage manufacturing, bee products, women's fashions, mushroom farming, grain milling, and photo processing.

The Rhythm Road: American Jazz "All Stars" Hit the Road for Blockbuster Tour to Mali, India, and China
An all-star group of jazz musicians from Jazz at Lincoln Center's The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad program will present programs in Mali: Bamako (August 18-24), India: Ahmedabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, and New Delhi (August 26-Sept 7), and China: Chengdu and Guangzhou (Sept 7- 13). Alvin Atkinson, drums, Charlie Porter, trumpet, Ari Roland, bass, and Eli Yamin, piano will give public concerts, master classes, lecture-recitals, workshops, jam sessions and media interviews. The program, produced by Jazz at Lincoln Center and the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is designed to foster cultural exchange with audiences throughout the world.

Russian Citizen Exchange program participants discuss government accountability issues in Khabarovsk.

Accountability in Governance: Five Dozen Russian Community Leaders Wrap up Two-Year Program
As part of a Citizen Exchanges grant, the Seattle-based Foundation for Russian American Economic Cooperation (FRAEC) gathered Russian delegates in Vladivostok and Khabarovsk in late July and early August for a capstone event entitled "Developing Healthy Communities for Citizen Engagement." The two-year Russian Far East Local Governance and Civic Leadership Program has been working on governance, transparency, and accountability in Khabarovsk Krai and Primorsky Krai. During the intensive 10-day program the team engaged over 60 community leaders in meetings and training sessions. Based on the feedback and data gathered during this trip, FRAEC is compiling a comprehensive final report showing the project's achievements.

Members of In The Continuum, on stage in Grahamstown, South Africa.

From Off-Broadway to South Africa: Getting Real About HIV/AIDs
With support of an Educational and Cultural Affairs Performing Arts Initiative award, In the Continuum, an African-American off-Broadway show about two women dealing with the harsh reality of HIV/AIDS, was presented to several thousand South Africans during a four-week program from July 5 - August 10, 2007. The show opened with five performances at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, starting July 5. The play was also seen by hundreds of high school students at the Education and Arts Festival the following week. The play then traveled throughout South Africa for a wide range of audiences and workshops with drama students and NGO organizations dealing with HIV/AIDS. According to U.S. Embassy Pretoria, the play put deeply moving stories about the impact of HIV/AIDS in front of audiences in a way that another lecture, another study, or another news story simply cannot do.

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July 2007

Participants from Spain.

Spanish Participants Explore Integration of Minority Communities in America
Twelve participants from southern Spain completed the first phase of an ECA-sponsored three-week program designed to explore the integration of marginalized communities in Spain and the US. The U.S. program included presentations and small group sessions focusing on community-based approaches to addressing access to employment, education, and combating radicalized religious groups. Meetings with local schools, law enforcement, religious leaders, social services agencies, and government officials were held in Amherst and Boston, MA; New York, NY; Chicago, IL; and Washington, D.C. Participants found commonality in the degree to which minority communities are changing the face of modern Spain and the United States. American participants will travel to Spain in November for the second phase of the project. The project continues through 2008.

Preschool being built in Kabul, Afghanistan.

ECA Program Results in New School for 500 in Kabul
As a direct follow-up to a Citizen Exchange program, 25 donors have contributed $30,000 towards building a new preschool in Kabul. When complete, the school will offer early education classes to 500 children in Kabul District 6, enabling middle class parents to work, knowing their children are safe. The project was initiated by Habiba Rafhat, an alumnus of a 2006 program coordinated by Women for Afghan Women-Bpeace. This program centered on expanding opportunities for Afghan women to achieve self-sufficiency through entrepreneurial activities. While in the U.S., the participants worked with U.S. businesswomen to develop business work plans. U.S. and Afghan participants are also engaging in a mentoring relationship to enhance the growth and development of the resulting Afghan businesses.

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June 2007

Venezuelan Opposition Given Voice. Six members of a delegation of young political leaders from Venezuela are elated with the opportunity they have been given to speak about their activism in the political opposition in their country during their two-week visit to the U.S. under the ECA grant to the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) June 2-14. After a week in Washington, DC, including meetings with the State Department, the group will travel to Mississippi and Colorado.

