THE GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT

Summer Institute at Northwestern University

2009 PROGRAM GUIDE CENTER FOR GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT

 2008 GESI PROGRAM GUIDE - CENTER FOR GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT

About ................................................................................................................................................... 3
Learning .............................................................................................................................................. 4
Locations ............................................................................................................................................. 5
Costs .................................................................................................................................................... 6
Nonprofit Partnerships ....................................................................................................................... 8
Program Leadership ............................................................................................................................9
Frequently Asked Questions ............................................................................................................ 10

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About the GESI program

Welcome
Welcome to the Global
Engagement Summer Institute! If
you’re an undergraduate who’s
passionately committed to global
justice and international
development, this is the program
for you.
Run by Northwestern University’s immersion with host nonprofits in
Center for Global Engagement
and supported abroad by the
Foundation for Sustainable
Development, the Global
Engagement Summer Institute
program will bring together
students from universities around community development, team
the country to learn from and
work with communities in India,
Argentina, and Uganda.
Going beyond traditional study
abroad experiences, the program
will place you a team setting with a a framework for harnessing the
host nonprofit organization where resources of individuals and
you’ll learn about international
community development by
developing and implementing a
real project in areas from youth
education to microfinance and
beyond.
If you’re looking for a program
where you learn by doing and
you’re ready to get your hands
dirty in the pursuit of global social
change, GESI is for you.
Program Components
The GESI program is an
expansion of the CGE’s
“ENGAGE Uganda” program,
which has sent almost 40 students
to work in team based community
development in Uganda.
The GESI program features three
components: a 10-day lead-in
Institute on Northwestern’s
campus in Evanston, IL, a seven-
week team-based project
either India, Argentina, or
Uganda, and a short wrap-up
summit in Chicago.
The 10-day Institute will feature
intensive course work focused on
dynamics in international
development, and the local history,
politics, and culture of India,
Argentina, and Uganda. The
program focuses in part on “Asset-
Based Community Development”,
communities to ensure local
ownership and sustainability of
development efforts. In addition
to lectures and discussions with
Northwestern professors and
guest speakers, students will have
a chance to bond with the five
person team with which they will
spend the summer.
Teams will take group flights to
their summer destination:
Udaipur, India, La Plata,
Argentina, or Jinja, Uganda.
Grouped in teams of five, they will
work with host community
development nonprofits to design
and implement some small scale
project over the next seven weeks.
Living in home-stays with local
community members, the students
will be supported by the
Foundation for Sustainable
Development, a San Francisco-
based nonprofit that will support
student relationships with their
host organizations and provide in
country support for health, safety,
and all other issues. Throughout
the seven weeks, students will be
communicating with
Northwestern faculty, and will be
treated to a number of guest
lectures and seminars about the
local political and cultural context.
Finally, students will return to
Chicago for a brief final program
debrief where they will have the
chance to share their ideas,
frustrations and inspirations with
their peers returning from other
locations.
The program will run from mid-
June to mid-August and will give
students the equivalent of two
course credits.

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GESI2009
Learning
GESI ties together experiential, curricular
and co-curricular learning to help our
participants develop the analytical and
interpersonal tools to participate in as well as
understand the challenges of international
community development.
Key learning structures
Campus Institute Course work: At the
root of the preparatory institute are two
Northwestern courses focused on
helping students understand their role
in international community
development:
Introduction to International
Community Development
Professor John Kretzmann
What is community? What makes
communities strong, safe, healthy,
vibrant and inclusive? This course will
examine both historic and
contemporary community building
efforts, paying special attention to how
emerging grassroots development
efforts around the world. During the
first part of the course, students will
explore a few major community
development strategies. The second part
will focus on emerging community
building work in the international
context, especially that which involves
“asset-based community development,”
on public policy perspectives which
support local citizens’ involvement and
empowerment, and will incorporate
guest speakers who have experience in
South Asia, South America, and East
Africa.
Theory and Practice of Community
Consulting
Professor Paul Arntson
This program focuses on helping teams
of external consultants support and
bolster local community development
efforts by focusing on identifying and
harnessing existing community assets.
This course includes practical lessons in
asset mapping and frameworks for
maximizing intra- and inter-team
relationships.
Experiential learning in international
development: the core of the GESI
experience is the seven week immersion
through which student teams will work
with host nonprofits to develop small
scale projects. This experience will
provide students hands-on learning that
no amount of classroom discussion
could replace.
Local culture, history, and politics:
Throughout the institute and
international immersion experience,
students will be treated to guest lectures
and discussions with people who know
the places they’re learning about best:
local faculty, citizens, development
professionals, and their host families.
While structured lectures will fill in
specific details, we’ve learned that
perhaps the most important learning
experience comes from students having
conversations that extend over hours,
days, and weeks with their host families.
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GESI2009
Locations

