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Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize

Some people are calling it a blessing. Others are calling it a curse. Nicholas Kristof is calling it premature. Check out his recent article at the NYT and let us know your thoughts on what Obama’s recent award means for global development.

On The Ground: Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize

Global WA Development Policy: The Blog!

by Global Washington Policy Coordinator Danielle Ellingston

Welcome to development policy posts on the Global Washington blog! You may wonder why we need another development policy blog, since there are so many great global development blogs already out there.  Well, this blog is different- we will bring you the news and noteworthy ideas on a weekly basis, with a special emphasis on issues of interest to the development community in Washington State.  Our state is second only to the “other Washington” in organizations committed to global development, and now the many voices of development in Washington State have a venue to come together to discuss and influence policy.

Here’s what you can look forward to in future posts to this blog:

·    Foreign Aid Reform status– progress with legislation and the administration’s efforts, such as the Presidential Study Directive
·    Ideas for making aid work better
·    Development and Policy News from around the state
·    What’s happening in other countries and the multilateral organizations
·   How you can become involved

First and foremost, the Presidential Study Directive is picking up steam and the Obama administration is looking for your input on where to focus foreign assistance.  We sent out a survey to our mailing list asking for input, which we will compile and send off to DC.  If you’re on our mailing list and you didn’t get this survey, you might check your email spam box.  We’ll be looking for more input in the future, so please make sure to put Danielle@globalwa.org on your safe list!  (And of course, sign up to be on our mailing list if you haven’t already done so.)

If you didn’t get a chance to respond to our survey, you can still make your voice heard by commenting on the Center for Global Development’s blog, where they are also collecting ideas.

Need more information? Check out this link to background information on U.S. Foreign Aid policy, with lots of helpful information and links, from the Puget Sound Millennium Development Goals Project.

And finally, some food for thought on aid – MCC chief economist Franck Wiebe writes about a new (and controversial) standard for aid effectiveness, making aid at least as good as cash from a helicopter. Read it here.

Globe photo by ToastyKen at Creative Commons

Global Social Event: The Middle East

Global Washington volunteer Michelle Alten reports on our September 16th event

Kristin Hayden, Founder and Executive Director of OneWorld Now! spoke to a gathering at Global Washington’s Salaam Maleukum Middle East Networking Event on Wednesday, September 16th.  The event was part of Global Washington’s ongoing series of Global Socials the 3rd Wednesday of each month that convene development organizations around geographic regions or issue areas.  Kristin spoke about how she created OneWorld Now! and talked about her separate but related project, One World 2011.

Kristin came upon the idea of starting OneWorld Now! in 2002 when she returned to the United States after living and working abroad.  She recalled that at the age of 15, she went on a student exchange to South Africa when the country was still under Apartheid.  The sojourn was a life changing experience for her and led to a passion for learning languages.  Upon her return to the United States in 2002, after living overseas, Kristin was disturbed by the reaction in the United States to the events of 9/11.  Witnessing the fear and stereotypes that Americans showed towards Arabs and Muslims, Kristin started OneWorld Now!, a program that provides language and leadership training as well as study abroad opportunities for low-income and minority youth.

The program of OneWorld Now!, Kristin pointed out, deliberately focuses on Arabic and Chinese because these languages are strategically important but not typically offered in the public schools. Students also learn leadership by digging into underlying beliefs and stereotypes.  They commit to a year of the program, and then go abroad in summer to work on their language skills, participate in community service, and live with families.  Currently students go to Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan.  Upon their return they participate in a give-back project.

Proud of the impact the program is having on its participants, Kristin explained that 100% of the youth go on to college.  OneWorld Now! serves 150 youth per year and has arranged for students to receive credit for the program through Seattle Public Schools.  In the last year and a half, Kristin and her mentor, Bob Walsh, have taken the philosophy behind OneWorld Now! and the experience of the successful 1990 Goodwill Games to develop an important and large scale project called One World 2011.

Bob and Kristin are planning a month-long “mega-event” that will open in Seattle on September 11, 2011.  The goal of One World 2011 is to build a bridge between the U.S. and the Muslim world.  The extensive program will include a press conference on the Middle East, athletic events, a health summit, a trade bazaar, music, art, and film festivals, and a large youth exchange program with countries from the Muslim world.  Funding and support for the program are beginning to take form.

The U.S. government has shown support for the project along with Farah Pandith, the U.S. special representative to the Muslim world, and the Washington State Congressional delegation.  Kristin is hoping to have Michelle Obama, Melinda Gates, and Queen Rania of Jordan act as co-chairs of the event.  Seed funding has been provided by the Gates Foundation through the Tides Foundation and from philanthropist, George Russell.

Q&A

At a Q&A following her presentation, Kristin was asked about the organizations she works with to provide exchange programs abroad.  She explained that she arranges exchanges through American Field Service for Egypt, AMI for Morocco, and the Jordan River Foundation for Jordan.

When asked about further funding for One World 2011, she said that funding is being sought from corporations such as Nike, foundations, and organizations in the Middle East.

In further discussion about world language education in the U.S., Kristin pointed out that 1% of U.S. high school students study abroad, less than 1% study Arabic, and less than 3% study Chinese.  It was pointed out that Startalk is an organization that provides funding for their summer language programs for Arabic and Chinese.

Kristin was also asked about challenges she faces with planning One World 2011.  She feels that visas are frequently a problem and that visa complications are discouraging wealthy business people from the Arab world from coming to the United States.  She explained that they hope to push the visa issue in general with One World 2011.

Kristin also pointed out that many Arab and Muslim nations feel that they have lost a generation, because young people are being educated abroad.  She added that 60% of the Arab and Muslim world population is under the age of 25. This, she explained, means a large number of people who don’t have positive feelings about the U.S. and OneWorld 2011 aims to change that!

Some of the other organizations represented at the Global Social who are also doing work or share an interest in the Middle East include:

International Organization of Folk Art, http://www.iovworld.org
Middle Eastern Legal Association of Washington, http://www.melegal.org
Associates in Cultural Exchange, www.cultural.org
EarthCorps, http://www.earthcorps.org
Arab Center of Washington, http://www.arabcenter.net/
Crooked Trails, http://www.crookedtrails.com
Growing with Books, http://www.growingwithbooks.org/
Brown Eyes Gallery, http://www.browneyesgallery.com/
Surge Consulting