Project Updates

Building a library from scratch requires an enormous amount of creativity and hard work. In Vulcana Pandele, a village in Romania, the library was crammed into a tiny space with little room for the resources that community members needed. Biblionet offers computers and trainings to libraries across Romania, but there has to be a place to put the new technology. Luiza Barbu was eager to bring modern services to her patrons, and inspired by a fellow librarian to take action.

Since beginning class in September, Global UGRAD students have made headway on pursuing their goals. Nargiz, from Azerbaijan, jump-started her community service experience the first week of her arrival, working more than 16 hours to help the poor in the Graceland University community in Lamoni, Iowa.

In an effort to build closer ties among minority groups in Georgia, Muskie and Global UGRAD alumni recently brought together ethnic Armenians, Azerbaijani, and Georgian youth in a two-day leadership and cultural integration training. Muskie alumni Koba Grdzelivshili (2003) and Global UGRAD alumni Maka Aliogli (2005-2006), Armani Gambaryan (2009-2010), and Elene Iordanishvili (2008-2009) developed and implemented the training using an alumni grant administered by IREX.

University administrators from Russia and Armenia met with U.S. Under Secretary of Education Martha J. Kanter. Dr. Kanter shared her expertise on higher education in the U.S., as well as her insights on implementing innovation and administrative reform in a higher education environment. White House Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu, also at the Department of Education that day, joined the meeting.

Youth and adults from Romania and Moldova recently spent a week in Vadu lui Voda, Moldova, participating in the Community Schools Academy as part of the Youth Civic Engagement and Dialogue (YCED) program. Participants learned about team-building across ethnic lines, project design and management, advocacy, civic engagement, and leadership skills. 

Four years after participating in the International Leaders in Education Program (ILEP), Bouchra Arrif is working to bridge cultures and break down stereotypes across borders. Arrif was recently featured in the Euronews story “Building Bridges through Education” as a participant in the Crossing Borders Education program.

The story of YTP drama club leader Suhrob Ergashev is selected as a winner in the Peace Portal Stories of Peace Challenge.

Through service in the community, insight in class, and a unique international perspective, one lawyer from Tajikistan left a lasting imprint on the St. Louis University (SLU) community. Firdavs Mirzoev, a Legal Education and Development Program for Tajikistan fellow from Dushanbe, immersed himself in more than books during the year he spent studying at SLU’s School of Law.

Nine global community leaders met with Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides this week to share their experiences improving communities across eight countries.

Shalva Tabatadze, a 2006 Muskie Program alumnus working to promote intercultural tolerance in Georgia, will become one of the newest inductees to Kent State University’s hall of fame. Kent State announced this week its selection of Tabatadze as the 2011 recipient of its Diversity Alumni Award.