International
Monday, Mar 24, 2008
Lessons for My Future Work in Tanzania
I am an American citizen who is very much committed to the progress of Tanzania. My family moved to that country when I was nine years old and I have come to call it home. My career goals are to assist local NGOs in eastern Africa with capacity building and with spatial planning, and as part of my Ph.D. work in geography I recently took a class at the University of Minnesota called “PA 5920 The Role of the Citizen: Organizing for a Public Life.”
Students at Ruaha Secondary School in Iringa, Tanzania
More than any other, this class has given me a new perception of how to enact change in my professional world.
First, I came away with a new conception of what it means to be a citizen – an empowering conception that moves away from thinking of service provision by the state towards recognizing the importance of individual action. This conception closely matches ideas I already had, but the class helped me to clarify and value these ideas to a greater degree.
Monday, Feb 25, 2008
A Wake-up Call
The New Eersterus (Hammanskraal) community got a wake-up call several years ago in the form of community organizer and public achievement coach, Nomthandazo Skohosana. Nomthi, a small woman with a large vision, founded Vukani Community Development Organization in the Gauteng Providence of South Africa in 2001. Vukani, another word for "wake up" in a local language, was a call for citizens to actively work on issues surrounding HIV/AIDS in the new South African democracy.
Currently a Millenium Fellowship recipient at the Center for Tolerance Education in New York, Nomthi is focused on learning new approaches for promoting tolerance towards people living with HIV and AIDS and AIDS orphans. Nomthi visited Minnesota last week and the staff at the CDC was happy to host part of her visit.
Friday, Jan 25, 2008
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
At the Center for Democracy and Citizenship, we often talk about storytelling as a public work skill.
One example of a powerful story, uniquely told through the medium of graphic novel, is Persepolis. This book – along with a recent animated film by the same name – has generated a lot of buzz for the way author Marjane Satrapi recounts her memories of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Her work teaches us an important point about effective storytelling: to make a connection with your audience, make it personal. In a recent interview with the Star Tribune, Satrapi said, “the only way to be universal is to be very personal. If you talk about big things like a nation, it’s very abstract. What is a nation? Tolstoy said if you want to talk about the world, write about your small village. I just concentrate on the human side of it, try to be as honest as possible, and don’t try to make a hero out of myself.” Whether you read it or watch it, Persepolis is unlike any story you have ever seen.
Wednesday, Jan 2, 2008
The power of young people in Tirana, Albania
In August 2006, Dennis Donovan and I were invited by the Educational Society for Malopolska (MTO) , based in Poland, to attend a meeting with over 200 Public Achievement participants from 10 countries in Eastern Europe. Young people, and school teachers and other educators, met near Tetovo, Macedonia, to share stories and lessons, build relationships, and begin creating a learning community for future work. Even if those hadn’t been the stated goals, I think they would have happened naturally because there was so much excitement about what had been achieved through Public Achievement, and so much hope for what was possible.
Ardita Korriku, a 17-year-old from Tirana, Albania, was one of many powerful young people we met (pictured below with her teacher, Genci Ago).
Wednesday, Oct 17, 2007
Creative Conversations Film Series
When I heard about the Creative Conversations Film Series, I immediately thought "What a great way to engage with like-minded citizens and meet interesting people!" I was also struck by its many connections to the work we do here at the Center for Democracy and Citizenship - it is about citizens working together to make change happen in their communities.
The Film Series is focused around "Community Approaches to Conflict for Justice and Change." Free and open to the public, each film is followed by a discussion of how individuals and communities can work against crime and injustice in creative ways. The films are being shown this fall at Hamline University, the Humphrey Institute, and William Mitchell Law School.
The next Creative Conversations Film night is Tuesday, October 23rd at 7:00 pm at William Mitchell College of Law Auditorium. The film, entitled, "A Force More Powerful," shares stories of successful nonviolent campaigns around the world. These stories shed light on how people can gather together to obtain the change they need. The film is presented by the Nonviolent Peaceforce.
To see the full list of films showing this fall visit www.creativeconversations.info and decide how you will work towards justice and peace through your own conversations.
Monday, Oct 15, 2007
Public Achievement in Ukraine
Check out this report from our colleagues in Eastern Europe about the recent Public Achievement Fair that was held in the Ukraine.
Young civic activists from across Ukraine meet near Kharkov
The Public Achievement in Ukraine FAIR was held in Chuguev (near Kharkov) from September 14-16, 2007. Co-organized by the Association for Sustainable Society Advancement (ASSA) from Kharkov, Ukraine and the Educational Society of Malopolska (MTO) from Nowy Sacz, Poland, this meeting brought together students, teachers, school directors, and educational authorities from the regions of Kharkov, Bakhchisaray, Zaporozhe and Ternopil and as well a guest from an NGO in Belarus and Rodger Potocki representing the sponsor (NED) from the United States.
Public Achievement (PA) is a program of active citizenship which empowers young people to make real changes in their communities by trying to solve problems which are important to them. As a result they have real impact on their societies. At this FAIR, 120 participants (representing 31 PA groups) had the opportunity to share their experiences in democracy-building in their communities, deepen their understanding of the Public Achievement program, and begin to work on cross-regional PA initiatives.
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