This event will explore the Intercultural Praxis Model, created by Dr. Kathryn Sorrells, and offer participants an opportunity to put the model into practice, focusing on inquiry and self-understanding as tools for exchange across cultural differences. Once participants briefly review the Intercultural Praxis Page, they should complete the activities labeled Diving in Part 1 and Part 2 of the first page of the series, Can you exchange across cultural differences if you don’t have an understanding of your own identity? . In our session we will focus only on the activities in Diving in Part 1: Identity and Awareness of Self and Part 2: Power, Privilege and Positionality: Are you a target or an agent?. Please join Katie and Nedra, both of Dickinson College, for a lively discussion, personal reflection and a rich exchange of ideas!

Unpacking the “Critical” in Reflection: Key concepts and good practices – Richard Kiely & Amy Somchanhmavong, February: 18, 12:15 – 1:30 PM Eastern US. Register here.  

Cornell University is committed to public engagement across the institution. From the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement, Richard Kiely and Amy Somchanhmavong work together to ensure student experiences include critical reflection across courses and co-curricular programs. Kiely and Somchanhmavong will share key elements of critical reflection including consideration of power, positionality, equity, and cultural humility.  They will then draw on digital storytelling as an example of navigating these elements to support individuals through their reflections.

Place-based Inquiry and Action: Social Change and Activism in Europe with Julia Carnine and Bruno Grazioli, Thursday, March 3rd 9:00 – 10:30 AM Eastern US. Register here. 

From Toulouse, France and Bologna, Italy, Julia Carnine and Bruno Grazioli have engaged US students, virtually and in-person, on thinking about relationships among civic action, global interdependence, and place. Participants will review the Collaborative Toolkit page, 1968 in Europe: Youth Movements, Protests, and Activism, before engaging in discussion about the reflective questions on the page. In addition to connecting with other members of the Collaborative Community, participants will reflect on how ideas of social activism, volunteering, and community engagement are differently nuanced in particular locations due to their specific social, historical, political, economic aspects, in addition to learning about how EU citizens, individually and collectively, have achieved social change since the late 60s. Additionally, participants will learn how toolkit pages are applied in curricular and co-curricular contexts through Dickinson in France and Dickinson in Italy.

Ethical International Partnerships involving Children & Residential Care, March 30, 12:00 – 1:30 Eastern US, with The Better Care Network and Faith to Action, as part of shared involvement in ReThink Orphanages. Register here.  

The Collaborative has played a key role aligning with the global child rights and wellbeing community to raise awareness about the harms of orphanage tourism. With the pending resumption of international travel and volunteering, ReThink Orphanages is partnering with a range of organizations to continue to move individuals and organizations away from harmful forms of partnership and toward healthy engagement to support holistic community development. It is neither simple nor easy to walk away from partnerships involving child residential care centers. Recognizing this complexity, the Collaborative is partnering with the Better Care Network and Faith to Action to offer a supportive workshop for a small gathering of educators. The workshop is for educators involved in campus-community global engagement who wish to ethically step away from partnerships founded years ago with orphanages at the center, and step into other alternatives. Presenters will first review the evidence on the importance of family care and challenges of visiting residential care. Presenters and facilitators will then engage with participants to review how individuals and organizations involved in partnerships from the Global North have responsibly transitioned toward holistic community development partnerships. This is meant to be a supportive community for individuals who are navigating these transitions with care.

Relational Engagement:  A Vision for Community Driven CBGL, April 29, 12:15 – 1:30 PM Eastern US. Register here. 

Community-based global learning (CBGL), at its best, is grounded in deep and meaningful relationships. Simultaneously, in this interdependent world we inhabit, wracked as it is with major crises of injustice, health, and climate, we face an imperative to move best-practice collaborations to scale. How can the movement to advance best practice CBGL learn from social movements and adult learning theory, as we work together to grow a sustainable movement for change? Join with Richard Kiely (Cornell  University), Janice McMillan (University of Cape Town), and Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler (Elon University) to hear their reflections on key elements of relational engagement in CBGL and to engage in dialogue with them regarding our opportunities for moving forward.