Schedule

Midwifery in Ghana and South Africa: Similarities, Differences, and Lessons Learned

In a June 2011 report, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reported that expanded midwifery services could save millions of lives each year in 58 developing countries. Childbirth still poses unnecessary mortal threats to millions throughout the world. In our presentations we will cover the similarities and differences between the cultures, health care systems, and environments surrounding childbirth in Ghana and South Africa. We will explore the ethical considerations of participating in medical experiences abroad as undergraduate students. Having had experiences as Dickey Interns and as Tucker Fellows working with midwives, we will also offer personal reflections and global health lessons, and share how this learning influenced our academic interests and career goals.

Creativity and Culture Connect in Cape Town: Sharing Talents Abroad

In all parts of the world, socioeconomic upward mobility starts in the classroom. South Africa, as a country less than 20 years from an apartheid era, has a future that will be largely shaped by its current generation of children. Violence and gang activity are prevalent among youth in under-resourced townships, but efforts by the Amy Biehl Foundation, through its after school programs, have provided students with a variety of creative learning opportunities that are crucial for future success. Founded on principles of reconciliation and social justice after the death of anti-apartheid activist Amy Biehl, the foundation seeks to instill talent and knowledge in township children through reading, music, art, dance, HIV/AIDs education, and computer programs. Teaching children as a foreign student allows one to understand that even a small impact can make a huge difference. If those with talents in various areas would make the effort to share them with those who lack the opportunity to learn, then great differences could be made in the townships of South Africa and around the world.

Learning through Service: Latter-day Saint Missions and the Educational Value of Missionary Work

This presentation will explore the educational implications of the experiences of two Dartmouth students who served as full-time volunteer missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in Brazil and Switzerland. Simply stated, a LDS missionary’s purpose is to invite others to come unto Jesus Christ. Within this broad definition, however, these two students had unique, highly personal learning experiences. Acting as everything from marriage and substance abuse counselors to event organizers for local congregations, they learned to love and learn from the people they served. Such intense personal interaction gave them a perspective on, and an understanding of, local populations that is difficult if not impossible to reproduce in a study abroad or foreign research program. Instead of attempting to interpret reality through the sometimes cloudy lens of academic learning, they were able to connect with individuals through daily Christian service and often existential conversations. Attendees will recognize that far from being a watered down version of neo-imperialism, LDS missions and the missionary work of other congregations is a powerful, personal way to understand and come to love a foreign culture.

The Tension Between USAID's constraints and pro-poor agricultural development

The “Feed the Future" initiative, the Obama administration’s comprehensive plan for fighting global hunger mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, has reignited debates about the U.S. government’s role in agricultural development. At the Feed the Future Research Forum in June 2011, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah urged over 300 researchers and government officials to develop a few big breakthrough ideas that could anchor the initiative. Yet Shah’s suggestion translates into highly technical solutions that divorce food production from local people and the environment. The institutional constraints under which USAID operates, particularly the idea that U.S. agribusiness should be included as one of the agency’s intended beneficiaries, may prevent the agency from embracing approaches that address the multi-functionality of agriculture: nutrition objectives, rural livelihoods, and climate change adaptation and mitigation. This raises a fundamental question: How can the incentive structures operating within the United States government become more closely aligned with the interests of the world's poorest? The question has specific implications for how effectively U.S. international development policy contributes to food security goals in Africa.

Using the Earth Sciences for development in Africa

Africa has a rich geologic heritage that presents superb opportunities for development of the continent through conservation. Yet despite its varied and remarkable geology, Africa still has no Geopark recognized by UNESCO. Earth Scientists in Africa recognize the need for the Earth Sciences as a tool for development and preservation and understand how Geoparks present an opportunity for economic development through tourism. They also present a way to deliver an Earth Science education and help to contain depletion of resources. This particular research was carried out concurrently with The First Conference on African and Arabian Geoparks in El Jadida, Morocco, in November 2011. It focuses on the geologic significance of the Atlas Mountain ranges in order to conserve and share them and draws on Geopark proposals for other areas in Africa.

