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Harmony in Diversity: Multicultural Education at China’s Universities for Ethnic Minorities

September 12, 2024
By 30637

Multicultural education that seeks to balance diversity and unity has become vital for many countries in the era of globalization. The “color-blind” approach that promotes equality regardless of race or ethnicity often overlooks systemic disparities, however. Dak Lhagyal (Columbia University, 2020, 2021) used an SRG award to explore the implementation and impact of multicultural education at minzu universities for ethnic minorities in China, offering insights into their unique role within a complex national identity framework.

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In an increasingly globalized world, the concept of multicultural education has become paramount in fostering inclusive societies that celebrate diversity while promoting unity (Ramirez et al. 2009). The “color-blind” approach (Bonilla-Silva 2014), which aims to treat individuals equally regardless of their racial or ethnic backgrounds, presents itself as a universal solution in educational systems worldwide. However, this approach often overlooks the complex realities of racial and ethnic disparities, raising questions about its effectiveness in addressing the deep-rooted issues of inequality and discrimination in multicultural settings (Bonilla-Silva 2014).

My research delves into the implementation and implications of multicultural education at minzu universities in China’s higher education system. These institutions, dedicated to the education of ethnic minority students, provide a unique context to examine the dynamics of multicultural education in a country that officially recognizes 56 ethnic groups (Clothey 2005; Zenz 2013). Employing qualitative research methods, including ethnographic interviews and participant observations, I conducted research at a prominent minzu university in western China. This site was chosen for its diverse student body and its role in the national strategy to promote ethnic unity and cultural diversity.

The choice of my topic stems from a growing interest in understanding how state-led multicultural policies impact interethnic relations and identity formation within educational settings (Leibold 2019). By examining the nuanced experiences of students and faculty within minzu universities, my study aims to contribute to the broader discourse on multicultural education and its capacity to address or perpetuate ethnic inequalities (Leibold & Chen 2014). The findings offer insights into the complex interplay between policy, identity, and educational practice (Yang 2017; Grose 2019; Robin 2014), shedding light on the broader societal implications of diversity education in a context as diverse as China’s. Through this analysis, I seek to enhance understanding of the potential and limitations of multicultural education in fostering truly inclusive and equitable educational environments (Lhagyal 2021).

Dual Role of Minzu Universities in Ethnic Identity Formation

Minzu universities in China hold a distinctive position within the country’s educational landscape, serving a dual purpose in the formation of ethnic identity among minority students (Clothey 2005). These institutions, designed to cater specifically to the educational needs of China’s ethnic minorities, offer a unique blend of cultural preservation and integration into the broader Chinese national identity (Zenz 2013; Yang 2017). At the heart of the minzu university experience is the endeavor to maintain the linguistic and cultural heritage of ethnic minority students while also integrating them into the Han-dominated national narrative (Clothey 2005). These institutions provide programs in both ethnic minority languages and Mandarin, reflecting a commitment to bilingual education (Zenz 2013; Robin 2014). This approach aims to equip students with the tools needed to navigate the broader Chinese society while retaining a connection to their ethnic roots (Yang 2017).

Research conducted at these universities reveals a nuanced impact on student identity. For Tibetan students, for instance, the environment fosters a heightened awareness of their ethnic heritage and encourages the formation of a modern Tibetan identity that coexists with the national identity promoted by Beijing. This dual identity formation process highlights the universities’ role in creating a space where ethnic minority students can explore and redefine their cultural identities within the context of a dominant national culture.

A curator explains the traditional Tibetan thangka painting to a group of student visitors at a minzu university museum in April 2023.

However, the experiences of students at minzu universities are not without challenges. The push and pull between ethnic and national identities can lead to a complex negotiation of identity for students, who must navigate the expectations and norms of both their ethnic community and the broader Chinese society. By offering an education that straddles ethnic heritage and national integration, minzu universities facilitate a form of identity formation that reflects the complexities of modern Chinese society.

