Muara Teweh!

Asia Society and The Goldman Sachs Foundation will award prizes to youth who have demonstrated an in-depth understanding of key issues in international affairs and the global economy. Three high school students will receive scholarship prizes on December 6, 2006 at Asia Society’s Annual Gala Dinner. One grand prize winner will be awarded $7,500 and two other winners will each receive $5,000. The youth prizes are part of the annual Goldman Sachs Foundation Prizes for Excellence in International Education, which were created in 2003 to raise awareness of the growing importance of international knowledge and skills for U.S. students.

High school students from across the country responded to global citizenship and global economic challenges for the chance to win one of the scholarships. Inspired by quotes from » Read more after the jump →

New York - For centuries, devout Muslims have looked to the fatwa - an opinion based on religious reasoning of a learned individual or committee - for direction on how to resolve moral dilemmas ranging from the mundane to the sublime. And for centuries, Muslim women have conceded the ground, for the most part, to the men who issue these opinions.

That’s beginning to change.

Meeting in New York over the weekend, Muslim women from 25 countries began laying groundwork for the first international all-female council formed to issue fatwas. Their idea: to ensure that women’s perspectives on Islamic law become part of religious deliberation in the Muslim world - particularly on issues such as domestic violence, divorce, and inheritance. » Read more after the jump →

Narrated by critically-acclaimed film star Ving Rhames, the show will explore without glorifying and investigate without celebrating, these criminal-minded personalities. In the course of each episode, their wrongdoing will be put in the context of Black history as we see how their actions both reflected and corrupted the values of their community.

“Crime is a cancer that eats away at our communities,” said Reginald Hudlin, BET President of Entertainment. “But for a generation that grew up thinking greed is good — whether on Wall Street or Martin Luther King Boulevard — they’re not quite so sure whether crime pays or not. We wanted to take an honest look at the criminal life, demystify that world and show what it does to our community.” » Read more after the jump →

Even before Roger Craik packed his bags to leave Bulgaria two summers ago, he realized this was a place he wanted to visit again.

Craik, associate professor of English at the Ashtabula campus, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship enabling him to do just that next semester when he teaches poetry appreciation classes at Sofia University in Bulgaria.

“I think it’s a valuable and interesting thing to do,” Craik said on teaching abroad. “It’s the kind of thing that keeps one fresh.” » Read more after the jump →

Craik, associate professor of English at the Ashtabula campus, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship enabling him to do just that next semester when he teaches poetry appreciation classes at Sofia University in Bulgaria. “I think it’s a valuable and interesting thing to do,” Craik said on teaching abroad. “It’s the kind of thing that keeps one fresh.”

Craik was invited to give lectures in Veliko Turnovo and Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, two summers ago and later talked with university members about applying for the scholarship. The scholarship was created by former Arkansas Sen. J. William Fulbright to promote “mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries of the world,” according to the program’s Web site. » Read more after the jump →

Poetry Out Loud seeks to foster the next generation of literary readers by capitalizing on the latest trends in poetry - recitation and performance. The program builds on the resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, as seen in the slam poetry movement and the immense popularity of rap music among youth. Poetry Out Loud invites the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word, and theater into the English class. Through Poetry Out Loud , students can master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage.

Last year eight Missouri schools participated in the program which was piloted in all 50 states. Missouri State Champion, Aislinn Lowry of Jefferson City High School, proceeded to Washington D.C. where she placed fourth nationally. This year the program will expand to include 70 high schools in Missouri. Classroom teachers may begin working with their students as soon as they » Read more after the jump →

This is “How are you?” in the local language of Harare Zimbabwe, where Twanda Ngorima is from. Interestingly enough, Ngorima does not have a noticeable accent when he speaks English. The first question I asked him was, “Why can I understand you so well when I struggle to understand some of the other international students?”

Ngorima explained that Zimbabwe is in the southern part of Africa and was colonized by the British so during most of his school years English was the primary language.

Ngorima is an absolutely fascinating young man who is very intelligent and focused on his studies. He knows what he wants and has his mission planned on how to get it. Ngorima is a senior majoring in pre-med. He has already started the process of filling out paperwork hoping to » Read more after the jump →