Shanoor Seervai recently wrote on the Wall Street Journal an interesting article about the History Project, a collaborative peace-building initiative promoted by youth from Pakistan and India that seeks to unveil stereotypes from history textbooks that perpetuate the animosity between people from these two countries over time. The project is devoted to provide “access for youth in their formative years to alternative perspectives on their shared heritage and to encourage a culture of rational and critical thinking.”

The History Project has been successful at publishing its first book with the same title (“The History Project“), which is available online for no fee. The book takes a number of differing narratives extracted from Indian and Pakistani textbooks alike, “juxtapose[d] unadulterated versions of history being taught in text books on either side of the border. We collated versions from history text books and put differing versions side by side, in an attempt to highlight the reality of an alternative perspective with equally convincing foundations.” If you look at the illustrations, you will also notice that the historical figures represented are faceless, in an attempt to detach this alternative narrative from stereotypes of well-known political personalities criticized or praised in other textbooks. Some key historical events such as the Civil Disobedience Movement, the Salt March or the Lahore Resolution are also depicted in the book: “Historical events are politicized to substantiate present events… and textbooks become a tool to bolster a political agenda.” The History Project continues to present initiatives, such as the Twitter feed that they will launch in June.

“But most importantly, we discovered that people laden as enemies in our minds without us ever having met them can be as good friends (or enemies) as anyone back home.” The History Project

This project reminded us of the TED talk video that we wrote about a few months ago “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Adichie, who reflects about the perils of listening to incomplete or non-inclusive stories and narratives that reinforce stereotypes and affect the mutual understanding and co-existence of cultures, communities and individuals.

If you are interested in this area of the world, some further literature can be found here:

• Denizens of Alien Worlds, a study about the educational system in Pakistan by Dr. Tariq Rahman.
• A Pacifist Uncovered, an article about nonviolence activist Abdul Ghaffar Khan and his influential but also forgotten role in the independence of the region.
• A brief description of activities conducted by Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace (WISCOMP), a foundation that brings together young people from across South Asia, and specifically from India and Pakistan, who are motivated to engage in nonviolent social change and on issues of peace and security affecting the region.
• A review of ten contemporary South Asian writers who write about various cultural and societal issues in the region.

To be a part of the 2013 SIT Photo Contest, you can submit your pictures here. You can also take a look at the winners of last year’s contest and get inspired by their stories by clicking here.

AFS Intercultural Programs is pleased to announce the January/February/March/April 2013 issue of AFS Intercultural Link Newsletter volume 4, issue 1 – Global Edition, which can be shared with everyone interested in learning more about intercultural education.

The AFS Intercultural Link News Magazine is the quarterly magazine on intercultural learning in the AFS Network. The magazine features content shared by the Intercultural Learning Work Group as well as other AFS Partners and guest writers, including information on trends in intercultural education, interviews with experts in the field and overviews of upcoming and previous conferences.

Intercultural

The study found that “employers are under strong pressure to find employees who are not only technically proficient, but also culturally astute and able to thrive in a global work environment.” 

Artists Striving to End Poverty

ASTEP and SIETAR NY will be joining forces for an interactive presentation on the “role of the arts in overcoming cultural and societal barriers.” Through the integration of drama, music, dance and other creative activities, youth experience more self-confidence, self-control and self-identity. In ASTEP’s approach, arts can also be a means to work with groups and teach conflict resolution and collaboration in age-appropriate ways and within their own communities.

Non-formal education organizations like AFS encourage its volunteers, staff and others around the world to join forces with like-minded organizations like ASTEP who are local in the community and offer space for youth to develop interpersonal and intercultural awareness.

One keynote speaker will be Bryan A. Stevenson, founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, and professor at New York University School of Law. You can see Bryan A. Stevenson in this Ted talk on the topic of social justice.

Another keynote speaker will be Dr. Janet Bennett, Executive Director of the Intercultural Communication Institute, sponsor of the of the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication, and director of the Master of Arts Degree in Intercultural Relations sponsored by ICI and the University of the Pacific. Dr. Bennett’s work in the intercultural field is well-known around AFS. She is one of several key theorists in the materials and programs prepared and delivered by the AFS Education & Intercultural Learning Team.

