Student leaders engage students, faculty, visiting parents and others in creating greater campus engagement on global humanitarian issues

Fulgione, Brittany

English

DOCS@RWU

Roger Williams UniversityDOCS@RWUFeatured News Story The Week at Roger11-21-2016Inaugural Student Humanitarian Summit BringsCampus Together to Explore Global EngagementBrittany FulgioneRoger Williams UniversityFollow this and additional works at: https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_newsPart of the Higher Education CommonsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the The Week at Roger at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in FeaturedNews Story by an authorized administrator of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contact mwu@rwu.edu.Recommended CitationFulgione, Brittany, "Inaugural Student Humanitarian Summit Brings Campus Together to Explore Global Engagement" (2016).Featured News Story. 357.https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_news/35711/28/2018 Inaugural Student Humanitarian Summit Brings Campus Together to Explore Global Engagement | Roger Williams Universityhttps://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/inaugural-student-humanitarian-summit-brings-campus-together-explore-global-engagement 1/3 News ArchiveInaugural Student Humanitarian Summit BringsCampus Together to Explore Global EngagementStudent leaders engage students, faculty, visiting parents and others in creatinggreater campus engagement on global humanitarian issuesThe Student Alliance for Global Engagement panel discussionbrought together student leaders representing the myriad groupson campus that are active in social justice issues for a conversationabout building greater engagement on campus. Image Credit: Halaand Hiba WakidiNovember 21, 2016 Brittany Fulgione ’18BRISTOL, R.I. – An array of student clubs and organizations, as well as professors, sta , and visitingparents, came together on Sunday, October 23 to consider the role of the campus community inaddressing global challenges and to gauge the level of campus knowledge and activism on a rangeof topics regarding humanitarian issues.The organizers’ goals for the inaugural Student Humanitarian Summit – part of the Quest for RefugeSeries, a year-long series of events and programming at RWU that will examine the political andcultural impact of refugees around the world – were to inform and inspire students to start orcontinue working on ways to address the need for alleviation of su ering worldwide, and map outcollaborative plans for the rest of the year to engage more students and the broader campuscommunity in humanitarian causes. Roger for Refugees, along with the Spiegel Center for Globaland International Programs, and a working group of students, spent a month planning the event,which was co-sponsored by six other clubs and organizations on campus.11/28/2018 Inaugural Student Humanitarian Summit Brings Campus Together to Explore Global Engagement | Roger Williams Universityhttps://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/inaugural-student-humanitarian-summit-brings-campus-together-explore-global-engagement 2/3From a panel presentation by student-led groups active in social justice issues on- and o -campus toan engaging conversation with a researcher of post-con ict humanitarian e orts, the event featureda good turnout of invested students who expressed a desire to build greater awareness andengagement on many issues relating to international development and humanitarian a airs.The student panel featured  ve student leaders from globally-oriented clubs and organizations withmemberships across the academic disciplines, including Roger for Refugees, FIMRC (Foundationfor International Medical Relief of Children), the Multicultural Student Union (MSU), Africana StudentCoalition, International Relations Organization, and Hillel. The students spoke about activism, theirwork on campus, and how students could get involved to raise awareness of global issues orbecome an activist via the many active clubs on campus.“The summit not only connected di erent organizations and clubs on campus, but it also openedthe possibility for future co-sponsorships and events that will ultimately foster the growth of theRWU community as a community that addresses humanitarian issue,” according to MSU panelpresenter, Hiba Wakindi ’19. “It was an enriching experience to an extent that I had not expected.The keynote speaker gave tangible information that somehow brought refugees really close to ourown lives. I am looking forward to working with other students to make a change here in RhodeIsland and perhaps in an even larger scope.”The keynote speaker was Michael Niconchuk, a researcher, consultant and program designer, whohas spent the last  ve years studying post-con ict communities in complex humanitarian emergencyand development contexts in Central America and the Middle East. Niconchuk framed out a globalperspective on the immense challenges of the world today, and shared intense and empowering eld- experience stories about how young people are working to address these challenges.Bringing the topic home to RWU students, Niconchuk discussed the legacy of Roger Williams as anindividual forcibly displaced from his home who was granted sanctuary among the indigenouspeoples here on Mount Hope Bay, and the natural resonance of this legacy with the great need forsimilar support and sanctuary for forcibly displaced globally today. [Read the full transcript here:https://mikeniconchuk.com/2016/10/29/the-waiting-room/]During the lunch-and-learn session, a variety of participants shared work they have done and theirprojects in progress, such as MSU’s awareness-raising around genocide. One of the presentersduring this session was Assistant Director of the Intercultural Center Cassidy Hammond, who isspearheading a campus-wide e ort to collect winter coats and other clothes for refugees newlyarrived in Rhode Island.  She added that more about this e ort, which partners with DorcasInternational Institute of Rhode Island, including drop-o  locations and collection times will beprovided soon by the Intercultural Center.At this session, Professor of Literacy Education Rachel McCormack talked about her project, Booksfor Refugees – which raises funds to purchase and distribute Arabic language children’s books toteachers working with children in refugee camps across Europe – and encouraged students tobecome more involved in something they’re passionate about.11/28/2018 Inaugural Student Humanitarian Summit Brings Campus Together to Explore Global Engagement | Roger Williams Universityhttps://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/inaugural-student-humanitarian-summit-brings-campus-together-explore-global-engagement 3/3“The summit enabled me to see the wealth of leadership talent and the commitment to social justicewe have on campus,” said McCormack, whose work with refugees was featured in The Atlanticearlier this year. “The School of Education students who attended were inspired by the keynotespeaker and the student panel, and they have begun to create projects to raise awareness of thecurrent social justice issues.”A er lunch, participants discussed challenges to engaging the greater campus community andmore e ective modes of communication for catalyzing engagement around important issues, andthen mapped out a plan of how and when to take action to raise awareness of global issues. Thesummit closed with a general consensus among participants that convening to consider vitallyimportant global challenges, and to share perspectives and e orts underway, helped participantsfeel empowered to make a di erence. In particular, student participants expressed hope of helpingthe RWU campus become more engaged in addressing the many critical needs that transcendboundaries – both around the world, and in Rhode Island.ACADEMICS LIFE @ RWU

Inaugural Student Humanitarian Summit Brings Campus Together to Explore Global Engagement

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Inaugural Student Humanitarian Summit Brings Campus Together to Explore Global Engagement

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