Georgetown President, Refugee Services Expert and World Bank Official To Address “Education at the Margins” at Internet2 Annual Meeting
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The 2013 Internet2 Annual Meeting will be held Sunday, April 21 to Wednesday, April 24 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA. The Annual Meeting will include approximately 800 technology, research and education leaders from around the world that are transforming global research and education.
Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia, Jesuit Refugee Service’s Peter Balleis SJ and World Bank Information Communication Technology Policy Specialist Samia Melhem will describe how technology, volunteers and advanced networks are enabling organizations to deliver education to students in areas at the margins of society, such as refugee camps, remote villages, war zones and other areas lacking a civil society.
One key project, Jesuit Commons: Higher Ed at the Margins, http://www.jc-hem.org, delivers education around the globe to those who would normally be unable to access higher education, with institutions seeking a practical way to take education where it is needed most. Last year, Georgetown University faculty and administrators traveled to Kenya and learned from the staff of the Jesuit Refugee Service in Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp. They met with students enrolled in the Jesuit Commons Higher Education at the Margins Diploma program.
As part of this project, faculty and staff donated time, refugees built and staffed their learning spaces, institutions volunteered courses, Microsoft engineers gave time and software, and Georgetown participants donated Kindles so students would have access to digital textbooks. All of these acts are expressions of the Jesuit tradition of “men and women for others” and caring for the poor. Besides Kenya, Higher Ed at the Margins has many volunteers and projects in Malawi, Syria and Jordan.
“When you realize the immense challenge, you mentally move from asking, ‘How can I help?’ to saying, together, we can make this happen. Here is what I can do,” said Cindy Bonfini-Hotlosz, chief information officer of JesuitNET and volunteer CIO of Jesuit Commons: Higher Ed at the Margins. “I look forward to exploring with the keynote speakers and experts from the nation’s advanced technology community and research universities ways to scale our efforts and reach 2 million students in areas at the margins.”
During this session, the Internet2 President’s Award will be given to the Network Startup Resource Center (NSRC), based at the University of Oregon. NSRC, established in 1992, provides technical assistance to organizations setting up computer networks for collaborative research, education and international partnerships in developing areas of Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East.
The Education at the Margins: How Technology and Networks Can Help Educate the Marginalized Masses Worldwide session will be streamed live Monday, April 22, starting at 1:15 pm. For details, visit http://events.internet2.edu/2013/annual-meeting/program.cfm?go=session&id=10003021.
For a complete 2013 Internet2 Annual Meeting schedule and live streaming video, go to http://bit.ly/2013Internet2AnnualMeeting.
About Internet2
Internet2® is a member-owned advanced technology community founded by the nation's leading higher education institutions in 1996. Internet2 provides a collaborative environment for U.S. research and education organizations to solve common technology challenges, and to develop innovative solutions in support of their educational, research, and community service missions.
Internet2 consists of more than 220 U.S. universities, 60 leading corporations, 70 government agencies, 38 regional and state education networks and more than 100 national research and education networking partners representing more than 50 countries. Internet2 offices are located in Ann Arbor, Mich.; Emeryville, Calif.; and Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.internet2.edu.
Media contact: Todd Sedmak, 202-331-5373 or Todd@Internet2.edu.
Tags: