Kudos and congrats to Jesse Lee and Natalie Lampert, members of the Periclean Scholars Alumni Association and part of the Sri Lanka cohort, for participating in the 4th annual Training for Trusteeship Program in Sri Lanka.
The program, sponsored by the Weeramantry International Centre for Peace Education & Research, encourages young activists to "do what they can as individuals and future leaders to change their countries for the better by working across the cultural, religious, disciplinary and institutional divide in serving their communities".
I am honored to be raising funds for the program that helped to nurture their passions and talents, that helped them to grow from students curious about faraway lands to ambassadors of global change and environmental sustainability. Their plans to continue volunteering in Sri Lanka, even after graduating from Elon and participating in this forum, have convinced me that their connection to Sri Lankan communities is deeply rooted, one that will not wither after graduation. Their enthusiasm for active, informed global citizenship will continue to impact others in countless positive ways.
Click below to read the E-net article by Eric Townsend.
Elon grads take part in Sri Lanka forum
Two young alumni grew their Periclean Scholar legacies through a program for social and environmental activists.
Two Elon University alumni took part this month in the 4th annual Training For Trusteeship Workshop, a weeklong international program in Sri Lanka that brought together dozens of student activists from across South Asia and the United States.
Jesse Lee ’11, an environmental studies major, and Natalie Lampert ’11, an international studies and creative writing double major, traveled to the island nation off the southeast coast of India as the only two Americans accepted for 2011.
The program inspires youth to “do what they can as individuals and future leaders to change their countries for the better by working across the cultural, religious, disciplinary and institutional divide in serving their communities,” according to the website for the Weeramantry International Centre for Peace Education and Research, which sponsors the program.
Judge C.G. Weeramantry, the former vice president of the International Court of Justice, founded the center that bears his name in 2001.
In addition to seminars and workshops, participants were grouped into teams and tasked with putting together proposals for sustainable programs that address environmental or social justice issues. Lee’s team ultimately suggested a training initiative for regions to incorporate environmental awareness into their tourism programs; Lampert’s group put forward the idea of a global online environmental education network.
“We learn about culture and we learn about history,” Lee said, “but rarely do we learn about the local environment, whether it be natural phenomena, or species, or even the climate.”
Lee and Lampert’s visit was funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Embassy in the nation’s capital, which covered travel expenses to and from the nation. The two scholars have had a long relationship with the embassy’s American Cultural Center, which awarded Elon’s Class of 2011 Periclean Scholars a grant to fund an environmental forum in the country last winter.
Tom Arcaro, a professor of sociology and director of Project Pericles at Elon University, said he hopes that Lee and Lampert’s participation in the 2011 Training for Trusteeship opens doors for future Elon students who show interest in international environmental and social justice issues, and who would consider applying to future Training for Trusteeships. “They see this as, and we see this as, long-term relationships,” Arcaro said.
Lee and Lampert plan to remain in Sri Lanka through mid November volunteering for Foundation of Goodness, a nonprofit founded in 1999 by Kushil Gunasekera with the purpose of empowering rural communities in the island nation. They are currently teaching English lessons at one of their Periclean class’s partner schools in the central region of the country.
Upon their return, Lee plans to possibly continue his work with FFR Trikes, which sponsored his unsuccessful 2010 attempt to cross the United States in a solar-powered recumbent trike. “I have a good feeling that some things that are coming out of this conference, and the contacts that we’ve made, that I might get involved with different projects that are still in development,” he said.
Lampert is juggling options as well. She’s applying for a Fulbright grant to teach English in Sri Lanka, has been accepted into the Peace Corps, and the World Teach volunteer teacher program remains a third possibility.
No comments:
Post a Comment