Wake Up, Portland. There Is Work To Do!

Ellen Urbani (Guatemala 1991-93) is working with Saturday Academy and Mercy Corps to convene a week-long camp (June 28-July 2, 2010) in Portland, Oregon, designed to introduce high school students to the issues and demands of careers in the field of international aid and development work. This week-long immersion camp will combine traditional and hands-on learning, public service opportunities, and the mentoring process to motivate participants toward further study or volunteerism in global relief efforts. Ellen is currently looking for instructors (8hrs/day for one week, paid positions) to teach each of these modules: Shelter, Water/Sanitation, Small Business, Global Health, Appropriate Technologies. She is also looking for experts/guest lecturers (from 1-8hrs/day, one day, unpaid) to cover topics of interest and application to the entire group, including: Action Planning: Designing interventions, rallying local support, project implementation, fund-raising Leadership Development: How to garner local buy-in, identify and collaborate with local/indigenous leaders, make best use of existing resources Media Relations: Promoting projects globally and locally, benefits of public relations, use of Internet and developing technologies in remote locations Global Politics: Understanding the role of existing aid organizations and their network of support, identifying how to structure aid in varying political climates, ensuring safety of personnel and programs Cross-Cultural Issues: How religion and superstition can impact programmatic implementation, the pitfalls encountered when translating programs across international borders, the benefit of fluency in local customs and belief systems

If you’re able/willing to be in Portland next summer at the end of June/beginning of July and are interested in participating, please contact Ellen directly at: ellen@ellenurbani.com

www.ellenurbani.com