Monday, April 30, 2012

individual blogs

hello all,
great last section today. looking forward to staying in touch, and hearing about your PEs. post pictures, reflections, etc on this blog, or give us a link to your personal blog if you choose to keep one.
i've created a label "individual blogs"- so apply this label when you post your link, that way we can keep track of all the different individual blogs.

thanks!
Hannah 

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Nesting in Kenya

Hi everyone!

Our section meeting today left me feeling really sad that I do not get to see all you wonderful people anymore =( . I think we all learned from each other this semester and I for one would personally like to continue to learn more about your practice experiences as they go on. That being said, for my practice experience my organization, Nest, requires all their summer fellows to keep a blog in which we share what we are experiencing in our practice sites and what dilemmas we are faced with. As we have been preparing for our fellowships we have been given prompts to respond to that put us into the frame of mind of what we will be doing over the summer. If your organization doesn't have such a requirement, I would encourage you to share your experiences here as I am sure the entire class would like to see as well.

So if you are interested, follow my blog, {Nest}ed Interest, as I prepare and then take part in what I expect to be an amazing experience working with Nest and Trade Africa in Nairobi, Kenya! And check out the beautiful ethically sourced jewelry and clothing available on their blog and website.



Nest's Mission (taken from their website, link above): 
A nonprofit dedicated to identifying and collaborating with responsible artisan businesses through the provision of customized capacity building programs to enable each enterprise to become profitable and have a significant positive social impact. We have searched globally to identify a network of existing artisanal workshops that have strong leadership, are scalable, and can transform their communities in one of three ways: alleviate poverty, empower women, and promote peace. Through a participatory model, we will work with the artisans to provide the services they need to both preserve and enhance artistic traditions and increase their ability to meet the capacity and quality demands of the exporting marketplace.
Take care y'all!
-CRYSTAL

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Kony, Development, News, Us

Hello peers -

It's been a weird day. I don't know about a lot of you, but the beautiful weather today came at a bad time, a time when I cannot enjoy it. With finals around the corner, papers due tomorrow, and planning for the practice experience this summer, I must solemnly stride past the gleeful revelers on Memorial Glade and retreat to the depths of Stacks to write.

However, needless to say, some news on facebook promptly broke my focus. I saw an NPR article titled "The Social Media Shuffle: from Kony to Spooning" (http://www.npr.org/2012/04/19/150964208/young-people-turn-from-kony-to-spooning-record). I don't know what caught my interest first - the Kony or spooning reference - but I read on. The article discusses the viral Kony video, and its rise and subsequent fall from fame. Tomorrow, as you may recall, was supposed to mark the "Cover the Night" campaign to make Kony famous. - if this doesn't ring a bell and you are curious, check out Stephanie's posts about KONY 2012. It seems like other events that fall on 4/20 will be taking more of a focus than the largely out of favor Invisible Children initiative.

That got me to another article I think is worth for EVERYONE to read - "The White Savior Industrial Complex" (http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-white-savior-industrial-complex/254843/) by Teju Cole. Please read it for yourself - it touches on a lot of the discussion points we cover in 105, and examines the role of (white) Americans going abroad doing poverty alleviation and development work/projects.  I have several objections to this piece, not least of which is his discussion of "American sentimentality," but read it and decide what you think. Anyone who wants to talk about it - Cafe Durant on Tuesday evening?

Lastly, the "Savior" article lead me to this Ugandan blogger's website (http://rosebellkagumire.com/2012/03/08/kony2012-my-response-to-invisible-childrens-campaign/) where she comments on the Kony video from a Ugandan's perspective. Checkkk it out.

I hope some of you are able to enjoy the sunshine today and to everyone else - power to you, the weekend is around the corner.

Warmly,
Rebecca

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Resources!

Hey everyone! 


A few resources for you all... 


OMPRAKASH - http://www.omprakash.org/ - has some scholarships/grants  available if you are working with a partner organization (http://omprakash.org/volunteergrants). A friend of mine is working with them on a grant in Chile, check it out!


Also - this a really cool website with the Foreign Policy Association with their "global job board" that lists international development type jobs in a searchable database. 

http://www.fpa.org/jobs/?act=jobs_list


Peace,
Rebecca

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Hello all!


Stephanie and I recently attended the 5th Clinton Global Initiative University (CGIU) held at George Washington University in DC. The mission of CGI is to "inspire, connect, and empower a community of global leaders to forge solutions to the world's most pressing challenges" (http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/aboutus/default.asp?Section=AboutUs&PageTitle=About%20Us). 


At this CGIU, some 900 participants representing 160 countries and all 50 states attended, with projects ranging from Bamboo Bikes (see below), to public health initiatives like tracking cholera with cell phones, to gathering surplus medical supplies in the US and redistributing them to areas in need. We were there representing our commitment to increase opportunities for undergraduates to formally study water in an interdisciplinary fashion through our DeCal, expanding the Berkeley Water Group, and working to start a Water Sustainability, Science, and Policy minor on campus (please feel free to ask us more about this!). There were some amazing guest speakers including the famous (Usher and Kristen Bell), the respected (Chelsea Clinton and Madeline Albright), and the awesome (Vandana Shiva!). The other students and their projects were incredible as well, and we learned a lot from hearing about their commitments, goals, and dreams. 