State-Led Multiculturalism and Interethnic Relations

China’s approach to multiculturalism, particularly through its education system, offers a distinctive perspective on managing interethnic relations. Within this framework, minzu universities emerge as pivotal institutions where the nation’s aspirations towards unity in diversity are enacted. These institutions embody state-led efforts to foster multicultural education, aiming to enhance mutual understanding and respect among China’s numerous ethnic groups. My research delves into the effects of such policies on interethnic relations, shedding light on the nuanced outcomes of these endeavors.

State-led multiculturalism in China is characterized by the promotion of ethnic diversity alongside the reinforcement of a unified national identity. Minzu universities play a critical role in this strategy, providing a platform for students from diverse ethnic backgrounds to engage with each other and the nation’s dominant Han culture. The presence of programs that celebrate ethnic minority languages and cultures within these universities illustrates the state’s commitment to diversity. However, the overarching goal remains the cultivation of a cohesive national identity among all students.

Tibetan students dressed in traditional attire during a university-sponsored campus activity at a minzu university in May 2023.

The impact of this approach on interethnic relations is multifaceted. On one hand, it facilitates encounters and exchanges among students of different ethnic backgrounds, potentially laying the groundwork for increased understanding and solidarity. Students are exposed to a variety of cultural perspectives, which can enrich their personal and intellectual development. On the other hand, the emphasis on a unified national identity might overshadow the distinctiveness of minority cultures, complicating the process of identity formation for minority students.

These dynamics underscore the complexity of implementing state-led multiculturalism in a society as diverse as China’s. While aiming to harmonize interethnic relations, the challenge lies in balancing the celebration of ethnic diversity with the promotion of national unity. Through the lens of minzu universities, we gain insight into both the achievements and challenges of this endeavor, highlighting the ongoing negotiation of identity and belonging in China’s multicultural landscape.

Institutional and Structural Challenges in Ethnic Inequality

In the diverse landscape of China’s higher education, minzu universities represent a critical effort to integrate ethnic minority students into the national fabric while respecting their unique cultural identities. However, these institutions face the monumental task of addressing and overcoming ethnic inequalities within an educational and societal context.

At the core of minzu universities’ mission is the goal of fostering an environment where students from all ethnic backgrounds can thrive academically and socially. These universities are designed to be inclusive spaces that not only educate but also promote understanding and respect for cultural diversity. They offer programs in minority languages and culture, aiming to elevate the status of ethnic minorities within the broader society.

Despite these commendable efforts, challenges persist in fully addressing the deep-rooted inequalities that affect ethnic minority students. One of the primary obstacles is the delicate balance between celebrating diversity and ensuring equal opportunities for all students. While the curriculum and extracurricular activities at minzu universities strive to highlight ethnic traditions and languages, ensuring that diversity does not translate into disadvantage remains a constant challenge.

Moreover, the structural limitations within the educational and societal system can sometimes hinder the full realization of these goals. For example, the transition from education to employment remains a significant hurdle for many ethnic minority graduates, reflecting broader societal patterns of inequality.

Understanding the institutional and structural challenges faced by minzu universities in addressing ethnic inequalities is crucial. These institutions stand at the intersection of cultural preservation and societal integration, embodying the complexities of navigating ethnic diversity within a rapidly modernizing nation. Examining their efforts offers insights into both the progress made and the hurdles that remain, highlighting the nuanced journey toward achieving equality and inclusion for all ethnic groups in China.

Toward a More Inclusive Multicultural Education

China’s innovative approach to multiculturalism within its higher education system, particularly through the minzu universities, represents a significant endeavor to integrate ethnic diversity with national unity. These institutions serve as a focal point for exploring the intricate balance between celebrating ethnic identities and fostering a cohesive Chinese national identity. They not only provide education in minority languages and cultures but also serve as a microcosm for understanding broader societal dynamics. The dual identity formation process they facilitate highlights the potential for creating a more inclusive national identity that acknowledges and respects ethnic diversity.

The state-led approach to multiculturalism has had a nuanced impact on interethnic relations. While it promotes interactions among diverse student bodies, fostering understanding and solidarity, it also faces the challenge of ensuring that the richness of minority cultures is not overshadowed by the overarching narrative of national unity. The experiences of students within these universities underscore the delicate balance between celebrating diversity and achieving cohesion.

