Dear Friend,

In the first quarter of 2017, we’ve broadened the reach of iEARN-USA’s programs through the expansion of board and staff leadership roles, representation at national conferences, and stronger programmatic efforts throughout the iEARN network and partnerships programs.

Alessia Falsarone, Managing Director, Global Fixed Income, PineBridge Investments, and Arun Kumar, Global Head of Analytics, Razorfish, have joined the iEARN-USA Board of Directors, bringing with them expertise in global finance, data and technology.

Current staff members have taken on new leadership roles: Dina Guirguis, Deputy Director; Christine McCaleb, Director of Grant Programs; and Bridget Stout, Director of Operations and Human Resources. We are also pleased to welcome Gloria Kang, as our new Program Manager for the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program.

I am proud of what we’ve accomplished together this quarter, and encourage you to take a moment to  read through this quarterly update and see how our programs are providing more opportunities for  students and educators to learn with the world. We’d also love your feedback if you have a story to share!

Sincerely,

Dr. Tonya Muro
Executive Director
 

• iEARN has been named a finalist for the 7th Annual Classy Awards, recognizing the most innovative nonprofits and social enterprises. We are proud to be recognized! Learn about the awards and other finalists.

• The Teachers' Guide to Global Collaboration is now live at www.globaledguide.org. Funded by the Longview Foundation, this online guide is a collection of resources, projects and other opportunities for global collaboration.

• iEARN-USA presented at SXSWedu for the first time in March 2017. Check out the workshops and sessions presented by iEARN-USA staff and special guest Farah Kamal from iEARN Pakistan.  

• We are also excited to welcome new iEARN-USA Global Education Ambassadors this spring! Educators Greg Reiva, Jennifer Rose, Fay Stump and Steve Weissburg, bring a range of experiences and technical skills to our growing group of iEARN-USA leaders around the country who promote and support global project-based learning.

UP NEXT

• iEARN-USA is co-hosting and presenting during Global Leadership Week (GLW), April 24-28. GLW is a weeklong convening of virtual and face-to-face events designed to celebrate leadership through global action in K-20 education.

• iEARN-USA is also presenting a keynote and workshop around Sustainable Development Goal #4: Quality Education, at the upcoming UNESCO conference at the United Nations on April 27th-28th: 2017 Education Solutions-Initiative for the Era of Sustainable Development.

• This July 17-22, educators and students from more than 50 countries, including iEARN-USA, will be in attendance at the 2017 iEARN Conference and Youth Summit, in Marrakech, Morocco, hosted by the Moroccan Education and Resource Network (MEARN). Registration is open through June 15.

• During February and March, more than 120 global educators from the U.S. and 10 countries in the Middle East and North Africa came together to engage in global citizenship education through online professional development for the BRIDGE (Building Respect through International Dialogue & Global Education) Program, supported by the Aspen Institute’s Stevens Initiative.

•  Visit iEARN-USA’s YouTube channel to watch a video of the BRIDGE Program in action! Educators at John Handley High School in Winchester, VA participate in a “Hunger Banquet” as part of iEARN’s Global Project Finding Solutions to Hunger, in partnership with Kids Can Make a Difference.

UP NEXT

• In April and May 2017, BRIDGE educators in all 11 countries will connect their students to collaborate on global projects in one of the following theme areas: environment, civic education, heritage, identify, tradition, food security, and arts and media production.
   

• The Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) team organized the 2017 YES Alumni Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) Webinar to prepare alumni and students for service projects on April 21-23. The webinar featured Yutthakrit Chalermthai, founder and President of the YES Thai Alumni Association. View the webinar recording.

• YES Alumni Bangladesh launched an ongoing project called "Smallfoot" to engage marginalized children in early childhood education. The name "Smallfoot" was inspired by the 'little steps’ YES Alumni in Bangladesh take towards the betterment of the children's future. This would be their small steps towards a better life.’ Visit the “Smallfoot” Facebook Page.

UP NEXT

• In July 2017, the YES team will lead an Alumni Association Leader Training in Marrakech, Morocco with leaders from YES alumni associations. The participating alumni are also expected to participate in the iEARN Youth Summit with youth from around the world.

• iEARN-USA's National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) Interactive team hosted two virtual events. “Diversity in Morocco”, featured students on the NSLI-Y Arabic Academic Year program in Rabat and two YES alumni from Morocco. For “Russian Language Learning Strategies” five current NSLI-Y Moldova students gave presentations in Russian to Russian language classrooms in the U.S.

• NSLI-Y Korea alumna, Elaine Huang, created a Social Media Guidebook for students going abroad, as a capstone project for her internship with iEARN-USA.

• Signe Knutson represented iEARN-USA at the Diversity Abroad Conference in Minneapolis, MN. The conference focused on diversity and inclusion in study abroad and the NSLI-Y team is excited to apply what was learned to the 2017 programs.

UP NEXT

• On April 29th, NSLI-Y Interactive will host the final Virtual Event of the 2016-2017 Academic Year, featuring students in Seoul, South Korea. Stay up-to-date on these exciting events by signing up for the NSLI-Y Interactive Virtual Events newsletter.

• This summer, the iEARN-USA NSLI-Y Team will administer an immersive language exchange program for 15 students to study Arabic in Morocco; 20 students to study Chinese in China; 15 students to study Hindi in India, and 50 to study Korean in South Korea. iEARN-USA will also be welcoming the 2017-2018 Academic Year students – 14 students in Korea and 8 students in Taiwan.