March 5, 2021 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Edward Mazria (Peru) — winner of the 2021 Architecture Gold Medal

Mar 05 2021

Architect Edward Mazria (Peru 1963–65), founder of Architecture 2030, will be presented with the top award assigned annually by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to a professional whose work has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. Edward Mazria is one of the world’s greatest experts in sustainable architecture and the role of architecture as both a cause and a remedy of climate change. • The gold medal is the top award presented annually by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to a professional whose work has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. Since the gold medal was established in 1947, the AIA has honored the work of important architects from all over the world with the award, from such historic masters of the Modernist movement as Frank Lloyd Wright, Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Le Corbusier to such . . .

The Peace Corps more than a Cold War Artifact

Mar 05 2021

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Steven Saum (Ukraine 1994-96) Now 60 years old, the Peace Corps can be more than a Cold War artifact, By investing in engagement and exchange with other people, a better world is possible. By Lacy Feigh (Ethiopia 2012-14) Washington Post March 5, 2021 • In his inaugural address, President Biden called on Americans to not draw inward to their own political camps at home, and internationally to “repair our alliances and engage with the world once again.” It was both a call for healing and a recognition of our brokenness in this moment. It also echoes a call made 60 years ago when political and social pushback threatened to block the civil rights movement domestically, and the Cold War divided the world. Then President John F. Kennedy offered Americans his own inaugural challenge: “Ask not what your country can do for you — . . .

“From Faux Pas To Total Forgiveness” — Marc Van Hala (India)

Mar 05 2021

by Marc Van Hala (India 1965-68) When my decision to join the Peace Corps started to become reality, I had the feeling of swimming in a river, then suddenly being swept out to sea. Everything happened so quickly, even three months of training stateside, followed by a two-month delay brought about by a threat of war with a neighboring country, and I found myself struggling to keep my head above water. The Peace Corps recruited me to join a project called “Poultry / Rural Community Action.” They said I would be teaching farmers in India how to raise chickens and learn to build an income based on the sale of eggs. My project would not be the first, but the 16th to work in the country, and all 15 previous projects had shown great success. Purely by chance, the site I was assigned to had been developed as . . .

Archive - March 5, 2021