Institutional and structural challenges persist in fully addressing ethnic inequalities within the education system. Despite efforts to promote equality and inclusion, disparities in educational outcomes and experiences among ethnic groups indicate areas for further reflection and improvement.

China’s minzu universities embody the country’s commitment to navigating the complexities of multicultural education. Their role in shaping the future of ethnic relations and national identity in China is both critical and evolving. As these institutions continue to navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by the country’s diversity, they serve as a valuable case study for understanding the broader implications of multiculturalism in education. I hope my research will provide a foundation for further analysis and deeper understanding of the dynamics at play in one of the world’s most populous and culturally diverse countries.

References

Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. 2014. Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States, 4th ed. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Clothey, Rebecca. 2005. “China’s Policies for Minority Nationalities in Higher Education: Negotiating National Values and Ethnic Identities.” Comparative Education Review, 49(3), pp. 389–409.

Grose, Timothy. 2019. Negotiating Inseparability in China: The Xinjiang Class and the Dynamics of Uyghur Identity. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.

Leibold, James. 2019. “Planting the Seed: Ethnic Policy in Xi Jinping’s New Era of Cultural Nationalism.” China Brief, 19(22), pp. 9–14.

Leibold, James, and Yangbin Chen, eds. 2014. Minority Education in China: Balancing Unity and Diversity in an Era of Critical Pluralism. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.

Lhagyal, Dak. 2021. “‘Linguistic Authority’ in State-Society Interaction: Cultural Politics of Tibetan Education in China.” Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 42(3), pp. 353–367.

Ramirez, Francisco O., Patricia Bromley, and Susan Garnett Russell. 2009. “The Valorization of Humanity and Diversity.” Multicultural Education Review, 1(1), pp. 29–54.

Robin, Françoise. 2014. “Streets, Slogans and Screens: New Paradigms for the Defence of the Tibetan.” In Trine Brox and Ildikó Bellér-Hann, eds., On the Fringes of the Harmonious Society: Tibetans and Uyghurs in Socialist China. Copenhagen: Nias Press, pp. 209–235.

Yang, Miaoyan. 2017. Learning to Be Tibetan: The Construction of Ethnic Identity at Minzu University of China. Lanham: Lexington Books.

Zenz, Adrian. 2013. “Tibetanness” Under Threat?: Neo-Integrationism, Minority Education and Career Strategies in Qinghai, PR China. Leiden: Brill.

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A Youth-Driven Pact to Promote Ethics in Costa Rican Politics

August 28, 2024
By 31231

In November 2023, Mauricio Artiñano (Princeton University, 2013) organized a transformative retreat for youth leaders from 37 Costa Rican political parties that led to the drafting of a groundbreaking Interparty Ethical Pact addressing campaign issues like hate speech and corruption. Culminating in a historic signing event by parties from across the political spectrum, the SLI-supported, media-acclaimed project produced a commitment to democratic integrity for the February 2024 municipal elections and beyond.

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Imagine sending almost 60 representatives of different political parties to a rural community for a weekend to live together and work to draft a pact of ethical principles for a campaign period. It sounds like an idea for a reality show, one that would likely end in fighting or scandal. Few people would guess that a social experiment of this nature would result in new friendships and a consensus agreement.

In November 2023, though, thanks to a Sylff Leadership Initiatives (SLI) grant, I worked with the civic association Costa Rica Íntegra—the Costa Rican chapter of Transparency International—to facilitate a retreat for 59 young men and women representing 37 local and national political parties from across the country’s ideological spectrum.

Many people we consulted about this project were skeptical about our chances of success. However, thanks to a unique, self-designed methodology, the support of an excellent facilitation team, and, most importantly, the hard work of the youth leaders, the group was able to draft a 25-point pact that they named Interparty Ethical Pact “Sitio Mata” in honor of the community where we held the retreat. The Pact includes commitments related to such controversial issues as hate speech, disinformation, corruption, attacks against democratic institutions, campaign finance, and the environmental impact of political campaigns.

Youth leaders (and the author, shown standing in the top photo) discussing and drafting the ethical pact.

