DUKEENGAGE IN IRELAND Responding to the global refugee crisis Dates: June 9 August 5, 2018 (Dates subject to change up until the point of departure.) Service Themes Human Rights & Civil Liberties Immigration & Refugees Program Focus Partnering with governmental and non-governmental organizations to address the challenges faced by migrant and refugee communities in Dublin. Curricular Connections: Students from virtually every field of study have participated in the program over the years. The goal of this program is to have a diverse team academically, politically, and socially. (See below for additional details about connecting this program to your academic work.) Program Leaders Suzanne Shanahan, Director, Kenan Institute of Ethics; Professor, Department of Sociology. Suzanne s research focuses on both refugee law and policy in Europe, the Middle East and the United States and on understanding the dynamics of racial violence and injustice in the United States. William Tobin, Ph.D., J.D., Research Fellow. Bill is a civil rights lawyer focusing on mechanisms for addressing race-based educational inequalities in the United States and Europe. Program Overview Ireland, like many countries across Europe and the Middle East, is struggling to respond to the global refugee crisis. Over the next several months, Ireland will be resettling thousands of refugees. During their two months in Dublin students will work in one of several community-based organizations that focus on the needs of refugee and migrant communities, including both newcomers arriving just this year and more longstanding populations. In addition to individual placements, students will collaborate with refugee youth on a group project that addresses a particular need in the migrant/refugee sector. Through both the individual and group projects the expectation is that students the expectation is that students will be active participants in the transformation of Dublin into a richly diverse and inclusive, intercultural city. Migrants and/or refugees lead most of the organizations students will be working with. The scope of work students undertake is tailored to the interests, skills and goals of the students and to the needs of the organizations. The objective is to undertake something that could not have happened without the DukeEngage- Ireland students leadership and participation, in a manner consistent with the culture of the organization. Past students have drafted national legislation on FGM, co-authored a book on migrant experiences, planned and executed an international gospel festival, developed gender violence workshops, created a sexual health manual for new migrants, evaluated an international migrant entrepreneurship project, designed and taught life skills classes for newly arrived unaccompanied minor refugees, and devised a college preparatory curriculum for migrants, refugees and underserved Irish youth.
The connections between various migrant and refugee issues create opportunities for the students to collaboratively address sector-wide challenges. Group projects have ranged from national conferences on multicultural policing and migrant college access to a national writers workshop and contest for youth to a summer school for migrant and native inner-city Dublin high school students. Finally, the program immerses students in the changing social, cultural, and political life of Dublin and Ireland, with a particular focus on points of contact and dialogue among between various migrants and refugee communities and native Irish communities. Dublin is a modern, friendly, safe and increasingly cosmopolitan city. Your living arrangements, modes of transportation, access to technology and working environment will pose no great hardship. Indeed, the challenge of this program is far more daunting than dealing with strange food. This program places students at the intersection of two foreign worlds: 1) the official culture of the Republic of Ireland, whose outward similarities to the United States are incredibly deceiving, and 2) the culture(s) of your placement, which reflects the background and experiences of the migrant and refugees who will direct your work. Each day you will need to negotiate these different worlds in order to both meet and anticipate the needs of the communities you will be working within. The incredible challenge of negotiating and contributing to several different worlds distinguishes this program from a summer job or internship. The program is not for students who are interested in a summer job or internship in a foreign city. Instead, the program seeks to attract students who are up for the demands and corresponding rewards of crafting their own style of community engagement. Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes Develop a lived understanding of the global refugee crisis and the ethical challenges it presents. Develop a working knowledge of international law and policy on migration, refugees, and human rights. Develop a sophisticated (and sometimes critical) appreciation for Irish history, culture, and politics. Develop a grounded understanding of the challenge of creating social change within a community and a set of transferable skills to negotiate such challenges in a variety of domains moving forward. Partnership Opportunities Former participants have worked with the following organizations: AkiDwA (gender violence, women s health, African migrants/refugees) New Communities Partnership (organizing/advocacy for migrant communities and policy development on migrant issues nationally) Dublin City Vocational and Educational Services (intensive summer school for unaccompanied minor refugees) Metro Eireann (Ireland s leading multicultural newspaper) Separated Children Seeking Asylum (legal and social support for unaccompanied minor refugees and trafficked youth) Ministry of Justice and Irish Reception and Integration Office (working with newly arrived asylum seekers and program refugees.) Educate Together (partners with diverse communities to create non-denominational schools in a context where public schools are generally catholic schools) Office for Integration, Dublin City Council (support for migrant/refugee communities, across the city and develops policies and initiatives to bring into being a multicultural Dublin) Cairde (community-based public health outreach for migrants/refugees, information and policy) Chester Beatty Library (library possesses large, diverse collections, especially strong on Buddhism and Islam, and, most importantly has extensive community outreach to migrant communities in the Dublin) Former participants have collaborated in the following ways: Community organizing: a) assisting migrant communities to develop and realize strategic plans; b) coalescing grassroots support for the creation of a community school. Teaching and curriculum development for adult and children migrants/refugees.
