How the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders benefits IU and Indiana
Over the last few weeks, we’ve introduced you to a group of enthusiastic young people from 18 African countries who are fellows of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. The benefits of this program to these 25 visitors, participating in a program that is part of President Barack Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative, […]
Some of our newest Hoosiers offer their warmest thanks
Whenever we run into friends around the Indiana University campus, the range of greetings usually is pretty narrow. Most of us will say “hello” or “hi,” followed by an inquiry about their health or well-being. But with an international enrollment of more than 6,100 students, it’s not uncommon to hear greetings in other languages. Around […]
Mandela Washington Fellows hear IU students’ personal experiences helping their communities
Post by IU Newsroom intern Amanda Marino When Ph.D. candidate A’ame Joslin was growing up in rural Indiana, her family relied heavily on the government and members of their community to help them with financial troubles. Despite their needs, Joslin said she and her sister were still actively involved in community service. She said her […]
IU Maurer School program sparks reflection on laws that can serve the disabled across Africa
It should have been a night remembered for other reasons than becoming disabled. A trained development economist, Zukiswa Nzo was out with friends celebrating a new job on Feb. 16, 2007, when suddenly someone yelled, “Ngicela amafone (give me your phones),” followed by a gunshot. Instead of advancing in her career, Nzo – known by […]
African leaders learn about civic engagement during visit to Bloomington City Hall
As a Bloomington City Council member, Isabel Piedmont-Smith is accustomed to meeting with constituents. While the farmer’s market was abuzz with activity Saturday, she spent time discussing concerns and issues facing those who reside in her district. At times, Piedmont-Smith’s presentation in City Hall chambers on Monday — to 25 participants in the U.S. State […]
Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders program begins at IU
As he welcomed 25 of Sub-Saharan Africa’s brightest young people to Indiana University on Monday, Teshome Alemneh cited two well-known proverbs about the power of education. One proverb, from Alemneh’s native land of Ethiopia, simply says, “He who learns, teaches.” The other proverb, commonly shared across the Democratic Republic of Congo, says, “Wisdom is like […]
In new memoir, IU professor reflects on growing up in Africa, as a person between two worlds
From the age of 3, Carol Claxon Polsgrove has been a person between two worlds. As a child, she accompanied her parents from Kentucky to West Africa, where they served as Baptist missionaries. After a dozen years of growing up mostly in Nigeria, she returned to the United States, where many people thought that experience […]
Amid the bleakness of the Paris attacks, an IU professor finds hope through his research
In the West African language of Mauka, the word “kekene” simply means “oneness.” Appropriately, it’s also the title of an annual performance series showcasing Ivorian immigrant Vado Diomande, director of the New York-based Kotchegna Dance Company. This year, it took place at the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, where he teaches. “It’s an expression of unity […]
IU’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures has ‘never been more relevant’
EDITOR’S NOTE: The origins of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures were the subject of a previous article. Today, as the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures in Indiana University’s School of Global and International Studies celebrates its 50th anniversary, there were moments when that milestone seemed less certain. In 1979, at […]
Panel at IU Bloomington will discuss U.S. news media’s coverage of Islam and Muslims
Millions worldwide join the Japanese people in mourning the latest victim beheaded by Islamic State, also known as ISIS. Muslims in France and elsewhere decry the recent attack on satire magazine Charlie Hebdo by extremists. Militant Islamist group Boko Haram has created havoc in Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, through a series of bombings, assassinations […]
