IU activities to celebrate international education

ISIS videos will connect IU expertise to schoolchildren learning about the state’s growing immigrant populations

By Jayne Spencer

Richard Riley, U.S. secretary of education, along with Madeleine Albright, U.S. secretary of state, set the week as a national focal point following a presidential directive this past spring for increased support for international education.

“If more Americans understand the language and cultures of others, I believe that we will be more likely to avoid conflicts and reach across the cultural differences to form international friendships and partnerships,” Riley said. The secretary was the re cipient of the inaugural IUPUI Urban University Medal in 1998.

In conjunction with the national celebration, IU’s International Studies for Indiana Schools (ISIS) will offer six interactive video (IAV) distance-learning programs that will be broadcast from the School of Education in Bloomington during the week. The p rograms provide IU international students the opportunity to share their cultures and connect IU with elementary, middle and high schools in urban and rural Indiana. Funding for the broadcasts has been made possible through a grant from the U.S. Departmen t of State through a national competition administered by NAFSA: Association of International Educators. ISIS is directed by Deborah Hutton who also serves as outreach director of IU’s Center for the Study of Global Change.

In assessing recent demographic data, ISIS found that the number of immigrants living in the state had increased 10 percent in the past decade and that the number of language minority K-12 students had risen by nearly 70 percent, with the largest number o f students in first grade. With those figures in mind, ISIS hopes to lend insight into the native cultures of the state’s newest citizens, neighbors and classmates of children throughout the region. The university will be picking up the line charges for s chools that have access to IAV technology.

Four of the programs that will be broadcast by the Vision Athena network will promote understanding of the daily cultural lives of growing Hoosier populations emanating from Russia, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Burma. Two other programs focus on the cult ures of Bulgaria and Korea.

IU campuses around the state will be presenting International Education Week activities. Check the IU master calendar Web site at the end of this story.

Here are some highlights:

• Linguist Salikoko Mufwene of the University of Chicago will discuss myths about Ebonics on Tuesday (Nov. 14) at 4 p.m. in Ballantine Hall 347, IUB. A gathering from 1-5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, at the Tibetan Cultural Center in Bloomington will feature groundbreaking for an international temple dedicated to promoting world peace and harmony. Tibetan, Mongolian and Native American artists will perform.

• IU Southeast will host its 11th annual Model United Nations Security Council Conference for high school students at the University Center on Thursday and Friday (Nov. 16-17).

• Arun Gandhi will address the topic “Understanding Race to Overcome Prejudice” at IU South Bend’s “Conversations on Race IV” Friday, Nov. 17, at 5:30 p.m. at the campus auditorium. Thoughtbridge, a negotiating team from Cambridge, Mass., will present a session on mediation work done in South Africa from 8-10 a.m. and small discussion groups will run from 10:15 a.m.- 2:15 p.m. in Wiekamp Hall. The Durban, South Africa, dance troupe Sobonakhona will perform in the cafeteria of the Administration Buildin g from 2:45 p.m.-3:30 p.m. A reception for Gandhi will begin at 4 p.m. in the same location.

http://www.iusb.edu/%7Eextaff/GATEWAY/pressreleases/gandhi.shtml

• IUPUI’s Office of International Affairs is offering a brown bag lunch series, “IUPUI in the World,” Monday through Thursday (Nov. 13-16). For topics, presenters and locations, go to this Web site:

http://www.iupui.edu/%7Eoia/iew/

• Carolyn Calloway-Thomas, an IUB professor of communication and culture, will be the keynote speaker as IU Northwest celebrates Communication Week. Calloway-Thomas will speak Thursday, (Nov. 16,) at 1 p.m. in the Library Conference Center.

http://www.iun.edu/~newsnw/pr103000-1.htm

To access presentation times for the ISIS broadcasts, go to the following site and click on “events search.” In the “content provider” space, click on International Studies for Indiana Schools.

http://www.visionathena.k12.in.us/

http://events.iu.edu/

ISIS found that the number of immigrants living in Indiana had increased 10 percent in the past decade and that the number of language minority K-12 students had risen by nearly 70 percent.