Miss Farzana Kausar Managing a Workshop

Pakistani alumna trains 40 in Balochistan. Miss Farzana Kausar, alumna of the 2006 Plymouth State University Summer Institute for Pakistani Educators, led a follow-on training session for 40 educators in Quetta, Pakistan (Balochistan Province) on May 23, 2007, utilizing a book entitled "Just Like Other Kids" to encourage inclusiveness in the teaching curriculum in Pakistani schools. The training was interactive and dialogue based. Participants were encouraged to ask questions, with group work, brain storming and presentations all important aspects of the workshop. At the end of the session all the participants chalked out their work plans for their school regarding inclusive education. A total of five workshops with this theme have now been held in all four provinces of Pakistan over the past two months including Sindh (Karachi), Punjab(Lahore), Sarhad (Peshawar), and Balochistan (Quetta), with a total of more than 200 participants attending.

Reconciliation Through Education. Public Radio International's "The World" program recently ran a five minute segment on Hamline University's Civic Education Project, a Citizen Exchanges grant which is working to promote peace through middle and high school curriculum taught both in Minnesota and in the Middle East. Public Radio describes the segment as follows: "Young Israelis and Palestinians don't know much about each other. A group of teachers from Minnesota went to the Middle East to change that. They've arranged for Palestinian and Israeli students to study the same lessons. And find common ground." The segment features interviews with Palestinian and Israeli instructors and students.

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May 2007

Indonesians Make Washington Final Stop of Busy Three-Week Tour. In Washington on May 24, 15 Indonesian school administrators and community leaders wound up their three week itinerary that included Chicago, Memphis, various venues in Mississippi, and Atlanta. At the Harry S Truman Building, the Senior Country Officer for Indonesia and three colleagues in offices dealing with Southeast Asia led a lively discussion ranging from terrorism and US policy in the Middle East to the shared bilateral concerns of managing ethnic diversity and a free market economy. The briefing also included information about the Alumni Program. Judging by the enthusiasm shown by the group and by early newspaper reports on the trip beginning to appear in Indonesia, ECA grantee Heartland International has launched this two-year project on solid footing.

Middle Eastern Civic/Democracy Education Initiative Featured on National Public Radio. On May 24 at 5:00 p.m. the first of a series of reports on the Citizen Exchanges-supported Hamline University Civic/Democracy Education Initiative was featured on National Public Radio's "The World." Broadcast journalist Aaron Shechter interviewed Israeli and Palestinian educators/project leaders for the first of a series of broadcasts covering this initiative; he has also interviewed Israeli students involved in the program. In the coming weeks, Shechter will interview students in two Palestinian schools (Sawarcha in East Jerusalem and Talitha in Bethlehem) and will spend the day with students who have taken the initiative to set up a bi-national meeting between Israeli and Palestinian students. The initiative is the result of substantive and sustained collaboration between Hamline University, NGOs in Israel, Jordan, The Palestinian Authority, and Lebanon, and the Department of State.

World Press Freedom Day marked by DVC in the American Center Library

Nepalese Journalists on a Citizen Exchange Program Discuss World Press Freedom with Colleagues at Home Via DVC. More than 30 Nepalese journalists, professors, and other media leaders engaged in a lively Digital Video Conference (DVC) dialogue on May 3, 2007 about press freedom with two well known American academics and seven Nepalese journalists currently in the U.S. The Nepali in the U.S. are in the middle of a Citizen Exchange program focusing on media standards and methods. Moderated by Presidential Management Fellow Paul W. Neville, the DVC opened with remarks from Michelle McCoy, Journalism and Mass Communication Program Manager at Cuyahoga Community College and Dr. Richard Hendrickson, Professor at John Carroll University. The Citizen Exchange participants then summarized their experiences and perceptions of press freedom in the United States. The DVC connected CCC-Corporate College in Cleveland, Ohio and the American Center Library in Kathmandu in commemoration of World Press Freedom day. Major television stations Nepal Television and Kantipur Television provided prominent coverage of the DVC in their news programming that night.