An Environment Conducive to Building Rapport

According to the youth leaders, another factor that helped set the stage for a successful conclusion was the place we chose to hold the retreat. Most events of this nature are held in hotels or retreat centers, but our meeting was held at a rural community center, and the youth leaders and staff stayed with local families that run a rural community tourism project in the village of Sitio Mata, some 50 km east of the Costa Rican capital of San Jose. With this choice, we were able to support a thriving, women-led tourism venture and the local economy, while also giving the young leaders the opportunity to get to know the local community. The participants agreed that the hospitality and warmth of their adopted families helped promote a sense of community that fed into the negotiations for the Pact.

With the momentum generated by the retreat and the Sylff grant, we were able to obtain additional financial support from the Swiss Embassy in Costa Rica, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA International), the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Indefinido Design Studio, and the European Union Delegation to Costa Rica. These funds allowed us to work with the youth leaders to organize 11 different events to promote the Pact and give political parties and candidates the opportunity to sign it. We were also fortunate to have the support of four University of Costa Rica political science students, who chose this project as their professional practice (a graduation requirement).

The largest of the 11 signing events took place a few weeks after the retreat, at the University of Costa Rica’s main campus. Forty-two political parties signed the Pact at that event, which was also attended by representatives from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, organized labor, the business community, and academia.

In addition, we were honored by the presence of the ambassadors of Switzerland, Perú, the Netherlands, Canada, Chile, and the European Union, and a representative from the Embassy of Japan (who also happened to be a Sylff fellow!). It was especially noteworthy that we had representatives from nearly all the national political parties sitting side by side at the same table signing the Pact. Various observers remarked that they couldn’t remember the last time so many political parties signed the same document.

Representatives of political parties signing the Pact at the University of Costa Rica event.

The initiative also received widespread media coverage, including TV and radio interviews and even a mention on the front page of La Nación, Costa Rica’s largest newspaper. The press coverage was also a great opportunity for the youth leaders to engage with the press and learn skills related to public relations, interviewing, and dealing with the media.

In total, 53 political parties signed the Pact out of the 75 that presented candidates for the February 4, 2024, municipal elections in Costa Rica, representing 86% of all candidates. With the support of Indefinido Design Studio, we were able set up an online platform for individual candidates to sign the Pact. Only 467 out of more than 37,000 candidates signed it individually, however, prompting the youth leaders to note—during a lessons-learned retreat held two months after the elections—that the online platform may have been set up too late and that many candidates believed that there was no need for them to sign the Pact individually if their party had already signed it. This was an important lesson for possible future iterations of this initiative.

At the follow-up retreat, the youth leaders expressed their deep gratitude for the opportunity to participate in this initiative and for the skills, connections, and inspiration that they derived from the project. They were especially enthusiastic about continuing to work together as a network of youth leaders committed to democracy and electoral ethics and integrity. Together with some of the funders of the initiative, we are currently brainstorming ways of continuing to support the youth leaders and maintain momentum. We are also looking forward to leading a similar exercise for the 2026 presidential and legislative elections.

Youth leaders who participated in the retreat.

My two main objectives with this project were to foster ethical principles in the context of the Costa Rican municipal elections and to promote the leadership and initiative of the next generation of leaders in the country. In her speech announcing the preliminary results of the elections, the presiding magistrate of the Costa Rican Supreme Electoral Tribunal—the institution in charge of organizing and supervising Costa Rican elections—mentioned the Pact as a successful civil-society-led initiative to promote democratic values. I was very proud of that recognition and very proud of the results of this initiative, particularly of the network of youth leaders that was created. I also had an opportunity to give a TED talk in April about this experience. All this was possible thanks to Sylff, and I am deeply grateful for its support.

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End-of-Life Care Decisions for People with Dementia in China: Patients Rarely Have a Say

August 22, 2024
By 30592

Given that Asian medical decision-making experiences tend to be overlooked in academia and policy design, gerontologist Yifan Lou (Columbia University, 2019, 2022) conducted an SRG-supported study to provide empirical evidence for end-of-life decision-making narratives in China. She hopes to contribute to effective interventions and services for older Chinese with dementia and their family caregivers, as well as to discussions on culturally specific definitions of a “good death.”

