International Women's Day Event

Yesterday around noon, men and women of all backgrounds and ages gathered with members of CIP, The United Nations Association-USA, OSU Student Alliance, and Women for Women International. We gathered on the Lane Avenue Bridge at the west entrance to OSU campus with signs and messages of peace. This was a worldwide event with people gathering on bridges from San Francisco to Congo. The event aimed to unite women all over the world in a global women's movement calling for an end to war and oppression of women. A group of Iranians attended with special messages of freedom for Iranian women on their posters, while a entire family from Fredericktown drove an hour to participant in the event.
There were around forty people who attended the event, who were broken up into four groups to discuss why we were here and what this event's message meant to us. In my group, the discussion prompted great remarks and insights by participants. Two Iranian women told us about how they came out to support the cause and to create awareness of the oppression of women occurring today in countries like Iran. A firefighter told us about having to say something to fellow firefighters about the language they used and how they didn't always listen, but at least he spoke up. As one woman said, it is worse to sit idly by and watch things happened than to speak even when it might not make a noticeable difference. Another big theme of our discussion was the importance of understanding even to the people with whom we disagree.To encourage respect and tolerance, we must show even our dissenters respect and tolerance. I have to say hearing these people speak was extremely interesting. They all had something very special and unique to say, and they all were of different ages and backgrounds, but all found common ground on this issue. Their unique experiences helped create a dynamic and profound discussion of which I felt privileged to be a part.
Participants also wrote messages of peace and hope on a banner. Some messages were as simple as "Peace," while there were others that called for equality and justice for everyone. Participants later spread out across the bridge with the banner and other posters promoting peace. It was an extremely unique event to attend. The people there had great energy, and we were often supported by passing vehicles with a honk or peace sign. It was a great way to bring many people of differing backgrounds and groups for a common cause. I believe I am not alone in thinking that the event was very successful, and I thank the leaders for their hard work and dedication. I can only hope that events like these continue to prompt discussion and eventually change.

Haiti Empowerment Project

We have decided to try and resurrect this blog, which has been inactive for quite some time. We are hoping that this blog can act as a way for people to give us feedback on their experiences with CIP and also as a way for us to keep our supporters and participants better informed of events and news. So feel free to post comments or your own news!

On March 9^th at 6:30 p.m., Dr. Terri Bucci, an OSU professor at the Mansfield campus, will give a presentation, “Empowerment for Haiti,” on Haitian education. Dr. Bucci created the Haiti Empowerment Project in 2003 to help transform the education system in Haiti. The Project brings together the intellectual and material resources of OSU and other U.S. faculty and graduate students with Haitian counterparts to assist in the development and implementation of culturally relevant professional training.

Some sobering facts about Haiti:

· 67% of Haitian children attend primary school with teachers who have little educational preparation

· Haiti has only 52.9% literacy rate

o Compared to American which has 99% literacy rate and its neighbor the Dominican Republic which has 87% literacy rate

· Haitian education expenditures account for only 1.4% of the GDP

o This ranks Haiti 175 in the world in education expenditures (very low on the list).

· Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with 80% of its population living below the poverty line and 52% living in abject poverty

With facts and statistics like these, it is obvious that Haiti’s need for a better education system is very important. The main aim of this program is to bring faculty and graduate students into Haitian schools to work with teachers, students, and university faculty. Participating faculty and grad students spend some time in schools in the countryside and use their experiences in these schools in teacher education courses. This way the program is providing Haitian teachers with culturally relevant training. With the earthquake earlier this year, these problems in Haitian education have, unsurprisingly, worsened.

This presentation should be extremely interesting especially for those interested in Haiti or in participating in the program. Dr. Bucci will speak more fully on the educational issues facing Haiti and on the Haiti Empowerment Project.

If you would like to donate to the Haiti Empowerment Project, donations can be sent by mail:

The Haiti Empowerment Project
The Ohio State University at Mansfield
c/o Carol Freytag, fiscal agent
1760 University Drive
Mansfield, Ohio 44906

If you would like to learn more about the Haiti Empowerment Project, visit their website:

http://mansfield.osu.edu/Empowerment/

CIP for International Understanding

Thank you for visiting the Columbus International Program's Blog for International Understanding. Our organization is dedicated to: Promoting International Understanding through Intercultural Exchange.

This Blog has been created so that people can share their thoughts and experiences regarding the Columbus International Program.

It is not our intention to solicit or guarantee any products or services, but to provide a valuable tool so that we may all engage in a dialog concerning a "world at peace".

We will be monitoring this Blog on a regular basis and will do our best answer your questions and/or concerns as well as provide you with updates regarding our programs and successes.

If you have any thoughts or suggestions concerning the Columbus International Program, our mission, our programs, our participants or our members, plesase feel free to share them here.

Begin your journey toward "International Understanding" right now!

It's all up to you.