Citizen Exchanges Project Highlighted at Broadcast Education Association Convention. "Promoting Transparency through Journalism Education in the Middle East," a multi-phased international exchange involving journalism educators from the United States, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, and Yemen and implemented by the International Research and Exchanges Board was presented as a model for U.S.-Middle Eastern cooperation in the field of journalism at the 52nd Annual Broadcast Education Association (BEA) convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs' role in developing and supporting this project was widely discussed and lauded by participants in the conference.

Swing Through the South Gives Indonesians Something to Write Home About. Heartland International reports that the 15 Indonesian secondary school administrators and community leaders are getting a memorable mix of culture and history in their swing through the South: "Memphis and Beale Street were a hit on Wednesday, and in Clarksdale, the blues at Morgan Freeman's Ground Zero.and the music at BB King's was very good. The National Civil Rights Museum, as always, provided an excellent introduction to the civil rights movement. The program participants have lots of questions and engage freely in all discussions.... Ideas are being generated for their Action Plans, and newspaper reports are beginning to appear back in Indonesia."

Delegation with SOS principal and students

American and Palestinian Emerging Political Leaders Form Ties. The American Consulate in Jerusalem coordinated three days of meetings with a cross-section of Palestinians for seven members of the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL), traveling to Israel and the West Bank on an ECA-funded short-term exchange. The Public Affairs Section in Jerusalem arranged consultations with Palestinian academics, civil society leaders, businesspeople, refugees, religious figures, youth, artists, and government officials, including President Abbas. The group later met counterparts from the Palestinian Council of Young Political Leaders (PCYPL) and agreed to work together towards strengthening the next generation of Palestinian leaders. Additionally, while in Bethlehem, the delegation visited the SOS school, a boarding school for orphans and disadvantaged youth and a participant of the Global Connections program. The SOS principal shared her aspirations for the school as a result of her exchange experience in the U.S. Relief International staff discussed Global Connections' role in linking Palestinian students with the outside world and engaging youth and Palestinian women in activities that generate change from within. The delegation's meetings and interviews were covered positively in several Palestinian journals.

Naftal Mandi (fourth standing from left [right]) with 15 fellow Tanzanians from a total of 18 who are studying at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), USA, shown after graduation ceremony yesterday. He is the first Tanzanian to graduate and return home after being recruited by the Great Lakes Consortium (GLC) based in Ohio, USA. Third left standing is GLC Tanzania coordinator Karl Gingrich.

A Gift That Keeps on Giving. The Great Lakes Consortium (GLC) has continued to engage in follow-on activities in Tanzania after the successful completion of its Citizen Exchanges grant. Unrelated to the grant, it has secured scholarships at Bowling Green State University for 18 Tanzanians. This benefit was highlighted in the photo below which was picked up by a Swahili newspaper in Tanzania. In the words of U.S. Public Affairs Officer Jeffery Salaiz, "GLC has created a network of Tanzanians and Americans to reinforce the connections established during their Citizen Exchange. Those connections have continued to grow and resulted in several other successes, including scholarships for Tanzanians at BGSU in Ohio, trans-Atlantic trade and business opportunities, and other lasting relationships. They have strengthened ties between our two countries beyond what we could have hoped for from their exchange."

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April 2007

U.S. Ministerial Fellows Visit Tanzanian Counterpart. Three participants of the Council of Women World Leaders U.S. Ministerial Fellows Program visited Tanzania April 28-May 4, 2007. The U.S. Fellows - Dr. Elizabeth Duke, Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) at the Department of Health and Human Services; Dr. Deborah Parham Hopson, Assistant Surgeon General; and Stephanie Monroe, Assistant Secretary, Office of Civil Rights, Department of Education were hosted by Mwantumu Mahiza, Deputy Minister of Education and Vocational Training; Dr. Aisha Kigoda, Deputy Minister of Health and Social Welfare; and Ms. Joyce Mapunjo, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Planning and Economic Empowerment. They visited schools, hospitals, non-governmental organizations and historical/cultural sites and businesses in Dar es Salaam and Bagamoyo. The purpose of the trip was to better understand how the Government of Tanzania and the non-governmental community work together in health, education, and economic development. The three Tanzanian Fellows will complete the exchange by traveling to the U.S. in October.