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With generous support from SRG, I was able to finish the data collection, transcribing, and preliminary analyses of the project entitled “End-of-Life Decision-Making Experiences among the Primary Caregivers for Older Adults with Dementia in China.” This study aims to understand the values and unique challenges around end-of-life care among Chinese dementia caregivers, the results of which can inform the future design of a culturally sensitive intervention on advance care planning (ACP) for people living with dementia and their family caregivers in China.

China is the country with the largest population of older adults and people living with dementia in the world. The country’s population of people living with dementia is projected to reach an estimated of 75.6 million by 2030 (Xu et al. 2017). Unlike other critical illnesses like cancer, dementia always requires primary caregivers to make many end-of-life care decisions, including but not limited to admission to nursing homes, tube feeding, and do-not-resuscitate orders, on behalf of the people living with dementia themselves. Those decisions are extremely hard for caregivers, especially if they are experiencing physical exhaustion from long-time caregiving, emotional distress, and “anticipatory grief” due to the nature of dementia (Jones et al. 2019). Advance care planning can help to relieve the burden of caregivers and also make sure that those with dementia will receive the treatments that align with their preferences. Studies suggest that people at an early stage of dementia are still capable of making ACP choices (Yaffe et al. 2002; Hirschman et al. 2008).

ACP is still an emerging concept in China, however, where death and dying are cultural taboos. There are no studies elucidating the experience of dementia caregivers around end-of-life care decisions, and little is known regarding how their emotional burdens can be relieved to make sure people living with dementia can meet a dignified death. ACP in China cannot be promoted without knowing the Chinese people’s perceptions of and their current experiences with this issue. My study thus seeks to provide empirical evidence for decision-making narratives in China, which can significantly contribute to future developments in interventions and services for older Chinese with dementia and their family caregivers.

Having No Say in Care Decisions

In the project, I was able to interview 20 dementia caregivers and 5 health-care professionals in collaboration with community-based health-care centers. I conducted semi-structured interviews with the 25 participants on their experiences and perceptions of medical decision-making for people living with dementia. I also administered background questionnaires on their socioeconomic and health information. The participants had diverse backgrounds in terms of socioeconomic status, rural/urban residence, relationship to people living with dementia, and their own health status.

©fzant/Getty Images

Because the majority of participants used the Shanghai dialect in the interview, I outsourced the transcribing to a research assistant who can understand the dialect and have basic knowledge of social science research. The research assistant and I further worked on data analysis, the results of which were finalized and will be presented at the annual scientific meeting of the Gerontological Society of America in November 2024. To disseminate the results and make real impact, I also plan to present the results to community-based social service agencies and work with social workers in the agencies to design culturally appropriate interventions and evidence-based practices.

Our preliminary results show that people with dementia in China never have a say in their medical-care decisions. More specifically, as was seen in with my previous research in health communication during end-of-life care, we consistently observed three different types of power dynamics in the triad relationship among primary caregivers, medical professionals, and other family members: shared power between primary caregivers and doctors, balanced power between primary caregivers and other family members, and unbalanced power among the three stakeholders. Guided by Dahl’s relational power model (Dahl 1957), we further discussed the outcomes of the three different types of power dynamics. None of the three, though, involved the person who is actually experiencing death and dying. Primary caregivers, health-care professionals, and other family members frequently cited as reasons for such exclusion concerns about filial piety, the uncertain validity of the people living with dementia’s expressed wishes given their cognitive status, and concern for family harmony.

The nuanced data has the potential to spawn more research questions related to death, dying, and medical decision-making involving people living with dementia. More particularly, we will further explore the unique challenges of caregivers and health-care professionals when they try to make big life decisions for the patients without being able to confirm their wishes and preferences. We will also investigate how culture plays a part in medical decision-making so as to inform the development of culturally appropriate interventions and service delivery.

It is also possible to use this data to understand how family members communicate needs and information with health-care professionals. Health communication is an important topic in China because of frequent conflicts between the patient, family, and provider in hospitals. By understanding the concerns of family members and providers simultaneously using the data, we will be able to detangle the potential reasons behind the miscommunication in medical decision-making.

