Greetings from the Western Hemisphere Alumni!
Did you know that upon graduating, every Future Generations University alumni joins a global network of social change practitioners from around the world? Within Future Generations Center for Research and Practice, alumni belong to 3 regions (Asia, Africa, and the Western Hemisphere), and are each represented on the Board of Trustees by one of their own.
This week, the alumni representative for the Western Hemisphere, Ellen Romm Lampert, gives us an introduction to some of its diverse members and their work!
Hi! My name is Ellen Romm Lampert, and I am presently the Future Generations representative for the wonderful and diverse Western Hemisphere Alumni.
Although the Western Hemisphere Alumni group has the smallest number of members, we have by far the largest geographical area. Just look at a map! Western Hemisphere Alumni hail from North America, the Caribbean, Central America and South America, including Canada, the U.S., Nicaragua, Haiti, Guyana, Peru, and Bolivia. We speak English, Spanish, French, and quite a few localized languages, as well. This blog introduces a few of our very dynamic female alumni. A future post will introduce some of our male alumni.
Participatory Research and Plant Breeding in Honduras: Improving Livelihoods, Transforming Gender Relations
Did you know that Future Generations University regularly hosts live research seminars with development professionals of all backgrounds from around the world?
Check out the recording of February’s seminar below on participatory research and plant breeding in Honduras, and learn how its being used to improve livelihoods while transforming gender roles!
Follow us on Facebook to keep posted on the dates of upcoming seminars and for information on how to join in!
This seminar is presented by Dr. Sally Humphries, Associate Professor, Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Guelph in Ontario.
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Sally was director of the international development studies program at Guelph for 12 years. She has worked with Honduran researchers for 25 years to support a program in farmer participatory research. The Honduran NGO Foundation for Participatory Research with Honduran Farmers (FIPAH), emerged out of this work and is today a well-respected organization, both locally and regionally. Sally worked for the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) between 1991-94 and helped to adapt one of the methodological approaches developed in CIAT, known as the CIAL methodology, to conditions in Honduras, where it is widely, and successfully, used today. FIPAH, Sally, and her students, have published a variety of articles/chapters/reports on this experience.
Alumni Update: Anthony Kadoma
This week, we hear from Anthony Kadoma, a Future Generations University alumnus working in Uganda. Anthony began his MA journey in 2012 with a focus in Peacebuilding. Throughout, he maintained continuous engagement with his existing community work in Kyenjojo district, in western Uganda. Anthony says that learning with and from the community was crucial during his studies, as it was where he put into practice what he was learning. Read on to learn more about Anthony’s work and experience!
In 2014, Anthony implemented a project on developing guidelines for disseminating practicum findings at the community level. During this project, practicum findings on the topic “Adapting Poverty Reduction Strategies at Individual, Household and Community Level: Practicum Research Conducted in Nyamanga Parish, Bufunjo Sub-county in Kyenjojo district, Western Uganda” were presented to the community members.
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| Listening attentively to issues raised by local community members. |
Holiday Greeting from the President of Future Generations University
Dear Future Generations Family,
As 2017 comes to an end, we take pause to think about all for which we are grateful. We also look to 2018 and what we hope the new year may bring for our organization and for the world. In both cases, the continued friendship of our supporters is a large part of the answer.
As a world-circling organization, you, our Future Generations family, is what sustains us and knits us together. We’ve thrived over the past year because of your support. Our global team grows with the great work of so many.
We look forward to another year of this partnership as we all draw inspiration from those working around the world to bring peace and sustainability in those places most in need.
Future Generations thanks all who have helped grow a universe of learning for the greater good, and wishes you a joyous holiday season and a new year filled with peace and happiness.
Happy Holidays!
Dan’l
Meet Kelli Fleming: Future Generations University’s new Assistant Professor and Director of Learning Management!
Having grown up in Surkhet, Nepal, Kelli has long been aware of Future Generations from its work there. She went on to pursue a Master’s in Intercultural Relations from Lesley University and has held a number of different roles in higher education throughout the years with her latest being in the online distance learning world. She has focused on the pedagogical approach to this unique field, finding the best ways to teach online in an interactive and engaging manner with her global audience in mind.
For the last 7 years, Kelli lived in New Zealand (as shown in her beautiful photos accompanying this entry) with her husband and their two young boys. There, she took on tailoring the online learning experience to fit mid-career global professionals for a program run by the University of Otago at its medical school in Wellington.
She worked with the aviation medicine program, which was fully online and taught the principles of the subject to general practitioners all over the world. Once a year, the program hosted week-long site visits to learn best practices from major airlines. The emphasis on building learning around these face-to-face interactions shares a purpose very similar to that of Future Generations residentials.
Kelli notes that although the content of her past program is very different from the Future Generations Master’s program, there are many similarities upon which she’s excited to build. Her experience with a fully online program fits very well with Future Generations move to make residentials optional, and she is already very familiar with the learning platforms used here (Moodle and Zoom).
“I knew nothing about aviation medicine,” Kelli says, “but a lot about teaching online isn’t necessarily in the content. Much of what makes it a fruitful platform is the scaffold around which you build the learning. And that’s what I’m here to help facilitate for Future Generations.”
Kelli and her family moved back to the United States in the summer to be closer to their larger families and currently reside in Blacksburg, VA. On what appealed to her about seeking to join Future Generations, Kelli says, “I’ve always lived sort of an international life, so I was excited about being able to live in Blacksburg while remaining involved in the global education world. I also really like the idea of a dedicated non-profit that’s doing some big things from a small place in the U.S. for other small places around the world. I’m looking forward to working with others focused on global community.”
Bringing her background work to play in the Future Generations context, Kelli will be leading project management and tech support for our learning management systems, as well as working with staff on the assessment front to develop innovative learning activities to showcase in students’ e-portfolios.
The removal of mandatory residentials, Kelli notes, changes where the teaching energy goes. She will help maximize online activities so that they remain inviting for students. It’s important in a blended platform like ours that someone be in place to keep that energy going. Some keys to this will be in the development of new teaching artifacts, implementation of effective online simulations, and by keeping up the engagement in online forums. With online learning, there is an ever-present challenge to create a learning community that keeps students involved through methods other than traditional classroom setting. However in many ways, Kelli likes to think online learning can be made to be even more advantageous than classroom learning. It leads the way to innovation and opens the opportunity to learn from others around the world.
One of the things our new Learning Management Director finds the most rewarding is supporting students that already have very busy, full lives and helping them to work their ongoing education into their life balance.
Kelli looks forward to laying a foundation with the upcoming Class 2019 that will lead to the best student experience possible and to tailoring a learning platform that doesn’t make students feel as though they’re being held back by the technology, but rather guided forward by it.
Future Generations is very excited to be taking this step forward with Kelli leading the charge– please join us in extending her the warmest of welcomes!