Russians Are Impressed with American Political Values. Six young Russian political leaders praised their visit to the U.S. as an opportunity to discover the real United States, in contrast to the image portrayed in the Russian media, and they expressed surprise at the high degree of accessibility of elected representatives to their constituents, which in Russia is not as developed. They were also impressed by the importance given to ethics in politics and how significant anti-corruption efforts are to voters in a functioning democracy. The Russians came to the U.S. under the auspices of the ECA grant to the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) April 28 through May 9 and visited Washington DC, Missouri and Utah.

Radio Journalists training in communication techniques

Media Strengthening. A seven day workshop for twenty-three indigenous regional radio journalists was conducted by ECA grantee PCI in Lima, Peru. The participants trained in radio and communications techniques to enhance their professional abilities and promote awareness about key issues such as rule of law, respect for diversity and human rights, and the threats posed by transnational crimes such as drug trafficking and trafficking in persons to democratic institutions and good governance. Participants represented all regions and ethnic and language groups in Peru and included eleven women.

Hamburg - New York City Participants Chart Common Ground Thirty participants met in Hamburg and Berlin, Germany April 15-21 to begin the first phase of the ECA-sponsored "IntegrationXchange" program designed to address the integration of marginalized communities in Germany and the US. The project is being implemented by CDS International, Inc. (New York, NY) and the Körber Foundation (Hamburg, Germany). The weeklong program included presentations and small group sessions where community-based approaches to addressing issues such as access to employment, education, and combating radicalized religious groups were discussed. Meetings with local schools, law enforcement, religious leaders, social services agencies, and government officials gave the New York participants a better understanding of what their colleagues in Hamburg and Berlin face when trying to reach out and serve disaffected audiences in Germany. Despite the cultural and political differences in how these issues are being dealt with in both countries, participants found a great deal in common in how grass-roots organizations are being challenged and how minority communities are rapidly changing the face of modern Germany and the United States. At an April 20 reception at his Berlin residence, William R. Timken, Jr., U.S. Ambassador to Germany, reiterated his support for the program and called for a greater understanding of the roles minority communities are playing in the development of both modern democracies. Over the next several months, the participants will engage in continual dialogue and resource sharing through the project's web site http://www.integrationxchange.org. The German participants will travel to New York City in October for the second phase of the project. The project continues through 2008.

American and German participants discuss the integration of marginalized communities in each other's countries.

Journalist participants show documentary on press freedom in Nepal, head out to internships in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Jacksonville: Twelve journalists from Nepal had an intensive week of trainings and sessions on media issues in Washington, DC, including a visit to Congress, the Foreign Press Center, the Washington Post, FOX News, NPR and VOA. The group has now dispersed to Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Jacksonville for two-week long internships at local television, radio, and print outlets. On Thursday, May 3, there will be a DVC on press freedom in Nepal, between program participants (who will be in a Cleveland Community College) and a gathering of Nepal journalists and students in Kathmandu on the other end to commemorate World Press Freedom Day. This follows a public showing of a documentary on efforts to maintain a free press in Nepal by one of the program participants in Washington, DC, Columbia, Missouri, and Cleveland, Ohio.

Mayor of Sao Paulo with Entrepreneurs

Economic Development: U.S. Entrepreneurs Meet Brazilian Entrepreneurs. Four U.S. women entrepreneurs reviewed Brazilian participants' business plans and discussed the challenges and perceived difficulties in generating income and growing their enterprises. The week-long program in Brazil included meetings with James Kramer of the Commercial Section at the U.S. Consulate in Sao Paul and the Mayor of Sao Paulo. The Brazilian women will travel to the U.S. on April 26. The program is being funded by a grant to Levantamos: The Center for Afro-Brazilian American Cooperation.

