Submitting guest blogs is open to Global Washington’s members of the Atlas level and above. We value a diversity of opinions on a broad range of subjects of interest to the global health and development community.
Blog article submissions should be 500-1500 words. Photos, graphs, videos, and other art that supports the main themes are strongly encouraged.
You may not be the best writer, and that’s okay. We can help you shape and edit your contribution. The most important thing is that it furthers an important conversation in your field, and that it is relatively jargon-free. Anyone without a background in global development should still be able to engage with your ideas.
If you include statistics or reference current research, please hyperlink your sources in the text, wherever possible.
Have an idea of what you’d like to write about? Let’s continue the conversation! Email comms@globalWA.org and put “Blog Idea” in the subject line.
Posted on December 6, 2011
by Anna von Essen
What is global education? And how do we make sure that all students in the State of Washington (K-20) receive a truly global education that prepares them to succeed in a globally connected, dependent world?
These are just a few of the critical questions that 150 attendees began to answer at Global Washington’s Global K-20 Education Summit on Friday November 18th, 2011. The Global Education Summit, hosted by Seattle University, drew together community leaders, educators, and students who care about the future of our state and our young people. They discussed the ways that Washington State can develop a plan to provide all students with the best education – a global education.
At the Summit, participants learned about innovative global education projects throughout Washington State and the need for global education in order to build a global, civically-engaged community. Key discussions highlighted the importance of global education as a benefit for the local economy by providing jobs and opportunity for innovations in various sectors. Speakers also highlighted the need for global education as a means to connect youth to their school community, their local community and the global community. Erin Jones, Assistant Superintendent of Student Achievement at The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and recipient of the Milken Educator for Washington State in 2007, gave a poignant testimonial and shared her passion for global education. She also gave guests a call to action stating “we absolutely must educate every child with equity & excellence,” which includes giving our students language learning and global learning opportunities. She believes students can be literate, globally educated, and have good math scores!
A panel of speakers discussed the intersection between global education in Washington State and global development work in education internationally. Global Washington has the unique ability to bring together the local education sector and the global development sector. It is clear that the more globally prepared our students are, the more they will be able to productively engage with our state’s strong global development sector –as engaged citizens, caring donors, or global development professionals. These two fields have a lot to learn from each other.
John Boyd, Executive Director of K-12 Schools North End Highline School District and Noah Zeichner, a social studies teacher at Chief Sealth International High School talked about bringing global issues into the classroom and providing study abroad opportunities to transform and empower students. Treshawn Jackson, a student from Chief Sealth International High School, participated in a global leadership program through Global Visionaries. Strengthened by this experience, Treshawn shared that he now feels more comfortable at school and speaking to his community about global issues.
The Summit was engaging and participative. It offered an opportunity for attendees to learn, share their thoughts, and plan future actions to address current needs and challenges facing education in Washington State. In addition to learning from keynote speakers, participants were encouraged to actively take the conversation to the next stage. Since March 2011, Global Washington’s Global Education Initiative has been gathering recommendations for improving global education in Washington through over 200 interviews and conversations with key stakeholders. Summit participants evaluated these draft recommendations and added their own input. This feedback will be used to start implementing a collaborative action plan for global education in Washington State.
The final goal of these recommendations is to increase the number of globally competent and engaged graduates in Washington State. There a strong need to get the word out about the importance and benefits of global education to communities across the State. Global Washington is doing exactly that. Global Washington will publish a paper discussing the need for global education in Washington State and advocate for final recommendations beginning in 2012.
The Global Education Summit launched a collaborative movement to increase the global opportunity in our education system. Building on the previous work of the Global Education Coalition, and many schools and nonprofits across the state, we are ready to create a broad state-wide movement for all students. Summit participants defined global education as “connection,” “opportunity,” “engagement,” “tolerance,” “innovation,” “understanding.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful to offer these qualities and values to Washington’s students?
You can be involved in the Initiative by helping us spread the word! If you want to get the word out to your colleagues about this Initiative please send us your contact information.
Posted on November 14, 2011
Global Washington organized its third Global Happy Hour on October 13th. A group of Young professionals got together to talk about global health issues and career opportunities within the global development sector. Our guest speaker KJ Zunigha, Special Projects Coordinator, Corporate Services at PATH, gave insightful advice and led a thoughtful discussion.
- Here are the top 10 tips that KJ discussed that can help energize your research:
1. Join the next PATH Community Coffee to meet with staff members, recruiters from HR team and learn about PATH’s role in improving health and well-being in communities around the world. The next Community Coffee is Thursday, December 8, 2011 from 8-9 am. Email Molly Haas at events@path.org to RSVP for the event!
2. Be persistent, keep applying! Despite possible rejections you may have received in the past, don’t hesitate; keep applying for different positions at your favorite organizations.
3. Find a mentor, (a teacher, a co-worker etc.), who can advocate for you. You don’t have to go the road alone, find someone who already has an “in” to advocate on your behalf. People love to mentor. Chances are they have had some great mentors in their careers and would feel honored to mentor a passionate young professional like you!
4. Network, Network, Network. Networking can happen anywhere at any time. Not only are there more formal networking events available for young professionals, but some of the best networking can occur when you strike up a conversation with someone at a global development talk, conference, happy hour, or your favorite Peruvian restaurant. You never know when a casual conversation over your shared love of pisco sours will land you an interview at a great organization! Don’t be shy, network away!
5. Participate in informational interviews with different staff members from an organization that you like. Through informational interviews you can discover what skills you still need to improve and how to make it in a given industry.
6. Volunteer in the sector you are interested in. Even if you haven’t landed your dream job yet, you can still gain valuable skills. This will give you some field experience and will help you realize what career opportunities exist within your desired sector.
7. Believe in your potential. Don’t feel discouraged by typical job requirements such as, “5 years experiences required”. Through a short experience abroad, internships, volunteer or extra-professional activities, in addition to your past job experiences, you have accumulated valuable experience and transferable skills!
8. Keep learning. If you just graduated, stay in touch by reading blogs and articles related to the fields you like. If you are in a work transition period, go online and gather as much information as you can. You have to show that you are passionate about the field you want to work in. Showing recruiters that you are well informed increases your credibility.
9. Be creative. If you have a great idea, share it with your peers; look for collaborators or people who have the same interests as you. (e.g. participate in global social enterprises competition like GESEC).
10. Be positive and RELAX. Your dream job might be right around the corner, so don’t give up and keep looking!
Global Washington’s happy hour events are once a month in different places in downtown Seattle (restaurants, café). Each time, a global issue will be covered and a young professional (A Global Washington member organization) will be invited to share his/her experience and provide information on challenges, opportunities and trends in the field of global development work. Come join the dynamic and energetic conversation with inspiring young professionals. There is a lot to learn from each other! The Global Happy Hour event is a great and fun way to network and get useful tips to advance young professionals’ carrier in global development.
Posted on October 30, 2011
Excerpt from a blog by Leela Stake of APCO Worldwide about Global Action Day and the Global Washington Conference
“Next week, I’ll head up to the Microsoft* campus in Redmond, Wash., to moderate a panel at Global Washington’s third annual conference. It’s a great model of statewide collaboration in the development community, and I thought you might want to know more about it.
During the 20th century, the state of Washington built a reputation for its airplanes, timber, software and coffee. Yet the state is now leading the way in addressing an entirely different class of global needs: good health, education, employment, food, shelter, and a chance for a better life.”
To read the full post, visit http://sharedpurpose.virtualvantagepoints.com/the-hub-of-global-development-innovation/