Designing and directing an innovative summer school for native-born Irish and migrant high school students that teaches college ways of knowing and the benefits of inclusive teamwork. Developing, delivering, and assessing the success of a women s health/gender violence workshops taught in local migrant communities throughout Ireland; devising and implementing public health campaigns. Reporting and writing for a multi-cultural Dublin newspaper and devising community outreach initiatives consistent with the multicultural mission of the paper. Working with community partners, researchers, and government officials to revise immigration and citizenship policy. Program directors meet individually with students shortly after they are accepted to the program to begin the placement process. During the course of these individual meetings, students and program directors discuss student interests, strengths, short- and long-term academic and career goals; the range of placement opportunities that are available during the upcoming summer; and the experiences of previous students in the program, with whom new student participants in the program are encouraged to correspond. With the ongoing input from student participants, program directors carefully match students to an available placement that will best utilize their strengths and stretch them in ways that will enable them to meet personal, intellectual, and career goals. In past years, students in the program have met challenges in creative and sometimes ingenious ways and anticipated often unarticulated needs in some of the following ways: Community organizing and assistance. In consultation with community members, two students worked as team developed an assessment questionnaire to determine the needs of recently arrived migrant communities in Dublin city. They then met with community members and helped them draft goals and develop strategies for realizing these goals; and provided direct assistance as this process unfolded. Developing and conducting women s health/gender violence workshops. After extensive study and meetings with health care professionals and activists one student developed a women s health curriculum and a means to evaluate the effectiveness of this curriculum on individuals and communities, and then traveled around the country to educate migrant women about health issues and available government services. Another student drafted a policy report on Female Genital Mutilation and presented the report to the medical community and the primary house in the national legislative, the Dáil Éireann. Teaching. One student taught English to migrants who were victims of torture in their country of origin and developed novel pedagogical strategies for building trust with vulnerable populations. Another student developed creative strategies and technologies to help administer a summer program from unaccompanied minors children who have been granted refugee status but lack a legal guardian and used his skills as a musician to develop novel ways to teach English to the children. Educational leadership and curriculum design. In consultation with the program leaders, two students planned the curriculum, organized classes, and directed a staff of 20 other college students for a weekly educational program designed to introduce high school students from migrant communities and underserved neighborhoods to college and active citizenship. The organized classes in video shooting and editing, web design, and research methods. Responding to the need for remedial math classes, Duke student participants developed hands-on lesson plans with real-world applications to teach students geometry and algebra. The program evaluations that the students helped refine revealed that the program was a life-changing event for many of the youth that participated. In the words of one participant: I had an amazing time. I am overcome with happiness. Developing and administering a national intercultural writers competition. In an effort to grow young intercultural writers, a student working in Metro Eireann created the concept for a national writers competition and then executed this concept including publicity, identifying judges, and developing criterion and so on. The competition and the winning entries received national publicity. Collecting and writing up oral histories. In response to a need identified need by one of the community organizations that DukeEngage in Dublin partners with, one student developed an interview protocol,
developed new networks and utilized existing networks to identify migrant women, and then traveled around the country interviewing these women about their experiences. The student is presently transforming these rich interviews into her first book. Developing and implementing a protocol for identifying children with spectrum disorders. One student noticed that several of the young refugee students he was working with seemed to exhibit behaviors that he had encountered during an internship with one of the leading autism specialists in the world. After consulting with his supervisors, the physicians and social workers assigned the young people, he developed a protocol to help teachers identify and then support students on the spectrum. Five years since this protocol was created it is still being used. Researching and writing a policy report highlighting model practices for creating community schools in migrant communities in Ireland. Two students working at Educate Together interviewed community leaders, school officials, parents, and teachers to understand how a new school was created almost overnight to meet the needs of the large migrant and