Seva sponsored doctors with Tibet program managers in Lhasa in September 2006

Professional Exchange: ECA Grant Helps Tibetans Recover Sight. Seva Foundation, an NGO focused on improving economic opportunity in the Tibet Autonomous Region, reports that its recently completed ECA grant was the latest boost in their work leading to some 21,000 ordinary Tibetans regaining their sight since 1995. Additionally, through ECA support Seva has been able to provide vocational and professional training to increase the sustainability of eye care programs, create income generating activities, increase rural health care for nomadic Tibetans, and offer professional exchanges to increase the local capacity to restore sight to the needlessly blind.

Judicial Outreach: DVC with U.S. District Court Judge and MOJ and MOI Officials. Judge Thelton Henderson, San Francisco U.S. District Court, conducted a long-distance video conference on judicial oversight for officials from the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Interior in Turkey as a part of a Citizen Exchange project managed by the Institute for the Study and Development of Legal Systems. Judge Henderson gave the central presentation and Undersecretary to the Minister of Justice Fahri Kasirga, and Undersecretary to the Minister of Interior Sahabettin Harput both participated with questions and discussion. Additionally, approximately 30-40 officials from the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Interior were in attendance. Judge Henderson discussed three central topics: 1) What problems were the police and prisons facing that required Judge Henderson to begin his judicial oversight? 2) What law(s) enable(s) federal judicial officers to oversee state functions in this way? 3) How is the oversight carried out? What powers are given to the judicial officer in order to address the problems? The next phase of this exchange will be for a joint-delegation of Turkish Interior and Justice officials to travel to the U.S. in July.

Minority outreach program gets underway in Germany. Citizen Exchanges Division Chief Brent Beemer was in Germany for the opening of an in-country program in Hamburg and Berlin on the integration of marginalized communities. It was being coordinated by CDS International and the German Korber Foundation. The program involved 38 U.S. participants from the greater New York City region. Participants included representatives from NGOs involved with minority communities, local government officials, religious leaders, and other community stakeholders from New York. In Germany, the U.S. participants met with counterparts dealing with minority integration efforts in Germany. The team worked on issues surrounding government policies, access to education, employment opportunities, etc. The selection of German participants for a New York-based program to occur in summer 2007 will also commence.

Indonesian English teachers visit Al Hamra Elementary School in Shrewsbury, MA

Professional Exchange: Teachers See Engaged Students, Good Rapport in U.S. Classrooms. During the first two weeks of April, 15 Indonesian English teachers experienced American classroom practices firsthand when they toured western Massachusetts. The group met with students and teachers at high schools and a vocational school, spoke with elected officials and youth leaders in the city of Northampton, observed English language training at a local community college, and interviewed the founder of an Islamic elementary school in central Massachusetts. One of the things that most impressed the participants was "the comfortable student-teacher rapport that they observed in U.S. classrooms." They also commented on a teaching approach that seemed "to engage students in their own learning." The group completed their study tour in Tuscon, Arizona.

Israeli and Palestinian Scholars Create Dual Narrative. On April 15 the New Jersey Star Ledger carried a major article about a joint Israeli-Palestinian educational project supported over the past five years by the Office of Citizen Exchanges. Professors Dan Bar-On and Sami Adwan have developed a dual-narrative history curriculum for Palestinian and Israeli schools that has received major attention, not only in the Middle East, but in Europe and the United States as well. Both educators are now lecturing under Fulbright auspices at Monmouth University, in New Jersey, and traveling in the United States to introduce their award winning and internationally recognized curriculum to American students, scholars, and lawmakers.

Peruvian Entrepreneurs Participating in a leadership class

Profession Exchange is Hardly Business As Usual. Thirty indigenous and Afro-Peruvian entrepreneurs began a two-week program in leadership and small business management on April 9 that will reach a total of 180 self-employed business leaders from the lowest income suburbs of Lima and the Afro-Peruvian town of Chincha. The program seeks to build entrepreneurial and leadership skills, business administration and management, conducting business in the 21st century, networking, and economic growth and corporate social responsibility.

