Global Solutions Challenge

Welcome to the team (February, 2021)

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When I first began this process in joining the Scholars of Global Distinction I had what I thought was a pretty good idea of what it was about. I had viewed the website, read the stories, and familiarized myself with its premise. I looked forward to the 30-hour immersion project even though admittedly I was a little nervous upfront as to what it would involve and all the work that would need to be put into it.

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I saw Global Scholars as an avenue for me to be exposed to different cultures and experiences and in the case of the Immersion Project, actually interact with citizens on the other side of the globe. In that regard, I got very lucky when Ms. Hayes first suggested  the opportunity with the Stephens Initiative of the Aspen Institute. I knew nothing about this program in the beginning, but upon her advice, I looked further into it. It appealed to me because I would work with a team at Forsyth Tech along with another team from Kurdistan, Iraq virtually, to determine a cause and then build a solution around it. It had all the makings of an interesting global experience for me.

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Insight into another world

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Our internal team (FTCC students only) met first to get to know each other and understand the process we would undertake. We were introduced to all the history and the purpose of the Stephens Initiative project and learned what our part would be in the process. A couple of weeks later we had our first official meeting with our cohorts in Kurdistan. It went surprisingly well I thought. By surprising I mean technically the zoom meeting had very few interruptions. I was pleased to see they were well versed in online virtual communication, and we were able to communicate rather easily with only the dialect creating the occasional question, on both sides. Their middle eastern accent combined with our “southern” accent and slang would occasionally need to be clarified. Besides that, we all got along well.

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What I did notice, however, came about when it was time to choose between the submitted ideas we had for the project. On the U.S. side, we were thinking on a more global scale, what issue relates equally regardless of your geographic location. On their end, however, they were more locally focused on their suggestion, which involved primarily an issue related to the homeless animal population in which in the U.S. already had a solution-based system in place. So, we kind of felt like we were reinventing the wheel of sorts. By comparison, to paraphrase a comment about Elizabeth Warren, “nevertheless, they persisted”. In this moment we would reach our first impasse, which is exactly what the program encourages, in order to learn how to compromise and work with those of differing opinions and backgrounds.

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It didn’t matter how much we emphasized this program was already in place in America, they insisted it was a grave issue for them in their country and one they were most passionate about. In the end, we relented, seeing their passion for this was more pronounced than ours was for sustainable energy or resolving the food supply indifference in society specifically among the poor.

 

“Lions, tigers, and bears oh my!”

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So, the theme had been set, resolving the homeless animal crisis. It didn’t take long before I became aware of another difference living on this side of the world from theirs. They were not just talking about dogs and cats. They were literally referring to what I would term wild animals as well, such as those you would see in a zoo. Now, I should mention, it was at this same time that the Netflix series entitled “Tiger King” (2020-2021) was extremely popular in the States. [At the time of writing this a second season is in the works.] It demonstrated the terrible living conditions of caged tigers in the small zoos around the country. In particular, one run by Joe Exotic (Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma), and Carol Baskin’s Big Cat Rescue Corp. in Florida that rescues and houses exotic cats and rehabilitates orphaned or native wildcats. Therefore, on this side of the Atlantic, we were very careful about how we wanted to present resolving this crisis so that it wouldn’t appear we were condoning the same type of living conditions in the name of rescuing. We all agreed that so-called exotic animals should be sent to “acceptable” zoos and other appropriate locations that would treat them well, and not the same animal shelters that house the dogs and cats.

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In addition, it was suggested by our neighboring team to sell the exotic animals to the zoos. Something else that was during this time frowned upon. We agreed we would not participate in that part of the process in the States, understanding it was perfectly acceptable in their part of the world. Another difference we came to adapt to.

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Wheels up…we’re ready to go!

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Once we were past the project focus and the basic concept of what we were attempting to do, the gears began to align and come together to implement. We worked fluidly to produce a marketing campaign video and develop a website as the cornerstone of our “service”. The video was inspiring to make, to see everyone coming together in their own little corner of the world, from a farm in Lewisville, NC, to a pasture in Kurdistan, and high above a huge hydro-electric dam in Iraq. This is where we really came to see one another in our natural habitat and truly understand the diversity of who we are and what we represent. The beauty came from all directions, and in the end, was a big success.

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The website was another area where different skillsets came together to determine the message, produce the photography, and design the graphics and layout of what would ultimately be the centerpiece of the project. During this process, no ideas were dismissed, only revised slightly when necessary. It was a true unified, global coming together of cultures, ideas, perspectives, morals, ethics, and beliefs to produce.

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At the end of the six weeks, we celebrated virtually our accomplishments and the friendships we bore out of this experience. As I looked at myself at that moment, I knew that I had grown in my knowledge and understanding of other cultures in a way that I didn’t fully realize before. And all this without having to leave my hometown. That’s pretty impressive!

