GLOBALIZATION AND DEMOCRACY

The Ashburn Institute places a special attention into raising future generations of leaders. The High School Videoconference Series on Globalization and Democracy, which connects youth everywhere with their counterparts across the globe and with representatives of the political world and the civil society, thrives to achieve this noble task. The initiative aims at empowering young people for positive roles in the new civil society. Through global cultural awareness and cross-cultural exchange, young generations can see that they, too, can make a difference and create a global community.

This can be done today with modern education and distance learning technologies such as videoconferencing and the internet. Using these technologies, participants -high school students all over the world- are given the opportunity to work on real-world projects focusing on humanities and international relations.

All of the topics chosen for the series directly impact all students from every country, developed or developing, democratic or on its way to becoming a sustainable democracy. One of the interesting elements of this cross-cultural international program is to see the similarities and differences in perspectives. By facilitating interaction and educating, we help young minds better understand today's challenges while at the same time preparing them for future responsibilities in the civil society.

To get ready for each session, students and teachers have access to online resources designed by Rick Grier-Reynolds, a seasoned teacher in the area of Global Studies and posted on Blackboard.com, a website hosted by the Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia. Various readings, videos, internet sources and activities found on this website help answer some of the questions participants have prior to videoconferencing sessions. While accessing online resources, students also have the opportunity to join internet forums to engage in discussion with panel of experts providing real-world anecdotes and answers.

The series is organized through the Ashburn Institute's Global Partners Network, a network of teachers, educators and representatives of the civil society.

The Ashburn Institute's headquarters in Washington D.C. serves as a hub for Greater Washington DC high schools to be able to participate in the program. We are developing partnerships with schools locally to enable them to interact with schools globally.

A second series was completedin January 2005, this time with an even higher number of participating high school and improved technical means. Students, high school seniors whether in groups, as a class, or even individually from their home PC, had the possibility to take the course for three undergraduate college credits. Please visit us later for more details.