Argentine students tour NYC and Washington

Students in the Friends of Fulbright Argentina program meet with Jorge Chediek, director of the UN Office for South-South Cooperation.

By Ayelen Silva Reis and Camila Barbeito
Friends of Fulbright Argentina Undergraduate Exchange Program 2020 

Last week, we had the opportunity to visit New York and Washington. First, we went to the United Nations in New York City. We toured the General Assembly and other meeting arenas. We learned about what the UN does to help countries around the world to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. For example, we learned that rapid economic growth in countries such as China and India has lifted millions out of poverty, but progress has been uneven.

We also had a meeting with Jorge Chediek, the director of the UN Office for South-South Cooperation, and a Fulbrighter himself. He explained to us his work there, which is to facilitate collaboration between developing countries as well as with the developed countries through a process called “triangulation.” He also explained how we can be involved in UN activities. Then, we visited Ambassador Martin Garcia Moritan, who is the outgoing ambassador of the Permanent Mission of Argentina to the UN. We talked about Argentina in the United Nations, focusing on history and challenges for the future.

While in New York, we visited the Museum of Modern Art, the Natural History Museum, the 9-11 Memorial, and iconic places such as Central Park and Time Square as well as the extraordinary centerpiece of Hudson Yards, its spiral staircase, “the Vessel.” This interactive artwork was imagined by Thomas Heatherwick and Heatherwick Studio as a focal point where people can enjoy new perspectives of the city and one another from different heights, angles, and vantage points. We witnessed the most amazing sunset over the Hudson River.

Our second stop was Washington, D.C. We visited the Virginia Tech Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center, where the director, Susan Piedmont-Palladino, showed us the building with its studios, library, and workshops and we discussed with students are doing. She had invited two Argentine architects, alumni of WAAC. Most of the current students are also working due to high demand.

Students tour the the Virginia Tech Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center with Director Susan Piedmont-Palladino.

We had a historical tour of Old Town guided by Paul Emmons, associate dean of graduate studies. One of the most interesting historical buildings is the Christ Church, built more than 235 years ago. It was the church where George Washington worshiped. The Civil War altered life at Christ Church. When the U.S. Army occupied Alexandria in 1861, it seized many churches for use as hospitals or stables. However, the reputation of Christ Church as Washington’s place of worship preserved it as a church where U.S. Army chaplains conducted services. Parishioners who remained in the area worshiped elsewhere. In 1866, Christ Church, its interior intact, was restored to its parishioners. President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited the church in 1942.

After that we visited the World Bank in downtown DC, and we had lunch with Antonio Blasco, who has been a public sector specialist and financial manager for the bank for more than 20 years. He explained how the World Bank works, the different agencies that are part of the World Bank group, such as the Multilateral International Guarantee Agency, the International Finance Cooperation – the private sector arm of the WB – and the International Monetary Fund, among others. Our visit coincided with the Korean Innovation Week, so we had the chance to visit the exhibition and consult some of the stands and presentations.

Finally, we met Minister Gerardo Diaz Bartolome at the Argentine Embassy. He received us in a very warm way and made us feel like we were at home. He described the different functions of the Embassy and how they can help Argentine people in the United States. In our free time, we walked around Georgetown University and went to see the Lincoln Memorial, the Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the National Air and Space Museum. During our last day, we had a tour of the U.S. Capitol and the Library of Congress.

At the World Bank in Washington.

Overall, it was an amazing week considering all the meetings we had and all the places we visited. This trip made us reflect about our lives and our futures. It had a big impact on us. We are sure we will always cherish these memories.

Creating pathways to partnerships with Jordanian universities

Written by Patricia Parera

Patricia Parera, second from left, talks with the president of The Hashemite University in Jordan, Kamal Bani-Hani.

Virginia Tech was invited by the Eurasia Foundation (EF) to join a consortium of universities from the U.S. and Jordan. This consortium is being established under EF’s Creating Pathways to University Partnerships project with the support of the U.S. Embassy in Jordan. The project’s aim is to strengthen strategic and long-term institutional cooperation between U.S. and Jordanian universities and develop new mechanisms for bilateral cooperation that enhance the productivity and impact of university linkages.

Patricia Parera, associate director for partnerships at the Language and Culture Institute, was invited to participate in a mission to Jordan in March. She was accompanied by Venkataramana Sridhar, assistant professor of biological systems engineering in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering.

This visit marked a critical step in the formation of the network and helped to refine our priorities and strategic directions. In addition to research collaboration, we highlighted the need for joint capacity building and professional training to enhance the skills of faculty and staff to deepen and sustain international cooperation through collective action. We also acknowledged the need to diversify partnerships with key stakeholders in the community to elevate the visibility and impact of our work. We identified several concrete activities to advance these priorities as we continue to seek out opportunities for larger-scale funding and resources. 