We also attended some panel discussions - I went to "Raising Money for your Commitment" and "Methods for Measuring and Evaluating your Impact," while Stephanie went to talks on using Social Media to extend the reach of your project. If you are interested in getting our notes, let us know!  




Bamboo Bikes



Front row at Clinton and Stewart... nbd. 

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Rotary World Peace Fellowship


Rotary World Peace Fellowship-- consider checking out the Rotary World Peace Fellowship if you are interested in doing further studies in Peace & Conflict studies and earning your master's degree with full funding, and at a university outside the US. 
Rotary Peace Fellows are leaders promoting national and international cooperation, peace, and the successful resolution of conflict throughout their lives, in their careers, and through service activities. Fellows can earn either a master’s degree in international relations, public administration, sustainable development, peace studies, conflict resolution, or a related field, or a professional development certificate in peace and conflict resolution.



Tuesday, April 3, 2012

KONY2012: The Viral Video Controversy



Uganda has particularly been in the news lately due to a viral video campaign by a U.S.-based nonprofit group called Invisible Children. For those of you interested in the controversy over the Kony2012 video, I have created a list of some the media attention to the viral video, as well as some background about Uganda and the Lords Resistance Army. *If you have not seen the Kony2012 video, I suggest you read about Uganda's recent history first prior to watching it.*
Some of these articles may be controversial or difficult to read or understand. I encourage you to try to read them anyway and understand the variety of perspectives that are out there. I also encourage you to respond with your thoughts on these challenging issues. If you have worked in developing countries before, you may already be quite familiar with this fact, but things are never as simple as they seem. Please feel free to share other interesting articles on this blog!

*
Uganda: Facts About The Country and Its History*
- Statistics and Resources from the World Bank <
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/UGANDAEXTN/0,,menuPK:374963~pagePK:141132~piPK:141109~theSitePK:374864,00.html>
- BBC's Uganda Country Profile <
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14107906>/ Africa News Page <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/africa/>
- 2007 Uganda Country Development Report from the UNDP <
http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/national/africa/uganda/name,3409,en.html>

*
The Lord's Resistance Army*
- Who Are the Lord's Resistance Army <
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/lra.htm> - a History (GlobalSecurity.org)
- Q&A About the Lord's Resistance Army <
http://allafrica.com/stories/201203220208.html> (AllAfrica and Human Rights Watch)
- What are U.S. Troops Doing in Central Africa? <
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2011/10/what-are-us-troops-doing-central-africa/43713/>(The Atlantic)

*
The Kony2012 Campaign*
-Link to the Official Kony2012 Page from Invisible Children <
http://www.kony2012.com/>
-The Soft Bigotry of Kony2012 <
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-soft-bigotry-of-kony-2012/254194/>(The Atlantic)
-Solving War Crimes With Wristbands <
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/solving-war-crimes-with-wristbands-the-arrogance-of-kony-2012/254193/>(The Atlantic)
-Invisible Children's Official Response to Criticism of Kony2012 <
http://invisible.tumblr.com/post/18929372614/invisible-childrens-official-response>(IC
Tumblr) / IC Response #2 <
http://invisiblechildrenblog.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/foreign-policy-invisible-children-responds/>(IC Blog)
-A Partial Defense of Kony2012 <
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/03/08/440851/defense-kony-invisible-children/>(ThinkProgress)
-African Voices Respond to Kony2012 Campaign <
http://boingboing.net/2012/03/08/african-voices-respond-to-hype.html>(BoingBoing)
-Viral Video, Vicious Warlord <
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/opinion/kristof-viral-video-vicious-warlord.html>(NY
Times, Kristof)
-Ugandan Government Responds With YouTube Video to Kony2012 <
http://allafrica.com/view/group/main/main/id/00016066.html>(AllAfrica)
-Kony2012 Screenings Cancelled in Northern Uganda <
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/03/15/kony-2012-video-uganda-screenings-cancelled.html?cmp=rss>(CBC News)
-The White Savior Industrial Complex <
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-white-savior-industrial-complex/254843/2/?single_page=true>(Atlantic)
-Ugandan Milton Allimandi and Congolese Yaa-Lengi Ngmei write powerfully on how United States advocates can move beyond Kony2012 to push for peace <http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/kony-2012-article-1.1057526?localLinksEnabled=false>



*List partially congregated by Alison Hayward MD, Uganda Village Project Director

The Uganda Village Project



Hello GPP 105 bloggers! On my first blog post here, I wanted to share about my PE organization. I have written the majority of my undergraduate work on the colonial history of Uganda, the conflict in Northern Uganda, child soldiers/forced labor in this region, and the social movements issues surrounding this topic. Therefore, I have wanted to work in Uganda for a long time. I found out about Uganda Village Project about 2 years ago and I have been wanting to work with them ever since. I feel so lucky that I will be able to experience this Summer working in Uganda establishing clean water projects and Healthy Villages initiatives in the Iganga District of Southern Uganda.

The Iganga District has been termed the "dirtiest district in Uganda". So I am excited to get involved with UVP's integrated water treatment approach:

 
I am really excited to learn a lot, maybe learn some Lugosa, and meet new friends... If only I could just wish away midterms/finals and have it be Summer already!
(pictures from the UVP website)
Thanks for reading...
-Stephanie Ullrich