In late July, Village Earth provided two days of curriculum for college age students from Iraq. The diverse set of approximately 20 Iraqi students was selected from all over their country to take part in a summer exchange program. Colorado State University was one of only two universities chosen to host students. The other was the University of Southern Indiana. The Colorado curriculum focused on civic engagement and social advocacy. Village Earth provided a four-day training on community mobilization and building support through proper framing of your message. The group used this training to generate their Facebook page, Iraqis Will. Beside increasing cultural understanding within Iraq and between the US and Iraq, the leadership exchange program helped students design action plans for projects that they will implement upon their return to the country. This is the second year that Village Earth has provided training to young Iraqi leaders.
GSLL 1514 – Challenges and Opportunities of Utilizing Traditional Knowledge in Climate Adaptation
This class will explore key concepts of resilience, vulnerability, adaptive capacity and social capital in the context of community exposure to climate change. We will engage in critical analysis of tools and methods for building resilience to climate change and will look at several case studies from around the world.