The GESI program allows students to learn about some of the most
fascinating and dynamic places in the world.

La Plata, Argentina
Despite its overall wealth,
Argentina is a nation struggling
Udaipur, India to rectify the desperation caused Jinja, Uganda
Near the southern border of by the 2001 economic crisis, the At the very source of the Nile
India’s Northwest desert impact of the thousands who river, Jinja, Uganda is one of
province of Rajasthan, Udaipur “disappeared” during the violent the most beautiful places on
grows around the shores of Lake military dictatorship, and the earth. Despite challenges
Pichola. Renown for its clash of classes between ranging from poverty to HIV/
incredible physical beauty, indigenous groups and Spanish AIDs, its citizens are optimistic
diversity, and spirituality, descendants. Following the and welcoming. Students of the
Rajasthan is one of the most economic crash, one of the GESI program will work with
unique places on earth. Yet largest in modern world history, Ugandan-led organizations
while the tech sector makes more than 50 percent of the focusing on a host of health and
news as India’s macro-economy population fell below the poverty issues. Teams of
assumes a larger presence on the poverty line, creating a host of ENGAGE Uganda students
world stage, the majority of the development issues. The GESI have worked on micro-credit
population remains mired in program is located in La Plata, programs in Jinja for the last
poverty, with almost 80% of Argentina, the capital of the two years.
India’s citizens living on less Province of Buenos Aires, which
than $2 a day. is internationally recognized for
its urban planning, diverse
architectural influences, and the
National University.

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GESI2009
Costs
Key Dates Costs Financial Aid
The cost of the program will be Northwestern students interested
January 15th: Application $7400 . This is all inclusive except in financial aid should meet with
deadline flights and insurance. Students will the NU financial aid office to
March 2: Acceptance and waitlist be responsible for booking their determine whether they are
notification flights to and from Chicago. eligible for summer aid. Students
March 6: Students must accept or International tickets will be at other universities will need to
reject admission purchased as a group ticket at the check with their own home
March 15th: Full program student’s expense. Students will financial aid offices to determine
payment due also be responsible for purchasing their eligibility. The GESI
May: Online preliminary program HTH health insurance. program will be offering an
June 17-26: Summer institute at extremely limited number of
Northwestern A $1000 registration is due with partial scholarship awards. More
June 27-August 15: Global the application. This check will be details will follow in January.
immersion a non-refundable deposit for
August 16-19: Final summit accepted students who commit to
the program.

