CGI

Along with its partners, the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University commits to prepare new generations of critical thinkers for effective and principled leadership, ready to act as global citizens in addressing the world's most pressing problems.
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The Institute for Global Leadership (IGL) commits $250,000 over five years to its new EMPOWER program, providing students with an educational platform to understand and to experience how social entrepreneurs are able to conceptualize and apply innovative management, organizational practices and financial tools to empower disadvantaged individuals and communities throughout the world. At the core of EMPOWER is the principle that practical learning beyond knowledge acquired in the classroom is necessary for preparing effective and accountable young leaders. For this reason, a fundamental aspect of EMPOWER will be to establish partnerships and create synergistic relationships with organizations and institutions that are at the forefront of their fields, such as ACCION, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, The Skoll Foundation, TrickleUP, The American Joint Distribution Committee, SCOJO, Echoing Green, the Centre for North East Security, SKS India, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, and The International Youth Foundation.

The Institute for Global Leadership (IGL) is also committing $75,000, through its Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship (EPIIC) program, in the first year of its five-year CGI commitment to hold a four-day symposium on "Global Poverty and Inequality" on the Tufts campus. The annual EPIIC symposium gathers 60-70 leading scholars, policymakers, journalists, and activists for four days of discussion and debate. This year, for the first time, the EPIIC symposium will host honors students from Africa and Asia. The above organizations will also collaborate on the international symposium.

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The mission of the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University is to prepare new generations of critical thinkers for effective and principled leadership, ready to act as global citizens in addressing the world's most pressing problems.

In 2005, The Institute for Global Leadership was designated as a university, cross-school signature program with the objectives of enhancing the interdisciplinary quality and engaged nature of a Tufts education and of serving as an incubator of innovative ways to help students understand and confront difficult and compelling global issues. To meet these challenges, the Institute emphasizes rigorous academic preparation and experiential learning. Students learn through intensive engagement in classes, global research, internships, workshops, simulations and international symposia - all involving national and international students and leaders from the public and private sectors. These activities stress critical and normative thinking, written and oral communication skills, problem solving, and an interdisciplinary approach to learning.

The Institute for Global Leadership will deploy its full range of diverse resources to confront the dilemmas of development and poverty reduction. This includes the Tufts Engineers Without Borders chapter, which is working on water sanitation efforts in Ecuador, El Salvador, India, and Peru; BUILD Nicaragua, a rural development and public health program working in Siuna; the ALLIES (Alliance Linking Leaders in Education and the Services) program, which connects students at Tufts with students at The United States Military Academy at West Point and The United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in dialogue and research on civil-military issues and in action on humanitarian intervention issues; and EXPOSURE, the Institute's Photojournalism, Documentary Studies and Human Rights Program, working with professionals from VII Photo Agency and the Aftermath Project in countries such as Cambodia and Sierra Leone.

EPIIC is the cornerstone program of the Institute and is a rigorous, carefully integrated multidisciplinary program on a global theme that is open to students of all majors and years. Since its inception at Tufts in 1985, EPIIC has been challenging students, as well as policymakers and the public at large, to think critically about questions of pivotal importance to the world. Its main components are: a yearlong colloquium; research projects; an international symposium; professional workshops; and public service initiatives. Past topics have included: International Terrorism (1986); The Future of the West Bank and Gaza Strip (1987); Transformations in the Global Economy (1993); Ethnicity, Religion and Nationalism (1994); The Future of Democracy (1997); Global Inequities (2002); The Role of the U.S. in the World (2004); Oil and Water (2005); and The Politics of Fear (2006). This year the theme will be 'Global Poverty and Inequality.'

The IGL will be measuring the impact and success of its program through the number of students that we have educated in issues of poverty management and reduction and the quality and utility of their research. We will also be assessing the reach of the program through the geographical scope it manages to include, either through student participation from universities outside of the US or practical learning experiences that our students participate in globally.

September / October 2007:

- Student Recruitment for EMPOWER

September / May 2007-08:

- Academic training and preparation for EMPOWER research and internships projects

December 2007 / January 2008:

- Inter-session orientation research and internship site visits, as appropriate

February 21-24, 2008:

- The 23rd Norris and Margery Bendetson EPIIC International Symposium: 'Global Poverty & Inequality'

May - August 2008:

- Launch first EMPOWER research and internship projects
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July 10, 2008

Implementation Period: September 1, 2007 - July 31, 2008

EMPOWER has attracted a broad range of students as well as partnering NGOs. It supported 46 students in group and individual research projects. Examples of the research projects include conducting a community needs assessment in the rural community of Balan, Haiti and researching the relationship between extreme poverty and the nature of the national decision-making processes in developing countries.

In addition, the EPIIC international symposium on 'Global Poverty and Inequality' gathered more than 50 practitioners, policymakers, academics and journalists to the Tufts campus for five-days of discussion and debate on issues including Microfinance and the Challenge of Eradicating Poverty, Global Slums and the Urbanization of Poverty, and Climate Change and the World's Poor. Fifty-four students from 11 countries and 15 international universities participated in the symposium, which had a remarkable impact on the proceedings, on the EPIIC students, and on the international students and has led to individual and institutional collaborations.

Milestones:

- EMPOWER also established significant relationships with NGOs in the field of social entrepreneurship and poverty alleviation, such as Ashoka and Kiva.
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The Institute for Global Leadership is seeking partnerships to help provide funding or in-kind donations that will enable the participation of students from countries such as Afghanistan, China, Haiti, India, Nigeria and elsewhere to participate in the EMPOWER and EPIIC programs. It is also seeking institutional partners that can benefit from our students doing work or research on issues of poverty as part of their involvement in the EMPOWER program.
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