Counter-Mapping with the Tsáchila: Establishing Community Boundaries in Lowland Ecuador

This presentation will explore, with the example of the Tsáchila people of Ecuador, the dangers faced by indigenous groups inhabiting unmapped property. The Tsáchila currently number around 2,500 individuals split into seven communities, many of which are losing land to slow invasion from neighboring ranches and plantations. This project, coordinated by the Quito-based NGO Yanapuma Fundación, aimed to protect against further loss by creating a map of the community’s land. Villages organized members knowledgeable of boundary areas and, with the help of basic GPS and GIS technologies, succeeded in producing quality maps. While the existence of a map in itself cannot stop all invasions, digital and paper representations of the community will hopefully aid in future property disputes.

Language Revitalization in Native Communities

Currently, Indigenous communities around the world face the rapid decline and extinction of their native languages. According to National Geographic, “Every 14 days a language dies.” The legacy of colonialism has had an immense impact on the livelihood and existence of Native peoples and their Indigenous languages. Intrinsically linked to those of language, land, and culture have been issues of alcoholism, depression, suicide, high incarceration rates and so on. To tackle these contemporary issues, Indigenous communities have turned to language and cultural revitalization efforts as a part of the solution. Because Indigenous cultures are varied and unique across the world, there is no one solution to each community’s problems. Historically, researchers have tried to solve issues within Indigenous communities by facing each problem alone. However, we have found that Indigenous community issues must be faced holistically. By approaching language and cultural revitalization through canons of Indigenous research methodologies, Indigenous communities can be a part of and serve as a critical element in tackling the problems that face their communities. The most effective of these solutions derive from the community’s direct involvement and by use of traditional community constructs and methods of education.

Reconciling Development, Climate Change, and Indigenous Cultural Preservation in the Scandinavian Arctic

The Arctic is changing. Global warming, perceived as an intangible threat elsewhere, is very real here. Climactic shifts introduce new flora and fauna and increase human access to once-remote locales, prompting industries and peoples to move north. Native societies around the Arctic Circle are sensitive to these phenomena. Such patterns are not new, and throughout their history they have learned to adapt to similar developments. The speed and unique nature of today’s challenges, though, are novel, and pose threats to the viability and continued existence of culturally significant institutions and practices. Nowhere is this more evident than among the Sámi of Northern Scandinavia, semi-nomadic reindeer herders who have maintained their way of life through centuries. Using the Sámi as a case study, this ethnographic research examines the interrelated issues of climate change, development, and cultural preservation in the Arctic through hands-on fieldwork and interviews with local researchers and herders. Preliminary results reveal nuanced and conflicting expectations for the region and its inhabitants; coming years promise profound change and uncertainty. The presentation will investigate these themes, explore the research challenges encountered, and reflect on the experience of conducting academic fieldwork in a rapidly evolving and dynamic Arctic.

Oceanic Manifest Destiny: Climate Change, Relocation and Indigenous Peoples

In the South Pacific country of Tuvalu, approximately 3,000 Tuvaluans (one quarter of their entire island population) find themselves in a political debate regarding their status of immigrant vs. refugee as they opt to migrate from their small island country to nearby New Zealand. Their stated reasons for moving include lack of income, lack of resources, and loss of traditional food sources, all problems that are exacerbated by climate change. Over 80 percent of these immigrants are settling in urbanized Auckland, a stark contrast to their traditional island lifestyle. To ensure the survival of their unique Indigenous culture and promote greater awareness of, and respect for, this vulnerable population, the Tuvaluan government must collect more precise data. This project examines post migration socioeconomic conditions of the South Pacific population, including the Tuvaluans, in Auckland, New Zealand to show the distribution of income and the Pacific Peoples population in comparison to the total population in Auckland, New Zealand.