U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Thomas C. Foley and Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley

U.S. Ambassador and Maryland Governor Keynote Alumni Event in Ireland: U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Thomas C. Foley and Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley were among the speakers at a two-day conference and alumni reunion event was held April 13 - 14, 2007 at Dublin Castle in Ireland. This two-day event brought together over a hundred alumni of Boston College's Irish Institute programs for a series of focused seminars in five different areas of interest and expertise: government/politics, education, policing, nonprofit, and media/journalism. In gathering together some of the key stakeholders in local government, education, policing, nonprofit, and media from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, this conference helped rekindle and forge cross-border and transatlantic exchange, and provided a venue to celebrate and strengthen the partnerships that have been made as a result of Irish Institute programs over the past ten years. The Irish Institute has been supported through successive ECA grants since its inception.

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March 2007

Dr. Mahiga, on the right, being greeted by a representative of Mayor Daley's staff.

Heartland Project with Tanzanian Women Gets Ambassadorial Attention: In celebration of their Citizen Exchanges project in Tanzania, Heartland International organized a reception on March 29 at The Standard Club in Chicago which featured a speech by Dr. Augustine Mahiga, the Tanzanian Ambassador to the United Nations. Dr. Mahiga complimented Heartland International for its program with the Tanzanian Association of Women Entrepreneurs-TAWE, saying that "empowering women entrepreneurs is one of the keys to continued economic growth" in his country, and "helping women and girls to achieve equity in Tanzanian society is a key to our country's future." He also noted that Tanzanian economic growth has doubled from 3% to 6% annually in the last five years. The reception brought out an array of Chicago business, governmental, and community leaders.

Participants at the Lyon conference.

Participants Find Common Ground on Integration of Muslim Communities: Over 100 participants met in Lyon, France March 28 - 30 to begin the first of four ECA-sponsored programs designed to address the integration of marginalized communities in Western Europe. The three-day conference included presentations and small group sessions where community-based approaches to addressing issues such as access to employment, education, and combating radicalized religious groups were discussed. Despite the vast cultural and political differences in how these issues are being dealt with in France and the U.S., participants found much in common when it got down to grass-roots organizations and how these communities are changing the face of modern France and the United States. Robert C. White, the Chief of Police of Louisville worked with regional representatives of the French National Police on alternative dispute resolution plans. The hope is that immigrant youth might be able to solve some of their legal difficulties before getting caught up in the formal legal system. Josette Guillon of Limoges said that the conference presented a promising start to the project and offered a glimpse into new strategies that might benefit communities in both countries. Similar ECA-sponsored programs are starting in Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands now, in addition to France.

Chinese judges and their U.S. hosts in Boston.

Chinese Judges Want More Mock Courts, Mediation Models for Southwest China: From March 24-31 the Massachusetts Judges Conference and the University of Massachusetts Boston hosted 6 judges from the High People's Court of Yunnan and 3 law professors from Xian, Chongqing, and Chengdu for an intensive week of briefings and roundtables on comparative law. Actual court proceedings punctuated the week, including the cross examination of a reluctant witness in a murder trial, a Massachusetts jury returning a real-time verdict in an IPR case, and a federal judge deciding on a parole violation with the defendant and supporters a few feet away. The modest "free time" built into the week disappeared, with Chinese enthusiasm fully met by the host judges' adding extra sessions to their already taxing schedule. By week's end, the dean of Xian's law school and the ranking judge of Yunnan had invited their hosts for a round of mock trials in September, and the senior Yunnan judge vowed to initiate pilot projects on mediation entirely because of this visit.

Governance and Rule of Law LL.M. Fellows Visit the Nation's Capital. On 14 March, 2007, eleven ECA-sponsored fellows from six countries (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan) arrived in Washington, D.C. for a three day study tour. The fellows are currently enrolled in Ohio Northern University's LL.M. program in Democratic Governance and Rule of Law, a highly structured program funded by ECA, which emphasizes comparative study of legal systems and introduces a variety of effective devices for achieving meaningful, sustainable reform.

