Working at the Interface: Dr. Kevin Brooks

Our friends in are Winnipeg putting on a fundraiser for the displaced of Abyei, Sudan on June 14th.

NEWS RELEASE

For immediate release:
June 11, 2008

SUDANESE OF WINNPEG UNITE IN NAME OF SUFFERING
Winnipegger’s join in solidarity with City’s Sudanese to Raise
Funds for War-torn Abyei

WINNIPEG: An emergency Sudanese cultural event will take place on
Saturday, June 14th 2008 to raise money for the 12,000 families
affected by the current humanitarian and security crisis in Abyei,
Sudan. Beginning at 2 p.m., concerned Sudanese Canadians and citizens
of Winnipeg will assemble at the University of Winnipeg’s Bulman
Centre to collect donations for the estimated 50,000 civilians
internally displaced by the violent clash between Northern and Southern
troops along Sudan’s disputed border.

Fighting in the oil-rich area of Abyei which started May 13th 2008 has
been a point of contention since the signing of the CPA in 2005. “We
have decided to gather on Saturday to show solidarity with our people
that are suffering in Abyei, it may not solve the problems but at least
they will see that we have done what we can” says Biong Deng, acting
executive member of the LBGS (Lost Boys & Girls of Sudan) in Manitoba.

12,000 families are at immediate and critical risk of malnutrition,
starvation and disease in Abyei at the onset of the rainy season.
“It’s a precarious assumption to think that the suffering in
Abyei doesn’t concern us here in Canada…our national dignity is at
stake” says Tara O’Connor, Community Liaison Coordinator at the
University of Winnipeg’s Global College.

Performances by Mijok Lang aka Hot Dogg and Sudanese dance troupe
Marsala

When: Saturday, June 14, 2008
Starts: 2 pm
Ends: 6 pm
Location: Bulman Centre @ the University of Winnipeg *Take the elevator
located by the Riddell Cafeteria and the Spence Street entrance to get
to the Bulman Center

Hosted by:
The Lost Boys & Girls of Sudan in Manitoba and the University of
Winnipeg’s Global College




For more information, contact:
Biong Deng (204) 218-7940

Bixler's 2005 book follows a group of Sudanese refugees in the Atlanta area from their arrival to 2004. These stories of resettlement and adjustment are interesting, but Bixler's historical work on the origins of the north-south conflict is concise and lucid, his detailed account of how the US state department came up with the idea of resettling almost 4,000 unaccompanied Sudanese minors is an account I have not read before, and his analysis of how the September 11 attacks functioned as a catalyst for the 2005 CPA in Sudan is fascinating. Former President Carter, I learned, was frustrated with President Clinton's aggressive (i.e. bombing) approach to Sudan, and it was only with the arrival of President Bush in the White House that--upon President Carter's prompting--the US began to play an active role in brokering peace between north and south Sudan.

Also interesting to read about the Valentino Deng and Dave Egger collaboration being written about in a round-about, slightly skeptical way, not naming any names, way.

Lost of other little gems. One story about a boy trying to pass his GED was fascinating. He struggled with literary interpretation, but when asked to do a "composition" about a movie he had seen, he wrote about Achebe's Things Fall Apart because he had only seen one movie. He ended up scoring better in composition than any other subject. A slight nod to the fact that good composition isn't about one's "English," which I suspect was shaky at best in this case. He presumably wrote about the book with authority, with a deep understanding of the colonial African experience, in such a way that the readers of the exam ignored the fact that he didn't follow the prompt, and probably wrote in non-standard ways. Good work, readers!

Bixler's 2005 book follows a group of Sudanese refugees in the Atlanta area from their arrival to 2004. These stories of resettlement and adjustment are interesting, but Bixler's historical work on the origins of the north-south conflict is concise and lucid, his detailed account of how the US state department came up with the idea of resettling almost 4,000 unaccompanied Sudanese minors is an

I helped my son and his friend make their first stop-action video, Hermione's Family Jewel. The 2:00 minutes movie (2:00 minutes so they can enter it in the Fargo Film Festival's Two Minute Movie contest) is an homage to Harry Potter, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, with a really quick scream-out to The Simpsons. The boys pulled in all the allusions, I just helped them get it down to 2:00 minutes.

I came across an interesting story about a University of Manitoba student who spent four months doing various volunteer projects in South Africa. Christine, the student, provided a good analysis of the value of this kind of trip:

“I think this kind of volunteering is important because it gives the people hope. It shows them that the outside world does care and that there are people that do want to help. I think it’s also important for us to go there to do this kind of volunteering because it makes us feel connected to the problem. It makes it real.”

Whenever ASAH does a public event, we meet at least one person who says, "I'd really like to go to Sudan." The desire for Humanitarian Travel is palpable, and their are services available. The story focuses on Aviva; I have found Globe Aware and Cross Cultural Solutions.

This four part story from the Boston Globe follows a group of Lost Boys as they travel from Kakuma and settle in Massachusetts. Great details, although interesting how the numbers are so inconsistent from story to story: this one claimed 33,000 boys in Ethiopia, while other stories claim 20-35,000 walked, and about 10-15,000 made it to Ethiopia. This story claims 5,000 made it to Kakuma, where other stories claim more like 10,000 made it to Kakuma.

I am going to an alumni event at the U of Winnipeg on Monday the 9th; the presenters are talking about their work with Students without Borders. These alumni, working with students at a couple of different institutions, I think, raised $250,000 and took medical supplies to Senegal as part of a 17 day trip. This got me thinking about a "Students without Borders" arrangement between NDSU and U

World Refugee Day 2008: Fargo Events
World Refugee Day is a global event, started in 2001, to recognize the contributions refugees make to the world, as well as acknowledge the aid refugees would benefit from, whether living in refugee camps or Fargo ND.