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GESI2009
Nonprofit partnerships
microfinance, education, environment,
health, women’s empowerment, and
human rights.
Past projects
The Global Engagement Summer
Institute is built upon the foundations
of the ENGAGE Uganda program,
which has placed student teams with
nonprofits in Uganda for each of the
past two years. Below are some of the
projects that the student-nonprofit
teams have come up with:
Partnership
At the core of the GESI experience is The Kampala team worked with Global
the partnership between student teams Youth Partnership for Africa to refine
and their nonprofit host organizations. and expand a theater, sports and life
The GESI curriculum is designed to skills program that was developed by
help students make the most of these last years’ student in the slum of
partnerships, in terms of both their Namuwongo. They fostered the
learning and the project they work with leadership of 20 Uganda “peer
their hosts to create. Our nonprofit educators;” teenagers who helped run
partnerships are all managed by the the program and by the end of the
Foundation for Sustainable summer had matured into community
Development leaders with a contagious passion for
community development. Together,
As with the ENGAGE Uganda they helped 80 youth begin to recognize
program that GESI is expanding upon, their potential to rise out of the
we focus on finding organizations downward cycle of poverty.
across a range of fields that:
Our team in Jinja worked with
* Have an emphasis on local Organization for Rural Development
ownership and community-led solutions (ORUDE) to mobilize local farmers
* Are deeply embedded in the into a grassroots savings and credit
communities in which they work cooperative. The cooperative was
* Are interested in helping develop a created to provide better credit access
new generation of global change leaders for farmers and help recycle the money
through intern support and education accumulated within the community.
The students helped to design and
We’re currently working with our document the process, as well as
partners at the Foundation for provide an outside perspective. By the
Sustainable Development to determine end of their tenure with ORUDE, the
our final list of nonprofit partners. FSD cooperative established election
has experience with dozens of protocols for administrative structures,
nonprofits in each of our locations, obtained bylaws, created a constitution,
focusing on a variety of fields within and finalized loan structures. The Jinja
international development, including team is looking forward to sharing their
experience and presenting their
findings at the Unite For Sight Global
Health Conference in April.
Our Gulu team worked with an
incredible vocational training school
that is mostly attended by teenage girls
who had been abducted during the war
in northern Uganda. Sister Rosemary,
the director of the school, was recently
profiled as a CNN Hero. The team
worked with school administrators and
teachers to develop, teach, and
integrate into existing courses a
participatory curriculum that addressed
conflict mediation, self-awareness, and
confidence building. Administrators
appreciated the more participatory
approach and told the team that, “the
seeds you are planting now will grow;
when you come back, there will be
flowers.”
Finally, our Masaka team partnered
with World Vision and a Music, Dance,
and Drama teacher to develop a
hygiene education program through a
group of drama students at a local
school. 200 primary school students
developed skits that they presented at
an open house at the school and then
took back to their communities to
advocate for better hygiene practices
and more latrine building. They team
hoped that through this community
advocacy, they could both encourage
the youth in the community to be
actively engaged, as well as help to
address the root of an issue in a
community-in this case, sickness due to
poor hygiene/sanitation. Their project
was a hit, and the Music, Dance, and
Drama teacher is excited about
continuing similar programs in the
future.
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GESI2009
Apply

So you’ve decided to apply? Great! We’re thrilled to have you! Applying involves just a
few quick steps.
Step One: Pre-Application Questionnaire Step Two: Northwestern Application
Even if you’re ready to apply now, we Go here to download Northwestern’s
still need you to briefly fill out the pre- study abroad application. This application
application questionnaire. This short is valid and required for both
(seriously, less than 3 minutes) survey Northwestern and non-Northwestern
gives us the information we need to applicants. When prompted, select any of
the countries (India, Uganda, Argentina)
continue our host selection and
of the GESI Program - they will all bring
placement processing. you to the same application. Either use
Adobe Acrobat to fill out the form or fill it
out in pen and scan it.
Step Three: GESI Supplemental
Application
Visit our website at www.mycge.org to
fill out our supplemental application.
This application will provide us with
more information about your past
experiences, ideas, and passions, and
help us place you in the best possible
host organization.

All applications, including your printed

application as well as your home
university transcript, deposit check,
photocopy of passport, and passport
photos, but excluding your online
supplemental application, must be sent to
Center for Global Engagement, 620
Library Place, Evanston, IL 60208

