Intercultural Youth Exchange and Mobile Library Project
New York, NY & Tipitapa, Nicaragua
Lisle seed grant funding will be used to increase intercultural communication skills and rebalance cultural assumptions frequently found in cross-cultural exchanges. Two groups of students, ages 13-18, one from New York City and one from Tipitapa, Nicaragua will work jointly on a project to bring books and educational activities to very poor children in Somoto, in the mountains of Northern Nicaragua, which is not home to any of the participants. In this different social context, participants will explore how the dynamic of the group changes, as well as broaden knowledge of the geographic and social diversity of Nicaragua. The project seeks to change attitudes through communication and learning. Activities will include workshops on language, active listening, consensus decision-making, interviewing each other and producing videos documenting the learning.
The sponsoring organization, Dos Pueblos (NYC), continues its seven-year partnership with the Arco Iris team (Tipitapa). Four annual delegations have created a vibrant exchange of youth aged 13-18, with year-round communication and increasing youth leadership in the governance of both organizations. The organization has begun to address the problem of the inequality inherent in North-South exchanges, noticing that North Americans can afford to travel, while Nicaraguans always host. As participants talk about their aspirations, the disparities in their material resources and opportunities become apparent. To further demonstrate their own identity as “givers” with valuable skills and resources to offer, the Nicaraguan youth invited their NY peers to accompany them on a “mobile library” trip in February 2017, to bring books and educational activities to very poor children in Somoto, in the mountains of Northern Nicaragua.
The project seeks to change attitudes about “dependency” through communication and learning. Activities will include workshops on language, active listening, consensus decision-making, interviewing each other and producing videos documenting our learning. Participants will talk with local experts about the unique features of the region and learn about the way of life and values of Somoto. Desired outcomes for all participants include improved intercultural communication skills and deeper understanding of each other’s perspectives, values, aspirations, challenges and achievements. The project seeks to build appreciation of the diversity of our societies and reevaluate stereotypes; to strengthen collaboration between the two youth groups; and to identify ways for the youth to bring their personal learning about cultural differences back to their communities.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Youth Boot Camp
Arusha, Tanzania
Projekt Inspire will use seed grant funding to help support the Youth STEM Boot Camp that is designed to help Tanzanian youth understand that STEM research is available to them as a career opportunity. The goal of the Boot Camp is to increase awareness among Tanzanian youth that there are Tanzanian scientists who have grown up in the same country and who do research in the STEM fields. Currently, the research sciences are not encouraged in schools or in the community as these studies are still viewed as something only a “Mzungu” (white person) and rich person could do.
Tanzanian scientists will lead the workshops that help participants to understand that STEM careers are both conceivable and attainable. The project goal is to introduce and nurture a culture of scientific research among youths in Tanzania from diverse backgrounds. The boot camp aims to be free, and will target students who come from poor economic backgrounds and attend schools that have ill equipped or non-existent laboratories. The boot camp will take place at the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology (NM-AIST), located in Arusha, Tanzania.
The STEM youth Boot Camp is a week full of hands-on science projects and career talks that will bring together 100 students between the ages of 13 and 21 from the 30 regions of Tanzania. The main organizers for this project are a group of young science professionals and teachers who, through talking to each other, discovered that they had all faced the same problem: the lack of mentors and a secondary educational system that does not prepare students sufficiently for higher education and the world. A pilot boot camp was launched in January 2016 with 51 students in attendance for 4 days.
Bridging Cultural, Sectarian and Religious Division
Faisalabad, Pakistan
Lisle funding will be used by the organization LEAP (Learn, Empower, Act, Promote) Pakistan to address a core problem in Faisalabad district, which is the lack of interaction and resultant intolerance between communities of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds and at different tiers of society. This project is conceptualized in response to growing divides, hatred, extremism, and violence occurring between cultures, religions and sects in Pakistan where individuals strongly believe that their own culture, sect and religious teachings are superior while others are inferior. A number of incidents of violence have occurred in the past, but there is no organized initiative to stop this menace. There is a strong need of promoting the ideals of tolerance, peace, and acceptance among both rural and urban communities.
LEAP Pakistan will address these issues by involving the leaders, opinion makers, and the general public through an educational process to improve their attitudes, behaviors and mindset. Media and Government will be involved to help reduce the severity of emergency situations and promote peace within communities. Altogether 1,515 direct beneficiaries and the communities of 5 project areas will benefit from the project interventions. The proposed activities include:
• 7-day training of 15 leaders on intercultural interaction and social justice
• 30 awareness seminars on “Bridging gaps between communities”
• 10 street theaters on the topic “Bridging cultural, religious and sectarian gaps” to reach illiterate populations
• 2 media forums with sensitization activities to facilitate more articles on intercultural topics
• 2 advocacy meetings to build networking of local communities with local government authorities
Afrik Festival and Trade Expo
Odessa, Ukraine
A Lisle mini seed grant will be used by the African Ukrainian Union in Odessa, Ukraine to bring together people from diverse cultural backgrounds in an atmosphere that helps foster unity and friendship. An important objective is to bring the African culture closer to the Ukrainian community with the intention of tackling racial discrimination in a friendly manner. The Union sponsors an Afrik Festival to advance social cohesion between the local Odessa population and the African born residents. During the Afrik cultural festival 2017, individuals in arts and crafts will have the opportunity to showcase their talents. There will be music and dance and arts and crafts with a business expo for the small, medium, and micro entrepreneur. Corporate organizations and private individuals will have an opportunity to promote their products and services. The goals of the event are to advance the social cohesion of the native-born Odessans and persons from African and to boost economic development within the African community and the city of Odessa and its neighborhood.
Musicians without Borders: Train the Trainers
Ede, The Netherlands
Musicians without Borders (MWoB) is an international NGO based in the Netherlands that uses music as a tool for reconciliation, community building and healing the wounds of war and conflict. A Lisle mini seed grant was awarded to Musicians without Borders to help support a Training of Trainers program in an intensive six-day training for highly skilled musicians in the principles of MWoB work. During the training, the musicians will explore concepts related to nonviolence, psychosocial first-aid and music as a tool for peace-building in war-torn regions. The aims of the training are to increase the capacity of participants to deliver music workshops that support the needs of people affected by conflict while creating a broader professional network of musicians working towards positive social change. Musicians without Borders regularly receives requests from musicians and organizations around the world who have seen the potential of this work to bring hope and healing to children and youth in conflict regions and other vulnerable situations. However they do not have the financial means to participate in the training. The Lisle grant will help offset the costs of training materials and venue rental fees so that MWoB funds can be freed up to support musicians from conflict regions who can truly benefit from this training and introduce these principles into their community work on a local level.