Refugee Resettlement and Their Place in the American Education System

In 2010, over 260,000 refugees were admitted into America from all over the world to escape persecution from their home countries. After entering America, they are taken on by individual non-profit organizations in various locations throughout the country to help them restart their lives. This summer, I was able to take part in this process through a Dartmouth Partners in Community Services Internship in San Diego, California with the International Rescue Committee. I worked in the Refugee Youth Education department to teach middle and high school students in a summer school program. These students were excited about the prospect of starting a new life, but often cannot find the pathway to success within the U.S. education system. I will share with the audience my reflections and experiences.

Bridging the Divide: Mitigating the Impacts of the Us/Them Dichotomy

Members of the newly founded Student Initiative on Global Engagement will facilitate a discussion about the ethics of cross-cultural service and research. Anyone who has worked in unfamiliar cultural settings has encountered the power imbalance that exists when you enter a community with the intent to serve. However, merely acknowledging the disequilibrium seems insufficient. This session will explore how student experiences are impacted by this inescapable dynamic. It will also challenge us to think of ways to bridge the chasm of privilege and perspectives that can separate us from the communities we hope to serve. Some of the questions we plan to consider include: Is it fair that we have the agency to tell other people’s stories? Should we be concerned that we use the lives of people in Global South communities to advance our personal narratives? What does it mean to be a cultural insider, when do you become one, and does this perspective mitigate the power differentials that are at the core of cross-cultural service? What can we do to catalyze a system-wide paradigm shift in development to emphasize reciprocity and advance a bottom-up approach? The facilitators have worked in communities in Congo, India, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and Tanzania. SIGE looks forward to engaging with your ideas.

Voluntourism: Mismatching Expectations and Cross-cultural Interactions

In recent years, it has become increasingly popular for young adults from the Global North to travel to the Global South to volunteer with an NGO or charity. Many are looking for an authentic encounter with a foreign culture and hope to give something back to the peoples they are visiting. This growing number of “voluntourists” has influenced the ways NGOs in the Global South do business, with a growing number hosting them for the monetary and cross-cultural benefits they bring. This summer, I researched two such NGO programs in Jaipur, India: a home and school for street children and a women's empowerment program. I observed interactions between “voluntourists”, Indian volunteers, and NGO leaders and staff. Each brought different expectations to the relationship, which caused tensions when the expectations weren't fulfilled. I further explored these expectations by interviewing and discussing informally a range of topics with the “voluntourists”, volunteers, and NGO leaders and staff. A volunteer myself, I explored ideas about gender, education, empowerment, and cultural exchange with other volunteers, NGO staff and leaders to find moments of disconnect and confluence.

Presenters: Tara Kedia '12, Campbell Miller '12, Gurveen Chadha '13, Ryan Tincher '12

Development Innovations: A Bank Account For Every Child?

Featured in the Economist, Forbes, Fast Company, Smart Money, and on CNN the Huffington Post, and HBO's “Entourage”, Financial Access at Birth (FAB) is a social and economic innovation that seeks financial inclusion. This model of achieving inclusive financial citizenship was developed by UCLA Anderson School of Management Professor and the CIF’s Faculty Council Member, Bhagwan Chowdhry. As Paganucci Fellows at the Tuck School of Business during the summer of 2011, five Dartmouth undergraduates developed a feasibility analysis for FAB's Ghana pilot. This work included global consultation communication, fundraising, and partnership strategies. Our presentation will describe the FAB rationale for financial inclusion and the Paganucci Fellows' research findings in Hanover, and from their Ghana trip. Participants will be exposed to issues that commonly confront international development practitioners, namely issues in developing social innovations, working in the field, and navigating communications with donors and experts.

Water Concerns in the Developing World - An Engineering Perspective

Waterborne disease results in over 3 million deaths every year. Clean water issues are multidisciplinary, requiring technology, education, marketing, and community involvement. This presentation will highlight some of the hurdles to greater clean water access in the developing world, through the lens of an engineering intern at a for-profit clean water firm in India. I will touch on current barriers such as ownership, cultural acceptance, and management, as well as the bright future for integrating water infrastructure with cellular-based data management.