Click here for a list of the concurrent conference sessions. Registration is still open, if interested in attending click here.

In 1985, the United Nations declared 5 December as International Volunteer Day, to formally recognize the millions of people around the world who participate in volunteer activities and make visible their contributions on the local, national, and international levels. In celebration of this year’s International Volunteer Day, Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, has shared this message:

“Founded on the values of solidarity and mutual trust, volunteerism transcends all cultural, linguistic and geographic boundaries. By giving their time and skills without expectation of material reward, volunteers themselves are uplifted by a singular sense of purpose.”

AFS also extends its heart-felt thanks and appreciation to all of its 43,905 active volunteers, who dedicate their time, energy, and passion to AFS in so many ways! We invite you to view the below video from AFS’s President and CEO, Vincenzo Morlini, as well as visit the AFS Intercultural Programs website today for special information related to International Volunteer Day.

Happy International Volunteer Day!

This project was initiated by a group of Missouri students who were able to produce 114 video testimonials from people including former President of Portugal Jorge Sampaio, Rabbi Arthur Schneier, Auma Obama, and activist and athlete Beatrice Faumuina to shed light the fundamental commonalities that people of diverse backgrounds and ages hold.

“Journeys of Belonging tackles mistaken religious, cultural and gender identity stereotypes like the inaccurate assumption that non-Westerners hold contrary values to those of Americans, the British and other Europeans.”

You can find the videos on the official website and sort them by topic or person interviewed. This project will also continue with a panel discussion in Washington DC in December (check website for updates) in which the speakers will build on some of the topics arising from the videos: personal identity, the relationship between religion and democracy, the “us versus them” mentality and many more topics.

“Part of what it means to develop the skills to live in multicultural, diverse societies is to recognize that we are the product of diverse strands of identity. Personal stories play an important role,” Emmanuel Kattan, Project Manager, Our Shared Future.

We leave you with a short video as an introduction to the project Journeys of Belonging.

The article first reviews the Cultural Immersion Programs at Indiana University‘s School of Education, which places students who will become certified teachers in an eight-week or semester program where they teach full-time in a new cultural environment. This environment can be abroad, on Navajo reservations in the Southwest of the United States, or in multicultural urban schools in the U.S. The main purpose of this experience is to immerse the future teachers as active participants of the host culture, working with students and other teachers and completing a project and written assignments that allow them to “dig below the surface of that cultural iceberg.” The School of Leadership and Education Sciences at the University of San Diego requires that all students have an international experience during the course of their program. This requirement, which seemed controversial at the beginning, has been accompanied by a wider offer of international programs that do not necessarily equal studying abroad. International experiences can also occur in the San Diego community, in multicultural environments or courses that allow students to explore the impact of international and intercultural relations in the local context, or working with international scholars or partners in the San Diego area. The objectives of the program are to “develop a deeper understanding of another culture; appreciate its differences and similarities; consider its gifts and challenges; and understand the educational and practical implications of cultural diversity and globalization issues.”

Charlotte West also features the efforts of University of Maryland‘s College of Education in developing an infrastructure that allows students, professors and departments to create international initiatives. A key part of this infrastructure is a university-wide international advisory committee that captures cross-departmental dialogue and acts as a hub to share ideas, resources and best practices to enhance international and intercultural programs across the school. This “think-tank” came along with the creation of an Office of International Initiatives, travel funds for students and professors, and an initiative to create an international experience requirement in certain programs. In their view, this intercultural educational experience should be “integrating, rather than adding on, a global perspective across all course content.” At AFS Intercultural Programs, we also want to foster an intercultural learning experience for our AFS Volunteers and Staff by providing the opportunity to understand international and intercultural challenges in our daily work. We value and admire the initiatives of like-minded professionals and organizations that believe that cultural immersion and exchange can enhance our learning experience, not only that of our participants, and can help us grow as professionals and as individuals.