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Frequently Asked Questions, Part 1
1. When is the application due?
2. When do I have to schedule my
interview?
3. What class credit do we get?
4. Will course credit transfer to my
school if I am not a Northwestern
student?
5. How many contact hours are in
each course?
6. Do I have to apply through my own
school's study abroad office?
7. How much does it cost and why?
8. Am I responsible for purchasing
flights?
9. Can I get financial aid?
10. How do I apply for GESI
Scholarship money?
11. Any other tips on saving money?
12. What sort of projects will we work
on?
13. How are NGO partners selected?
14. When I apply to GESI, do I apply
to a specific country? Do I get to choose
which country I go to?
15. Do I get to choose what project I
work on?
16. Do I get to choose which country I
go to?
17. Can I choose who is on my team?
When is the application due?
January 15, 2009
When do I have to schedule my
interview?
We will be in touch with all applicants to
schedule a phone interview in either
December or January.
What class credit do we get?
You get credit for two Northwestern
courses:
1. Communications Studies 395: Theory
and Practice of Community Consulting
2. Dept TBD: Introduction to
International Community Development
Will course credit transfer to my school
if I am not a Northwestern student?
We cannot guarantee that course credit
will transfer but we will work closely
with you to try to make it happen. At
most schools the first place to talk to is
your registrar.
How many contact hours are in each
course?
30 contact hours, which is the standard
for Northwestern courses.
Do I have to apply through my own
school's study abroad office?
Northwestern students will need to fill
out the Northwestern study abroad
application in addition to a supplemental
GESI application, which will be available
on this website. For other schools, check
with your school's study abroad office. It
varies from school to school.
How much does it cost and why?
$7,400, which covers two course credits,
room and board, and supervision and
training done by the Foundation for
Sustainable Development. To put this
number in perspective, two Northwestern How are NGO partners selected?
credits on their own in the academic year Northwestern works with the Foundation
cost around $8,000.
Am I responsible for purchasing flights? with year round.
Students will be responsible for the cost
of their flight which is not included in the
Program Fee, but the Center for Global
Engagement will make the flight
arrangements through a group travel
agent.
Can I get financial aid?
At Northwestern, it is possible to count
the summer as one of your 12 quarters of
financial aid. Check with the financial aid
office to determine whether this would be
a good strategy for you. For non-
Northwestern students, check with your
school's financial aid office. There will
also be a very limited amount of GESI
scholarship money available.
How do I apply for GESI Scholarship
money?
We will post a separate scholarship
application on this site in either
December or January.
Any other tips on saving money?
In the past, some students have used their
course credit to allow them to graduate
early or be a part-time student during
their final quarter/semester. Others have
fundraised with family and friends.
What type of projects will we work on?
For previous project descriptions, see our
non-profits partnership page. In past
years, topics have included microfinance,
sports and social change, hygiene
education, computer literacy, and youth
education
This year, projects could include the
following topics: microfinance, youth
education, environment, human rights,
social entrepreneurship, women's rights,
public health, hygiene education
for Sustainable Development to select
four NGOs in each country from a much
larger pool of NGOs that FSD works
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Frequently Asked Questions, Part 2
FAQ continued.
When I apply to GESI, do I apply to a
specific country? Do I get to choose
which country I go to?
GESI does its best to take into account
the interests, assets and desires of every
applicant. Happy students have a more
positive impact than unhappy students.
The application will allow you to rank
your country preferences and we'll do our
best to make sure you're happy about
your site.
Do I get to choose what project I work
on?
GESI staff takes into consideration
everyone's interests and skill sets, but
then has the final say in placing people in
teams that we think will work well
together and with a host organization.
Can I choose who is on my team?
No. GESI staff will place students on
teams, but will take into account special
requests.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Northwestern Summer Application
Guidelines
1. On the Northwestern Summer
Study Abroad application, disregard
the question, "Which program are you
applying to? Please note you many
ONLY check one." We ask you to
rank preferences on the GESI
supplemental application.
2. Students will be notified of their
acceptance by Monday, March 2 and
will have until 5:00pm EST on
Friday, March 6 to accept or decline.
3. The $1,000 check is due with the
application and will be shredded if
you are not accepted, or if you decline
admission before 5:00 EST on Friday,
March 6. Checks of students
accepting admission are non-
refundable
4. Information regarding financial aid
on this application only applies to
Northwestern students. Non-
Northwestern students, please see
your school's financial aid office. All
students pursuing GESI scholarship
money should see step four of the
application process on the "Apply"
page of the website.
5. Passport photos are not needed. All
other items on the Summer
Application check list on page 2 are
needed.
6. Non-Northwestern students still
need to have their academic and study
abroad advisers read and sign
respective statements on pages 6 and
8. If you are off campus right now
studying abroad, they can either mail,
scan and email
(gesi.info@gmail.com), or fax
(847-491-3739) this paperwork to us.
7. You don't need to respond to Short
Essays #2 and #4 r.e. courses and
languages.
8. We will line up interviews with
applicants once we receive
applications. year round.
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Learn more about the Global Engagement Summer Institute at:

www.mycge.org
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