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A new outlook on the world, and the history of my own land (Oct 2021, 6 months later)

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New York Times writer and 2020 Pulitzer Prize winner Nikole Hannah Jones created and launched the 1619 Project in August 2019 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved Africans arriving in colonial Virginia. According to the National Council for the Social Studies [Teaching About Slavery Using the 1619 Project and Other Resources, September 17, 2020, ‘A Current Events Response by National Council for the Social Studies’ / socialstudies.org ] “As part of the 1619 Project, the Pulitzer Center developed curricula, including lesson plans, guides, and activities to help social studies teachers bring this material into their classrooms.”

I mention this not to bring up a discussion on the important subject of slavery. That’s another topic entirely. But it was about this time that post the November 2020 presidential election the country had become singularly divided over the last five years. We had become increasingly polarized. All issues were black and white (no pun intended in this case), there was no room for gray. You were either for something or against it. Republican or Democrat, Trump or Biden, mask or no-mask, Covid vaccine or anti-vaccine, Black Lives Matter or All Lives Matter, social safety net or no taxes on the rich and corporations, reduce climate change or it’s all a hoax, freedom to vote or impose voting restrictions, open up schools and businesses safely or just open up already, the list is endless it seems. My father says America is in the midst of another Civil War, they just don’t know it yet.

   

It’s at this time the 1619 Project’s objectives are being discussed openly with the possible teaching of critical race theory in the classroom. Implementation is being debated although, debate is too kind a word for what actually takes place in local school board meetings. They went from rebelling against masks for children in classrooms to no way are we teaching them the “real facts” about slavery and the Civil War. So, clearly it’s a hot button issue with two distinct sides once again.

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One experience feeds another creating an entirely new approach

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In watching a well-made CNN documentary on the subject in which they visited several schools up and down the east coast from Mississippi to Massachusetts and points in between, I witnessed both sides of the story being presented equally. As I watched this program and saw how students in high school and college, and parents across the East Coast reacted to the questions on the subject of slavery and how it should be taught in school, I saw it from a different perspective.

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Prior to March 2021, I may have chosen a side (pro 1619 Project) and simply dismissed the opposing viewpoint as irrational. But as I watched those students express openly and persistently their views I witnessed something taking place that I’m sure I wouldn’t have noticed before. As each side spoke it was clear they weren’t listening to the other side except to form a rebuttal. Each side was entrenched in their bunkers of opinion and belief and neither side was giving an inch. Now, although I had clearly chosen a horse in this race, I wasn’t ignoring the other horses. I didn’t agree with their stance, but I could see how they came to those beliefs.

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For some, it was upbringing, their families had preconceived ideas passed down to their children. Others had bad experiences in their past perhaps that impacted their viewpoints. Still, others were merely going along with their peers or friends. Regardless of their reasoning, I saw the irony of what was taking place. Neither side saw the other side. Neither party was about to give in. I thought about those first meetings with the students in Kurdistan. How we didn’t agree on the project focus at first. The U.S. side “appeared to be” rational and more globally focused on their cause, while the Kurdistan side seemed more focused on their local interests. Despite appearances, civil discourse was followed respectfully on both sides.

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If we had proceeded like those students and parents in the documentary, neither side would have given in. Neither side would have listened or cared about the other side. The difference was, we saw the passion they expressed, how this was more than just a global experiment. They were truly interested in using this opportunity to solve a problem. Where we may have been more idealistic and likely not fully believing we could make a real difference in the world, they knew they could, and they were ready to do just that. Because we saw that in them, despite our disagreeing on principle, we knew it was the right thing to do. This was their lives we were talking about, something they experienced first-hand every day. For us, it was news, something that came through on our cellphone newsfeeds intermittently each week. That doesn’t diminish the importance of our cause, but it does show a different perspective on the subject.

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Combining both experiences, witnessing the documentary along with participating in the Stephens Initiative, allowed me to see both sides. I didn’t have to agree, but I did have to listen with an attentive ear. I didn’t have to care more about their cause than ours, I just had to care at all. I had to see them, listen to them, truly understand why they do what they do, and want what they want. Then and only then, could I make a difference.

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A global lesson that applies domestically as well; a nice surprise I didn't anticipate

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I developed this heightened perspective and ability to make a difference from my Global Scholars experience, while originally expecting to only become more “worldly” in my ability to communicate in diverse environments. In reality, it also works quite well here at home. That's a lesson I wouldn't have expected to learn from this program. It just shows you never know where an experience can take you and how much or how far you will grow from it. Obviously, I learned much about communicating with other cultures, what I didn't expect was how it would also improve my communication within my own.