LL.M. Fellows from Ohio Northern University

The participants visited with Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and George Voinovich (R-OH), and Mr. Paul Lettow, the Senior Adviser to the Undersecretary for Democracy and Global Affairs at the State Department, the United States International Agency for International Development and the Judge Advocate General. They toured the Supreme Court and Capitol and were hosted at receptions sponsored by the Fund for American Studies, the law firm of Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease, and the American Inns of Court Foundation. The program is supported by a Citizen Exchanges grant to Ohio Northern University.

Indonesian Reporters Take a Break from Jakarta Workshop

Strengthening the Press: Indonesians Are Apt Students in Conflict Reporting Workshop. In Jakarta, the March 12-17 opening workshop for Indonesian TV journalists ended with "18 influential journalists who are already big fans of the project" well before their U.S. program and internships. The workshop focus was on ethical standards and values and on recognizing bias, especially in conflict situations. The group itself, diverse in gender, regional and religious background and political orientation, was an object lesson in the project's key concepts. With an average of ten years experience, these journalists have influence which bodes well for their applying lessons learned on their return: a workshop exercise on a conflicted Jakarta neighborhood was within a week turned into a Metro TV (Indonesia's CNN) story for air.)

NEA Muslim clerics and scholars work in Philadelphia homeless shelter. A delegation of eight Muslim clerics, scholars of religion, and educators from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria currently in the United States as participants in an exchange implemented by AMIDEAST under the auspices of the Office of Citizen Exchanges, "Islam: Scholarship and Practice in the United States," spent several hours serving food and speaking with residents of a homeless shelter in Philadelphia this week. The Middle Eastern visitors were quoted by Associated Press stating, "The American society deserves much better than what is the perception" and "This is a compassionate approach to solving the problem."

Tunisian ADA surprises Americans. Three American disability experts spent a week in Tunisia discussing the upcoming Tunisian training program in the U.S. During the week, the group visited seven centers for disabled youth as well as two national training centers for the national team or Paralympics team of Tunisia. The group also met with faculty members whose departments train Tunisian students to work with persons with special disabilities. The Americans learned that the President of Tunisia publicly stated goal is to bring the disabled into active participation in Tunisian society.

Indian lawyer joins environmental lawyers in Oregon for global conference. Ritwick Dutta, a young Indian lawyer who has been certified to hear cases in front of the Indian Supreme Court on forestry issues (http://www.forestcaseindia.org//f6/), came to the United States to participate in E-LAW's annual Public Interest Environmental Law conference in Oregon March 3-5, in part through funding on an FY06 Professional Exchange grant to E-LAW. Ritwick participated in a special session on compliance with judicial orders on environmental laws with participants from 10 other countries, sharing the Indian experience in this area.

Tanzanian scholarship students at Bowling Green State University help to load a container bound for their country.

Professional Exchanges Turn into a Love Feast. Citizen Exchanges grantee WSOS/Great Lakes Consortium (GLC) sent a sea container filled with computers and school supplies from Ohio to Tanzania. And it's their second such shipment, with a third in the planning. WSOS/GLC has a CE grant to promote workforce development in Tanzania, building on previous grants to promote trade and women's leadership. WSOS/GLC brings together Bowling Green State University, University of Toledo, Lourdes College, and the WSOS Community Action Commission. The result is that CE grant projects have produced truly amazing and unexpected benefits. Bowling Green State University has admitted 19 Tanzanian students with full tuition waivers. Findlay Ohio High School has raised $14,000 to purchase bed nets to send to Tanzania. Three senior students from St. Johns School in Toledo will go to Tanzania this summer to do volunteer work in schools there.

Headline Writing Workshop for Sub-Editors in Uganda. Southern Illinois University Journalist-in-Residence Bill Recktenwald facilitated a training workshop for 15 sub-editors from Uganda's main newspapers. Recktenwald took the editors through the basics of working with reporters, writing headlines that are accurate and eye-catching, and using on-line resources. The SIU program was the first media training session designed for editors.