Our planning for both introductory and midcareer programs in the US is being greatly enriched by what we learned from our work convening and staffing the Ford Foundation-funded International Working Group on University Education on Community Change. The International Working Group brought together educators and trainers from different countries who are pioneering new approaches to preparing people for village development, organizing and social change work. Over an eighteen-month period we worked together as both a learning group and a planning group. While we explored and learned from the different approaches each of us is developing to meet local needs, we also developed plans for how a growing international network could gradually be built. We do not have the resources to take the lead in creating such a network, but we see great potential in working with others on structured ways of: sharing and developing curricula, case studies and other materials; creating an interactive web-site which facilitates joint development of curricula and collaboration; and pursuing an active strategy for enriching existing programs and creating new ones. Members of the Working Group are now taking the lead in Africa and Latin America to create continental/regional networks on higher education for community change.
Both in the US and internationally, our goal is to build the body of knowledge, visibility and credibility, growing collaboration, and financial base which are needed if these programs are to flourish and to provide low-income communities with growing access to the skills and training they need in order to prevail on critical issues of poverty, race, gender, human rights, and opportunity.
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