The 2008 theme is “Protection.” The United Nation’s High Commission on Refugees has identified these three key points.
1. More than 30 million forcibly displaced persons in the world share a fundamental need for protection.
2. Since 1951, UNHCR has protected refugees in a multitude of ways, ranging from humanitarian assistance to legal protection.
3. On World Refugee Day 2008, we can all help protect refugees by raising awareness of UNHCR and its engagement.

Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota—New American Services
World Refugee Day Celebration
1-5 pm, Friday June 20th.
1325 11th St S
Fargo, ND

Join us for an afternoon of live music, ethnic food, and fun as we celebrate the contributions of refugees in our community and hear the stories of their journey. Entrance fee to the event is the donation of a household item, such as towels, bedding, or cleaning supplies, to benefit refugees in our community.

Contact: Darci Asche. dasche@lssnd.org, (701) 271-1604
http://www.lssnd.org/

African Soul, American Heart Foundation
World Refugee Day: Watch, Listen, Learn, Participate
6:30-8:00 PM, Friday June 20th
Zandbroz Variety
420 Broadway North.

The African Soul, American Heart Foundation is sponsoring an event which will include:
• Original video footage from the Kakuma UN Refugee Camp.
• A first-hand account of being a refugee from Sudan.
• An anthropologist’s perspective on the Bosnian and Sudanese refugee experiences in Sioux Falls and Fargo.
• A report from Giving + Learning, a volunteer program for working with New Americans in Fargo.

Contact: Kevin Brooks (Kevin.Brooks@ndsu.edu) 701-231-7147
http://africansoulamericanheart.org
De.licio.us tag: http://del.icio.us/kabbie/WorldRefugeeDay

The Alliance for the Lost Boys of Sudan in north Florida (Jacksonville) is a well-established support group for Sudanese refugees. They have put together an SSS campaign: Stand Up, Speak Out, Stop the Genocide; be sure to watch their video! They seem to be one of the most active Sudanese aid groups working in the US right now.

Great story from 2003 about Lost Boys of Sudan wondering "There is so much milk: where are the cows in America?" Dinka culture is a cow culture, so a handful of Lost Boys who were settled in Boston ended up attending the University of New Hampshire to study the dairy industry.

Doc sent me the link to this article about a Kenyan park ranger using blogs and tweets to raise awareness and raise money for preserving the wildlife and wilderness in Kenya. I've been working with a Congolese refugee who is attending university in Nairobi, and have been thinking about encouraging him to blog and post photos of his life. I wonder if readers would donate to keep him in school?

Valentino Deng updated the slide show on his website. He did a great job of documenting some of the steps he has been taking to build schools and community centers in Marial Bai. His foundation bought a larger transport truck, a Toyota pickup, materials in Kampala, and he is buying his bricks in southern Sudan. ASAH will be able to learn a lot from his great work!

NPR ran a story this morning about a Lost Boy of Sudan, now Captain in the US Army, speaking at the Vietnam Memorial for Memorial Day. David first came to Sioux Falls and now lives in Utah; the Desert News also covered this story.

1. Video clips with definitions. Threads--unstable term, disagreement. Processes. Multiple. 2. Roles as readers? 3. New media as a game, as an ideology. 4. A folksomic poem from Flickr: images of writing; images of new media. 5. New media still looks a lot like hypertext. 6. Not your father's oldsmobile. Discussion Too much to record, but interesting discussion of reflection. Seems

Benjamin Cline: Using William Brown's work on "the rhetoric of social intervention"--attention-power-need cycle. Focuses on the attention cycle--axiology, epistemology, ontology--and its application to the Ubuntu Forum, "Absolute Beginner Talk." Forum members attempted to not only help new Ubuntu users, but tried to shift their axiology. Great examples of responses that combined trouble

Thinking about a proposal and paper on the One Laptop Per Child program and the meaning of "sustainability" for OLPC in southern Sudan. Sustainability of such an initiative seems incredibly problematic, but this figure could drive ground transformation; it could be used as a focusing figure for fundraising, for making the notion of rebuilding and transformation concrete. Also thinking about

I'm reading Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea, about his incredible work to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. His efforts lead to the founding of the Central Asia Institute, which he continues to run from Bozeman Montana. Inspirational story and model for African Soul, American Heart; inspirational story for every one!

Allegra Pitera: Videos from Detroit Mercy students are personal, historical, local: nice job of film without actors; all about the shot, the mood, the look. Good form for student videos. YouTube? Copyright issues? Blythe Nobleman: image, music, text assignment. Describe a process through "film": IMT. Barther, Sontag's Plato's Cave, Berger's Ways of Seeing, Gombrich "Truth and Stereotypes."

Michelle Sidler and colleagues presented on curriculum reforms at Auburn; they were forced to abandon their vertical curriculum and develop a horizontal curriculum. Key elements: scaffolded assignments, themed sections, information literacy replacing library visits, tabet pcs classrooms. Scaffolding: analysis and evaluation of a single argument, compare and contrast two arguments, create and

Kathi framed her talk in terms of "radical change, not much change." Also used the NSF How Students Learn and the Alexander Astin research to frame changes in students. Some key points: Stickiness: talked briefly about the role e-portfolio has had on teacher retention. Assessment: student gets to identify what she values in her portfolio, in her education; assessment standards / goals emerge