Framework for Intervention

My study is among the first to understand the experiences of advance care planning in the Chinese community. The study provides practitioners a framework for understanding and intervening in medical decision-making and ACP for surrogates of people with dementia. The results highlight the distinct decision-making experiences of people living with dementia in China compared to those in the West and suggest that policymakers should consider the voices of the local people and families. The study may also shed light on the medical decision-making process in other Asian countries with similar cultures, such as Korea and Singapore.

The Asian medical decision-making experience is largely overlooked in academia and policy design, particularly given that end-of-life care, hospice care, and ACP are all Western concepts. I thus hope to contribute to the growing conversation on adopting ACP and related concepts in Chinese and other Asian societies and to the larger discussion on culturally specific definitions of a “good death.” Future studies can provide a comparative lens to more comprehensively understand how health-care decision-making in end-of-life care settings works in Asian and Western countries.

References

Dahl, R. A. (1957). The Concept of Power. Behavioral Science, 2(3), 201–215.

Hirschman, K. B., Kapo, J. M., & Karlawish, J. H. (2008). Identifying the Factors that Facilitate or Hinder Advance Planning by Persons with Dementia. Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders, 22(3), 293–298.

Jones, K., Birchley, G., Huxtable, R., Clare, L., Walter, T., & Dixon, J. (2019). End of Life Care: A Scoping Review of Experiences of Advance Care Planning for People with Dementia. Dementia, 18(3), 825–845.

Xu, J., Wang, J., Wimo, A., Fratiglioni, L., & Qiu, C. (2017). The Economic Burden of Dementia in China, 1990–2030: Implications for Health Policy. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 95(1), 18.

Yaffe, K., Fox, P., Newcomer, R., Sands, L., Lindquist, K., Dane, K., & Covinsky, K. E. (2002). Patient and Caregiver Characteristics and Nursing Home Placement in Patients with Dementia. JAMA, 287(16), 2090–2097.

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Bridging Cultures, Building Futures: Empowering the Amahuaca through an Innovative Educational Model

August 5, 2024
By 31278

A major challenge for Indigenous peoples transitioning from a forest-dwelling life to a settled one is lack of access to formal education as a pathway to empowerment. Even when schooling is available, though, new issues can arise, such as the loss of language and identity. To address these challenges, Pilar Valenzuela (University of Oregon, 1995–96) used an SLI grant to develop a novel approach to preserving traditional knowledge while meeting modern needs.

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How is it possible for a community to exist in the twenty-first century without access to school, with residents lacking the opportunity to acquire basic literacy and numeracy skills? Sadly, this stark reality confronts certain Indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon, particularly those families who are part of the initial generation transitioning from a forest-dwelling life to settling in a village and establishing regular contact with Peruvian society. Among these communities, the Amahuaca people residing in the upper reaches of the Inuya River face significant challenges, including lack of access to formal education.

In Alto Esperanza, the village that serves as their home, leaders passionately express their desire for a primary school. They envision a pathway for their children to access formal education, not only to protect them from unscrupulous individuals seeking to manipulate or exploit them but also to empower them so they may safeguard their territory and exercise their rights as both Indigenous people and Peruvian citizens.

The residents of Alto Esperanza are not willing to sacrifice their language and culture, though, in exchange for educational access. This, unfortunately, has been the choice other Amahuaca villages have had to make when establishing primary schools, as non-Amahuaca teachers invariably conduct classes exclusively in Spanish.[1] The children who attended these schools no longer speak their Native language, severely compromising their identity as members of the Indigenous community.

Motivated by a desire to find a solution to these challenges, I embarked on a collaborative effort with the villagers of Alto Esperanza to devise an alternative educational model—a school that values and integrates the language, culture, and knowledge of the Amahuaca people while simultaneously teaching children Spanish and introducing them to Western culture and science. Thanks to a Sylff Leadership Initiatives grant, the initial stage of this crucial project was successfully completed in January 2024.

Developing Teaching Materials

A dedicated team consisting of representatives from Alto Esperanza, Amahuaca educators, Amahuaca leaders, and myself as the linguist collaborated in the nearby city of Atalaya to meticulously design a tailored preliminary curriculum for Alto Esperanza. The curriculum incorporates an outline of monthly projects that align with the community’s engagement in such activities as hunting, fishing, gathering turtle eggs, opening small clearings in the forest sustainably for horticultural practices, and utilizing medicinal plants in a traditional manner. Additionally, we developed a range of teaching materials focused on fostering children’s literacy skills, encompassing essential aspects, such as reading, writing, and numeracy.