Documentary Film in International Development: Experiences from India and Marshall Islands

Based on the work on my documentary-in-progress "Not Just an Island in the Sun" on cultural property rights and international development and my on-going thesis research on state-sponsored documentary films in India, I seek to address the question: Can documentary films make a difference in the process of international development? In order to become effective agents of change, documentary films need to incorporate certain techniques. By using communications and development theory, I hope to build a model of what such techniques are. I will then apply this model to my own documentary work, as well as clips of 1950s and 60s documentaries made by the Indian government to promote development projects. I will conclude the presentation by comparing my film (which I see as an example of contemporary experimental documentary) to the Indian films (didactic, “voice-of-god" documentaries) and highlighting the potential advantages and disadvantages of both modes of filmmaking in trying to achieve social change.

The Uncertainty of Qualitative Research: Reflections on Researching Graffiti in Paris

A greater comprehension of the role that graffiti, tagging, and street art play in the modern urban environment is key to understanding urban marginality and the politics of public space. This presentation will reflect on the research process for a study focusing on the role that graffiti plays in Paris and its marginalized spaces, namely the banlieues. The study, which will be the basis of a senior honors thesis, will consist of an analysis of discourses on graffiti’s rise in Paris as presented in French media. Research conducted in Paris included semi-structured interviews, participant observation and collection of source materials in the libraries of Paris. However, the qualitative research process was never simple and the results were not straightforward, informing invaluable shifts in approach to the project.

Trauma in Conversation(s): Voices of Caribbean Women Writers

Narratives of trauma figure prominently in the fiction of Caribbean women writers, as they address both the historical oppressions of colonialism and the ongoing daily distress of their compatriots. This presentation focuses on three women authors who use dialogue and conversation to portray the effects of historical and personal trauma: Edwidge Danticat(Breath, Eyes, Memory) , Dionne Brand (Sans Souci), and Olive Senior (Bright Thursday). Together, Danticat, Brand, and Senior reveal the pervasiveness of trauma by portraying the depth of pain on either end of the dialogue and calling for mutual understanding.

Telling Stories of Culture and Identity

My senior project, a novella, explores the role of storytelling and mysticism in Caribbean culture, and their impacts on American identity. How does one reconcile spiritual and superstitious customs with a highly critical society? How do you find a way to interact with both the culture you grew up in, and the world in which you now live? As a West Indian with a U.S. passport, how does my Caribbean upbringing interact with my culturally American assumptions and expectations? As I began to identify the parts of my culture that I held closest, I found that storytelling has largely guided my development and global perspective. During this session, I will discuss how storytelling can both broaden cultural understanding and perpetuate norms.

Education is a powerful mechanism of cultural transmission and transformation, and not just in the classroom. I treat education as a form of consciousness raising in the tradition of Paolo Friere’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. The research is based on summer 2011 fieldwork in Venezuela, where I interacted with communities of African descent. Through examples from higher education, dance workshops, and informal conversation I will explain how education can serve as a means to transform marginalized communities. Each example, grounded in specific Venezuelan locations, is also embedded in global relationships. At the heart of the Afro-Venezuelan context, we find a powerful reminder of how education can inspire social change, anywhere, any time.

Presenter: Emily Unger

Life in Ghana

Narratives of trauma figure prominently in the fiction of Caribbean women writers, as they address both the historical oppressions of colonialism and the ongoing daily distress of their compatriots. This presentation focuses on three women authors who use dialogue and conversation to portray the effects of historical and personal trauma: Edwidge Danticat(Breath, Eyes, Memory) , Dionne Brand (Sans Souci), and Olive Senior (Bright Thursday). Together, Danticat, Brand, and Senior reveal the pervasiveness of trauma by portraying the depth of pain on either end of the dialogue and calling for mutual understanding.