The Talloires Network E-Newsletter - November 2011

In This Issue
 
Announcements

Opportunities

Papers and Publications

Upcoming Events

Featured Program

Members      

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Talloires Website

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Google Map showing our member universities

About the Talloires Network

Tufts University and Innovations in Civic Participation serve as the Secretariat of the Talloires Network.

Contact Us

Rob Hollister
Director
Talloires Network
[email protected]

[email protected]



Steering Committee members

Mark Gearan (Chair)
President, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Janice Reid (Vice-Chair)
Vice-Chancellor, University of Western Sydney

Lisa Anderson
President, American University in Cairo

Scott Cowen
President, Tulane University

Sharifah Hapsah Shahabudin
Vice-Chancellor, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Shamsh Kassim-Lakha
Founding President, Aga Khan University

Olive Mugenda
Vice-Chancellor, Kenyatta University

José María Sanz Martínez
Rector, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Jerome Slamat
Chairperson, South African Higher Education Community Engagement Forum

Rafael Velasco
Rector, Universidad Católica de Córdoba

John Wood
Secretary General, Association of Commonwealth Universities

Update from the Chair: President Mark Gearan

Several members have urged that the Network address the challenge of how to effectively measure the results of university civic engagement and social responsibility - impacts on what our students learn and impacts on community conditions. Therefore I am pleased to invite members to join a new working group on strengthening impact measurement. Communicating electronically, the group will exchange about current practices and explore alternative approaches to improvement. If you would like to participate, please contact Prof. Rob Hollister, Network Secretariat ([email protected]).

This issue was a frequent topic at our recent conference in Madrid and is raised regularly in other discussions. Most recently, Rector Ignacio Sanchez and his colleagues at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile recommended to Rob Hollister in his meetings in Santiago that the Network take action to advance impact measurement. I strongly support this initiative. The engaged university movement often is held back by the lack of credible and practical information about what our programs are actually accomplishing. This is a promising opportunity for collective action - to learn from each other's experience and to work together to develop and test new tools. As the group makes progress, it will share its work-in-progress with our full membership.

Announcements

Update: Talloires Network Youth Economic Participation Initiative

In collaboration with The MasterCard Foundation, the Talloires Network is planning a new initiative that will mobilize the capabilities of universities in developing countries to expand economic opportunities for university-educated youth. The initiative will support a number (to be determined) of demonstration projects run by Talloires Network institutions over a four-year period. Prospective activities include curriculum reform and innovation, applied research, and public policy development, internships, or community engagement programs oriented to developing job skills.

A planning process is currently underway to design the initiative in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders. During the past few months, we have worked with colleagues at the youth consultant group DECODE to conduct youth outreach through peer-to-peer interviews in ten countries, organized a dynamic global advisory committee, and initiated an online learning community composed of professionals working on programs that aim to bridge the gap between higher education and employment.

The online learning community began on November 7 and will run for six weeks. We can accommodate a few more participants, so please contact Jennifer Catalano at [email protected] if you or your colleagues are interested in joining the conversation.

Opportunities

RFP: "Pathways to Cleaner Production"
Higher Education for Development (HED), a USAID partner, expects to make one (1) award of up to $759,000 for three (3) years for a regional higher education partnership between one U.S. institution and three to four Latin American universities. Two to three of the partner universities will be selected from among the following countries: Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Additionally, one university will be selected from among the countries of Chile, Panama or Peru. This multi-country partnership will increase and utilize the capacity of higher education institutions to contribute to cleaner production practices in the region. The application deadline is 14 December 2011. Learn more>>

Jenzabar Foundation Grants
The mission of The Jenzabar Foundation is to recognize and support the good works and humanitarian efforts of student leaders serving others across the global community. The Foundation seeks to foster a culture of service and to educate and inspire future generations to create a better world. The Jenzabar Foundation issues grants to institutions of higher education and other charitable organizations with similarly aligned missions, and helps promote the activities of grant recipients within their communities and on a global level. The Foundation accepts proposals on a rolling basis. Learn more>>

Papers and Publications

Diversity and Democracy, Vol 14 No 3 (Fall 2011). "Higher Education for Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement: Reinvesting in Longstanding Commitments."
Higher education plays an important role in equipping today’s students with the skills, knowledge, and capacities they need to participate in a diverse democracy. Inspired by a forthcoming report on reversing the civic recession, this issue of Diversity & Democracy explores how various institutions are enacting civic learning initiatives that prepare students for democratic engagement. Learn more>>

Upcoming Events

For a complete list of upcoming events, visit our website>>

Engage 2011. Bristol (UK). 29-30 November 2011
The second national conference hosted by the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement will bring together people from across the UK to celebrate HEI public engagement, and explore ways to support it more effectively. Learn more>>

Service-Learning Director Leadership Institute, Roanoke, Virginia (USA), 28 February - 1 March 2012

Hosted by Virginia Tech's Engagement Academy, the Institute brings together service-learning leaders and engaged scholars, with a well-established foundation in service learning pedagogy, who seek to enhance their leadership capacities, deepen their institutional and community impact, and chart the next steps in their professional development as change agents on campus, in communities, and across the field. Learn more>>

Clinton Global Initiative-University 2012 Conference. Washington, DC, 30 March - 1 April 2012

Each year, CGI U hosts a meeting where students, national youth organizations, topic experts, and public figures discuss solutions to pressing global issues. CGI U 2012 will be held at George Washington University in Washington, DC. Attendees will come together to make a difference in CGI U's five Focus Areas: Education, Environment & Climate Change, Peace & Human Rights, Poverty Alleviation, and Public Health. Learn more>>

Featured Program

Amplifying Grassroots Community Voices at the University of Venda (South Africa), 2011 MacJannet Prize 3rd Place Winner

Amplifying Grassroots Community voices was launched in response to a disconnect between the local government and the communities that this sector is supposed to represent. To overcome this disconnect, Amplifying Grassroots Community Voices works to create all-inclusive community platforms where people have the opportunity to express their views on local development issues. Through reflection circles that are facilitated by students and mediated by peers within the community, local development issues are discussed in a democratic manner and decisions are made by the grassroots community. The program engages different cohorts within the community, including children, teenagers, men, women, and the elderly, then brings these voices together. Rather than giving resources to the community, the program seeks to empower the community to use its own resources to achieve development aims. Learn more>>