refugee population that settled in a north Dublin community. Many of the policies and practices that the students highlighted have subsequently become accepted as best practices in the field. There is no how-to manual that tells students how to do community engagement. However, student success depends on their willingness to lean into this experience and their ability to develop relationships: connecting, understanding, trusting, and cultivating an effective collaboration with community partners. With the support of these partners, program leaders, and fellow students, participants will develop their own distinctive style of community engagement. Program Requirements None. This program welcomes students with wildly diverse academic backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Curricular Connections Students work individually with program directors both before departure to create an academic plan to prepare, and upon their return to extend this plan to integrate their experience into their studies. These plans vary by student. Program Details Description of Community: Dublin is that rarest of modern cities, a true walking city. The size of the city allows one to walk from one end to the other in a single afternoon. The city has an unmistakable urban feel, but it is built on a human scale. The streets are broad and the tallest building in the city is six stories. Yet the city has a Viking past and imperial past, and at present is one of the most open inviting and vibrant cities in the European Union. To experience the city, students will participate in a weekly series of organized enrichment activities in Dublin (theater, Gaelic sports, etc.) and will be encouraged to explore the history and culture of Dublin on their own (trips to national gallery, etc.) Housing and Meals: Students will live in modern, fully furnished apartments in Dublin city center. The apartments are proximate to multiple forms of public transportation, and a short walk from most of Dublin s leading attractions and a short bus ride from the majority of the placements. This location is designed to ensure that that students experience the life and increasing diversity of the city. The apartments accommodate four students, two students to a room. The public areas of the suite include bathroom, living and dinning areas and are equipped with all modern amenities including wireless. Laundry is conveniently located within the apartments and shops and stores are located close by. If you do not eat certain types of food for cultural, religious or personal reasons, please contact the DukeEngage office, dukeengage@duke.edu, to discuss whether or not your dietary needs can be reasonably accommodated at this program site.
The apartments are a quick walk from a number of different grocery stores and a host of restaurants. The apartments come with a fully equipped kitchen. Except on Wednesday evenings when we will have a group meal, students may choose to shop and eat together, alone or in small groups. Transportation: Students will travel to Dublin by air. Students can walk or take public transport to placements and all program activities. All students receive bus/rail passes for their time in Ireland. Communication: Students will have internet access from their apartment. Students are encouraged to bring a laptop. Most placements will involve time in front of the computer and students should have some internet access while at their placement. Students will be given an inexpensive cell phone upon their arrival in Ireland. Opportunities for Reflection: Your site coordinator will lead regular reflection sessions in which you ll be expected to participate. Specifically, there are at least four quite varied opportunities for reflection. First, the group as a whole will meet weekly for a dinner at one of Dublin s leading restaurants to reflect on their experiences as individuals and members of a group. Two of these dinners will operate as a book club where students read a newly published book and discuss it with the author. Second, the program director and coordinator meet at least once weekly with each program participant individually. Third, students will write one-paragraph reflections on a weekly challenge that asks them to explore a particular part of the city. Fourth, students will each write a letter home reflecting on their experience. These letters are published in Ireland s multicultural newspaper, Metro Eireann. Students will be encouraged to develop their own media for reflection; in the past this has included film, art, and music. Other Opportunities: Students will be working in their placements Monday-Friday from approximately 9am to 5pm (as well frequent evenings, when special events require their participation). All students irrespective of their placement work with unaccompanied minor refugee youth on Wednesday afternoons. Group dinner and reflection are scheduled for Wednesday evenings. Taking advantage of the rich history and culture of Ireland, most weekends include some sort of cultural engagement, often together with the refugee and migrant communities. Ocean swimming will not be allowed in any DukeEngage program. More Information Background reading about the history, culture and politics of Ireland will be a key part of our pre-departure sessions. Students will also be provided individualized reading lists associated with different placements to ensure they have maximum understanding of the sector they will be working in (health, education, etc.) and of the community with which they will partner. Feel free to contact site coordinator for more information about the program. DukeEngage 2016 Program Profile Ireland