In the pictures is our visit to one of the universities in the program. The Hashemite University (HU) is named after the Jordanian royal family — the Hashemites — and was established by a royal decree in June 1991. Over the past 20 years, HU has expanded its academic and research profile to reach 13 faculties and one institute with more than 225 laboratory in different colleges, all equipped with the latest technological equipment. Even more impressive is the university's increase in the number of admitted students, which has exceeds 26,000 students enrolled in 53 undergraduate programs and 27 master's programs at the beginning of the 2016-17 academic year.

HU’s comprehensive strategy for environmental management is directed toward a green campus and mitigating climate change. The university's environmental sustainability strategy is currently the leader in Jordan public- and private-sectors' institutions (especially in photovoltaics), and is one of the leaders in the region, with many of its expertise being transferred to several projects in Jordan and in the region.

Some of the areas for possible collaboration with Virginia Tech include renewable energy, arid lands, public health and nursing, and capacity building. HU’s focus on its students as ambassadors of change who can carry the message of environmental social responsibility in their careers and future jobs is very much aligned with Virginia Tech's motto, Ut Prosim, as a way of life and Virginia Tech's Destination Areas.
 
Sukaina Al-Zyoud, HU's dean of academic development and international outreach, who visited Virginia Tech in March as part of the State Department’s International Visitors’ Leadership Program, was our main host. She is a force behind the university internationalization effort. 

The Jordanian universities would be excellent partners for Virginia Tech and for the broader Consortium of universities. Initially, the Consortium has identified the following main research clusters:

1. Water and natural resources.
2. Infectious diseases and public health.
3. Refugees.
4. Food security.
5. Education and market linkages.  

It is important to note that gender is a key constraint to achieving shared prosperity in Jordan. Gender disparities underlie a variety of issues, including poverty, inequality, and labor market dynamics. The U.S.-Jordan university consortium will strive to mainstream gender in its initiatives and propose solutions on key obstacles to women’s agency. In addition, a youth crosscutting theme will be incorporated in the consortium strategy. This could take the form of piloting a youth project; conduct analytical work on youth to inform policy dialogue, and foster youth inclusion.

Finally, we will continue to explore opportunities through Fulbright and other U.S. government programs to keep abreast of opening competitions in support of public diplomacy and leadership programs. The United States has few allies in the region, and Jordan is an island surrounded by many hostile nations to the U.S. in the region. Therefore, any effort that can promote broad-based engagement in research, professional and graduate training will go a long way.

Proposed initial collaboration with Virginia Tech and/or through the consortium of universities:

1. Supporting strategic research and partnerships.  The University of Jordan’s Water, Energy & Environment Center (WEEC/UJ) and VT’s Center for International Research, Education, and Development (CIRED) are interested in research aiming at improving the livelihoods and raise standards of living in developing countries (i.e. refugees’ issues) in connection with water, energy, and food nexus.  WEEC/JU is interested in VT’s in the Graduate Certificate in Natural Resources (GCNR) offered by the Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability (CLiGS). Such certificate program for students and professional seeking graduate-level education and training in environmental and natural resource management is of utmost importance for Jordan.  WEEC/UJ would like to participate in any executive training (certificate programs) to be offered to government policy and decision makers, NGO's officers and private sectors executives.
2. Helping Jordan cope with the impact of refugee inflows.  According to a recently concluded census, the total number of Syrians refugees in Jordan has reached about 1.3 million, representing 19 percent of the population.   Twenty five percent of the Syrian youth [between 18 and 24 years old] were in higher education when the war started . We are eager to support the displaced and their host communities, working in complementary ways with the Consortium partners by conducting research that would contribute to Jordan’s development agenda.  There is an opportunity through research and eventually investment projects to design a multi-faceted response, helping Jordan cope with the impact of refugee inflows on its economic and social fabric and turning this shock into a development opportunity.  The Virginia Tech’s School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) multi-disciplinary and multi-agency project on international refugee research  could be an ideal resource for this research cluster.    
3. Train Jordanian faculty in data techniques, program evaluation, and randomized control trails. VT is in a position to organize short courses on these topics in Washington DC, by webinars or in country in partnership with the Department of Economics (Pamplin) and facilitated by the LCI.
4. Equipping Jordanian youth and refugees with vocational skills is important for both economic and security reasons. The Department of Statistics of Jordan reports that 51 percent of youth between the ages of 15 and 24 were unemployed in 2016.  In addition, women are over represented in higher education institutions, but underrepresented in the labor market.  Al-Hussein Bin Talal University (HTU) occupies a unique niche in Jordan’s higher education market – one that aligns the skills they teach with tangible employment opportunities in a more direct way than other institutions.  HTU pursues this goal by integrating employers, in the form of large corporations, into the fabric of the school and tailoring educational paths – from the two-year technical certification to an associate’s degree to a four-year bachelor’s degree. A partnership between HTU and VT’s TVET and positive youth development program designed and implemented by Virginia Tech’s Center for International Research, Development and Education (CIRED) could serve both Jordanian and refugees youth.