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Pre-Departure Training: The Foundation of Change
Every year, FSD leads groups of university students in a series of pre-departure workshops—proven catalysts for successful internships with positive community outcomes. This year, a greater number than ever of FSD’s University Partners—including SUNY Geneseo, Duke, Stanford, Northwestern, and the University of San Francisco—have taken part in these workshops prior to their Summer Internships, Group Engage experiences, and Global Service Trips. This training helps students maximize their educational experience and allows them to best benefit their host community--whether they work individually or with a group.
FSD’s Executive Director, Mireille Cronin Mather, has led these rigorous pre-departure sessions in record number this year. Through lectures, discussions and activities, participants learn about our asset-based model as well as the ethics of community engagement. Outlining the role of the “outsider” in international development, Mireille teaches participants the importance of acting as a facilitator rather than a doer. “The majority of students have never participated in any type of international development work; but even those who have previous experience appreciate this in-depth opportunity to understand best practices in development,” Mireille reports. The program framework includes project design and management, tools and approaches for completing tasks, and how to map the assets within a community. For those participating in group programs, the team also discusses group dynamics, complementary skill sets, leadership and conflict, and how to complete a group resume. Another topic covered in the training is cross-cultural communication.
Although all FSD participants receive pre-departure program information, these unique workshops offer a chance to more fully understand the key issues at play when working in international development. According to Mireille, students who complete intensive pre-departure training consistently report sustainable outcomes: projects that are well researched and resourced, with lasting results. “We consistently get feedback from our site teams and community partners that the interns who participate in the training have greater outcomes and are leaders in the program. Our site teams are so impressed with the work that they accomplish.”
In fact, these workshops are so comprehensive that universities are requesting that FSD share its development approach with students who are not currently participating in an FSD program. International departments are realizing that students can benefit from understanding FSD's sustainable approach in their own social change efforts. “We know that this is a valuable resource to students and nonprofits, one that ensures the highest learning, personal and community outcomes,” Mireille reports. “It is our goal that every University Partner welcome this opportunity to receive additional training.”
We would like to wish a successful start to our summer session interns, many of whom hail from our University Partner institutions and have benefited from pre-departure training. FSD looks forward to our most rewarding summer sessions yet.
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Rio +20: Strides and Struggles in Sustainability
Two short decades ago, 172 governments around the world participated in the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. This landmark gathering helped to bring the term “sustainable development” to global attention—and spawned the Kyoto Protocol, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Later this month, more than 130 world leaders (and 50,000 other concerned world citizens) will meet once again for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, aka Rio +20, to build on the goals established at its inaugural convening.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon admits that negotiations leading up to the conference have been “painfully slow”—so much so that the international community has agreed to an extra five days of talks, from May 29 to June 2. UN officials have attributed this sluggish progress to the failure of world leaders to fully engage in the summit. The UK Guardian notes (with its typical aspersive eye) that European leaders are focused on the financial crisis while Barack Obama, whose attendance could be “politically toxic”’ in an election year, is focused on his reelection campaign. Thus far, the preparatory work of the conference has been left to lesser bureaucrats who lack the political clout to make bold decisions.
As with many UN conferences, negotiations have also been mired in minor details of narrow national and regional interest, but Ban has attempted to keep a broad focus. “My message is that this is not the time to argue against any small items. Please do not lose (sight of the) bigger picture. This is not the end. Rio +20 is just the beginning of many processes so they should be flexible. They should rise above national interests or specific group interests.”
With so much doubt being cast upon the abilities of governments to make any real change happen, the focus has quickly turned to the industry leaders who will be in attendance. Ban has indicated that the most progress could happen outside the government negotiations, through the tens of thousands of business leaders, activists, and environmentalists expected to descend on Rio next month. “There is now a coordinated effort by companies and investors to focus on sustainability issues.” said Robert Orr, Assistant Secretary General for Policy Planning.
This newfound focus from private industry is aligned with the work that the Foundation for Sustainable Development has been a part of since its founding in 1995. “By continuing our work in locally focused asset-based community development, we fill critical gaps left by international and national leaders who may inhibit global development in the name of political interests,” says FSD’s Executive Director, Mireille Cronin Mather. “By taking steps today to ensure global sustainability, we ensure that we have a future that is habitable by—and prosperous for—current and future generations, despite global political agendas.”
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India Program Director to Visit San Francisco
We are honored to announce the upcoming visit of Roma Bhardwaj, our Program Director in Udaipur, India, to San Francisco during the second week of June. During her visit, Roma will share news of FSD’s current work in Udaipur, the outlook for development projects in India, and speak to prospective funders and the media.
If you live in the Bay Area, please look for visit updates on our social media sites. A fundraising event and reception for Roma will also serve as a wonderful introduction to FSD’s work, and we look forward to reconnecting with alumni and meeting new supporters there.
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Catching up with...Alumna Shaina Wamsley
Shaina Wamlsey spent 12 weeks in Iganga, Uganda working with the Integrated Disabled Women Activities (IDIWA). Shaina’s first project during her Internship was to build on an existing IDIWA program that helped locals learn how to grow sustainable kitchen gardens. She then worked with a local school for the blind where she wrote a grant which provided funding for enough students' instruments to start a music-dance-drama club. This project aimed to sensitize the community to the stigma of having a disability. Currently, she is a first-year student at Harvard Law School, and will be interning with the Bureau of Special Education Appeals for the Department of Education this summer. Shaina reports, “I returned from my time abroad in a more positive mindset, one that has taught me to be much more independent in my own daily life.”
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Huffington Post on FSD: “The Gold Standard”
On May 25th, The Huffington Post writer Kate Otto published “Summers of Service,” an article addressing the merits of volunteerism for students everywhere. Praising FSD’s international development work as “the gold standard” in international volunteerism, Ms. Otto featured several quotes from Executive Director Mireille Cronin Mather in this highly positive piece. (Further editorial on FSD’s work will appear in Ms. Otto’s upcoming book, Everyday Ambassador.) Click here to read the entire story.
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Promotion for Progress
Every year, Groupon identifies a select number of nonprofits for their online giving campaigns—and this month, FSD joins its ranks. If San Francisco area residents donate $650 in aggregate during this summer’s Groupon promotion, funds will be made available to help defray costs of our upcoming JUMA Ventures’ Global Service Trip to Tola (JUMA is a Bay Area organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty by sending as many participants as possible to four-year colleges; their work was recently heralded by the San Francisco Chronicle).
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