全球对话项目成员(后排, (左至右)布里安娜·斯托尼克21岁, Claire Guarini, 22岁, 玛丽·苏22, Emi Tsukada, 23岁, and Inés Philippi ’23; (front, (左至右)托尼·蔡斯，21年, 劳拉·比安奇，23岁, Mar Garcia’23, and Mariana Ferreira ’21 holding laptop with image of Zeyad Anwar ’23. (摄影:Lee Pellegrini)
The pandemic prevented international travel for 电子游戏软件 students this academic year, but the University’s 全球对话 program served as their personal, 与全球大学生互动的桥梁, and the vitally important issues and concerns they share.
去年秋天推出, the student-driven initiative connects small groups of four to eight BC students via videoconference with a similar number of peers at universities around the world for hour-long conversations about relevant and critically important topics under six overarching themes: the COVID-19 pandemic; racial justice and decolonization; protests and social change; environmental justice; globalization and global cultures; and migrants and refugees.
“You don’t have to be the most knowledgeable person or the most socially active person; you just come in willing to listen to how other people have experienced the world and share your own knowledge,21岁的托尼·蔡斯说, 抗议活动和社会变革主题的领导者. “It’s a really casual and chill space to talk about the issues that really matter.”
“我真的为我们的学生领袖感到骄傲, who have invested so much time and energy in this project to make it successful this year,” said 国际 Studies Program Director Erik Owens, an associate professor of the practice in theology who serves as the 全球对话 faculty leader. “They have hosted nearly 40 of these informal conversations with peers in Asia, 南美, 非洲, 中东, 和欧洲, 大部分用英语，但也有一些用西班牙语, 普通话, 还有法语.
“We’ve worked hard to institutionalize the project in ways that will help it become a permanent, 学生主导的项目. 我们很感激这么多教职员工的支持, 院长, 和学生, 尤其是英国广播公司的全球参与办公室.”
"You don’t have to be the most knowledgeable person or the most socially active person; you just come in willing to listen to how other people have experienced the world and share your own knowledge.”
To join a conversation, an individual or a small group simply clicks on a link at the 全球对话网站, 选择你想要的话题, and a BC conversation leader then coordinates the videoconference with the BC participants and the students at the foreign university.
三月初, Emi Tsukada, 23岁 led a discussion on the impact of the pandemic with students from the Health Awareness Club at St. 贝鲁特约瑟夫大学. “We shared how we are adapting to online learning and talked about this new way of life. We also shared the small joys we try to find in everyday life, 比如早起看日出. We all talked about places we would love to travel to and I was definitely convinced by the USJ students to put Beirut at the top of my list.”
后不久, BC participants 和学生 from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago, 由苏文伟(玛丽)领导, 移民和难民主题领袖, discussed the similarities and differences between the current migration conditions at the United States southern border and the northern Chilean boundary, including the grave challenges and human rights violations that refugees face in both regions.
Subsequent BC-PUC sessions—led by Jack Engelmann ’22 and 劳拉·比安奇，23岁, respectively—touched on the rise of the extreme right and its impact on immigration policies in both countries, and the effects and implications of the exchange of art between global cultures, ranging from literature and poetry to paintings and sculptures. A discussion on the ethics of humanitarian aid guided by Diksha Thach ’21 was planned to take place before the semester ends.
“Something that I think is a pretty common sentiment among the project’s conversation leaders is just how exceptional the conversations have really proven to be in providing a sense of connection,比安奇说。, the globalization and global cultures theme leader. “我们有五个人来自西班牙, 厄瓜多尔, and Vietnam—and we shared very personal accounts of how art influenced our lives and what it meant to us. It truly felt that I had gained four new friends from across the globe.”
Another session with students from the University of Insubria in Italy concerned race, 警察暴力, 和microaggressions, 由21岁的布里安娜·斯托尼克领导, who plans to host another on the legacies of colonization and Black identity formation with Groupe Scolaire les Lauréats in the west 非洲n country of Burkina Faso.
“一开始我很害怕, but it’s been a really unique learning and leadership opportunity,斯通尼克说。, the racial justice and decolonization theme leader. “I’m not sure why it took me and the whole world until now—until COVID—to realize that the technology we’ve been using for years can actually connect us, 从我们的沙发和桌子上, 献给全世界的人们.”
Other conversations in the works include topics ranging from anti-Asian discrimination with a group of Beijing students, three environmental justice-focused dialogues with undergraduates from Milan’s Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, and a return visit with students from Beirut’s USJ to share immigrant experiences.
Phil Gloudemans | University Communications | May 2021