Keith Reinhard
Business for
Diplomatic Action |
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DATE: March 4, 2008
TIME: 7:00 p.m.
LOCATION:
Westminster College
Vieve Gore Concert Hall in
Jewett Center for the Performing Arts and
Emma Eccles Jones Conservatory
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, please visit our website. |
In partnership with the Utah Cultural and Celebration Center, UCCD presents Meridian-traveling exhibition
Sudan: The Land And The People |
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DATES:
March 14 - April 30, 2008
LOCATION:
OPENING RECEPTION:
March 14, 6-9 pm
GALLERY HOURS:
Mon - Thurs 6am-9pm and by appointment.
For more information, please click here or call (801) 832-3272. |
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Upcoming Lectures
March 24, 2008, 7pm
Lant Pritchett
Global Capital
in the 21st Century |
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March 25, 2008, 7pm
Joseph Nye
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All lectures are free and open to the public and will begin at 7pm in the Vieve Gore Concert Hall at the Emma Eccles Jones Conservatory. For more information, please visit our website. | |
Greetings!
The bi-monthly newsletter is a service that is made available exclusively for members of the UCCD network. We appreciate your continued support and dedicated efforts in promoting the cause of citizen diplomacy.
Please contact Jennnifer Hefti, Director of Communications and Community Outreach with questions, suggestions, or submissions for the bi-monthly update at jhefti@utahdiplomacy.org.
Reminder: Keith Reinhard of Business for Diplomatic Action will be speaking on Tuesday, March 4, 7pm, at the Vieve Gore Concert Hall at Westminster College, 1840 S 1300 E.
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Incoming Delegates to Utah 
MARCH 2008
- Netherlands: March 13-18, 1 Delegate examining Microenterprise
- Russia: March 15-18, 15 Delegates examining U.S. Immigration Policy
- South Asia: March 19-22, 8 Delegates examining Promoting Interfaith Dialogue
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UCCD is looking for Docent Volunteers
 Do you love art, kids and culture? A unique opportunity is
available for UCCD members to become a volunteer docent for our upcoming
art exhibition on Sudan.
The 70 photographs presented in this stunning exhibition are drawn from
the recent book, Sudan: The Land and the People, written by the last
U.S. Ambassador to Sudan, Timothy Carney, and his wife and
collaborator, journalist Victoria Butler. Award-winning photographer
Michael Freeman spent over two years compiling extraordinary images of
the rich ethnic, cultural and geographical diversity of Africa's
largest country.
What does a docent do? Attend a training with co-author, Victoria Butler; read and study
the prepared educational outreach materials; conduct tours of the exhibit with
area schoolchildren upon request. Dates and times are based upon school
requests.
Exhibition Dates: March 14 - April 30, 2008 at the Utah Cultural and Celebration Center
Please contact Jennifer Hefti at (801) 832-3272 or jhefti@utahdiplomacy.org for more information or to
volunteer. Thank you!
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Junior Journalist Rachel K. Interviews an Iraqi
"In a rare opportunity, I spent some time interviewing Arif A. S., a forty-one year father, husband, and Iraqi citizen. In this interview Arif shared his impressions of our freedoms and education, discussed the similarities and differences of life for Iraqis versus Americans, and his daily life in Iraq. Most importantly, we explored together how the Iraq American war has affected him and his family.
 What impressed him most about the United States of America were the freedoms we possess as a country and as individuals. He loves our flag and the feeling he gets that our country is advanced. Arif acknowledged that the people are congenial, "the people are so nice in the United States, especially in Utah."
Under the guidance of her teacher,
Rachel K. interviews Arif A. S. from Iraq.
He is also impressed with how updated everything seems. The schools are built so solidly and the buildings were impressive because they appeared to be so modern. He noticed the nice gardens, clean bathrooms and toilets, and that there was a solid schedule to the school day.
Arif could not believe the polar differences in the day-to-day life for his people as compared to the citizens of the United States. Arif referred to the freedom of religion for all people in a democracy as "fascinating." In his country, nearly all of the people claim they are Muslim. This religion is a way of life and it relates to their everyday life, their economy, and to their government.
Other differences that were noticed by Arif were in the school environment. In his children's school, there are not many extra "activities" as he called it, such as music, computers, large libraries, and maps. He felt after seeing our school that they may have a lower education standard. Although these were obvious differences, he noticed in Iraqi student life there were some similarities as well.
Those similarities were the common subjects that are studied such as math, science, language, Arabic history, and world geography. The Iraqi student always studies their Islamic religion as a required subject and they wear uniforms of white shirts and dark pants like us. One other big similarity was that Iraqi students and Americans student all have homework, and yes the parents help.
Arif described the condition of Iraq before the American occupation in this way: "There were many problems, and then even other problems." People like Arif tried to get visas, in fact he himself tried for three years to obtain a visa without success. He just wanted out of all of the mayhem. This mayhem was created by inside fighting among the many sects and groups within the country trying to get and gain control over the other. Many of the citizens were pillaging and stealing from retail stores on a regular basis, this was very concerning to many of the people.
Another problem that arose was that costs of goods rose high because resources would often be so scarce. Several people lost their jobs because their place of business or employment was destroyed by bombing and attacks by Al Qaeda. Many of the Iraqi terrorist's attacks were causing many deaths and much destruction. Families would be targeted if they tried to convict or help to convict those who carried out these acts.
However finally when the invasion between Iraq and the United States happened, liberation also began immediately. As Arif said, "finally America woke up." Nevertheless, right after the invasion there was not ample resources within the country to take care of many of the people. Mr. Saleem explained that he volunteered and helped with basic transportation and of gathering blankets for people within his country. Al Qaeda was split up so it took away some of their power from them, but there was for a time, a shortage of oil and electricity. After some time the American soldiers restored these shortages and helped with getting people regular water and it helped put order back into their city.
Another thing that happened after the American invasion was there were cars for people and cell phones. Be that as it may, a positive thing that happened is friends came together on this "large issue" as he put it, and tried to make things better for the country.
While interviewing Arif I realized that we find that we really have more in common than one may think, and that we can learn from one another. Arif and his family have wondered about American families, and I had wondered about those who occupied their country. The war, in an odd way, brought us together and helped us pay attention to the fact that we really are all people with similar goals. I suppose that just by talking and understanding one another we can become more of one mind, which in the end leads to peace and not war."
Rachel K., 8th Grade, Clayton Middle School
UCCD arranges visits between our International Delegates and area
school children. UCCD provides the students with historical,
geographical and cultural profiles of the visitors and their home
country. With the teacher's guidance, the students develop interview
questions while learning journalism skills. On the day of the program,
the students interview the visitors and write an essay about them,
including details about their country.
For more information and to schedule a class visit, please contact Jennifer Hefti at (801) 832-3272 or jhefti@utahdiplomacy.org.
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Keep updated about UCCD by visiting our website. We look forward to seeing you at an upcoming event!
Sincerely,
Jennifer Hefti,
Director of Communications and Community Outreach |
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