A page from the curriculum material incorporating both Spanish and Amahuaca vocabularies.

During this period, we also had the privilege of conducting classes for two boys and one girl from Alto Esperanza who were eager to learn and unwilling to wait for the opening of a local school in their village. Over a span of three weeks, they participated in both morning and afternoon sessions, held daily from Monday through Saturday. Each child received personalized instruction delivered by a dedicated Indigenous teacher.

Jacinto,[2] an 18-year-old young man with no prior school experience, started from the basics, mastering fundamental motor skills required for writing. He successfully learned the Amahuaca vowels, basic numbers, and simple additions. The second child, Liliana, approximately 12 years old, had received one year of education in another village. She achieved proficiency in learning some syllables and doing simple additions. The third child, Carlos, around 15 years old, had undergone two years of elementary education, also in another Amahuaca village. He exhibited substantial progress in reading, writing, and arithmetic during the project’s duration. Overall, we were deeply impressed by the children’s desire to learn and their remarkable knowledge about the Amazon rainforest. Moreover, upon their return to Alto Esperanza, I was thrilled to learn that Carlos has started conducting classes with seven Amahuaca children!

Liliana, a student of the class, practices writing.

A Viable Alternative for Other Communities

The project was a resounding success, and we believe that the schooling model we are developing can serve as a viable alternative for other Indigenous groups facing similar challenges. Our focus now is on securing funding to ensure the successful launch of the community school in September 2024. We plan on launching a GoFundMe campaign and are keeping our fingers crossed to obtain the necessary resources to make the elementary school in Alto Esperanza a reality. Alto Esperanza has already decided on the school’s name: Vachi Maitiya, which means “Those wearing the Amahuaca tall headdresses.”

By bridging cultures and building futures, we are not only providing educational opportunities but also empowering the Amahuaca people to preserve their language, culture, and identity while acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the world outside of their community. Together, we can create a brighter future for the Amahuaca community and inspire others to embrace innovative educational models that respect and celebrate diverse cultures.

[1] Schools in rural areas, such as those along the upper Inuya River, often have only one teacher overseeing all six grades of primary education.

[2] In order to protect the privacy of the individuals involved, the names of the children mentioned in this article have been changed.

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Blazing a Trail for Female Orchestra Conductors in Leadership Positions

July 29, 2024
By 31775

On April 13 and 14, 2024, Sinfonietta Passau—a symphony orchestra founded and led by Eleni Papakyriakou (University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, 2012)—performed highly acclaimed concerts supported by an SLI grant. She outlines the significance of the orchestra not only in promoting gender equality but also in enriching the cultural life of the community and achieving musical and social harmony.

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Sinfonietta Passau is a newly founded symphony orchestra in the Bavarian city of Passau, on the German-Austrian border. The orchestra consists of 64 musicians, mainly freelance professional musicians from the wider region and advanced students from the nearby music universities in Linz, Munich, and Salzburg—a well-balanced mixture that combines quality, passion, vitality, and youthful energy. The 33 female and 31 male orchestra members came to Passau over three weekends in March and April 2024 for intensive rehearsals and two concerts in Passau and nearby Deggendorf. The program consisted of:

  • Philipp Ortmeier (Passau-born composer): “Tree of Life” for soprano and orchestra, German premiere (first prize at the March 2023 “Orient/Occident” international competition in Ukraine). Soloist: Sarah Romberger
  • Gustav Mahler: Orchestral songs from “Des Knaben Wunderhorn.” Soloist: Sarah Romberger
  • Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 (Bruckner Year 2024)

 

Sinfonietta Passau, April 2024. ©Florian Stelzer

The concerts were highly successful—the press reviews and the feedback of the audience were very enthusiastic:

“A great evening: standing ovations for Sinfonietta Passau with Bruckner’s Seventh and Philipp Ortmeier’s “Tree of Life.” You can feel the trust between the orchestra and the conductor. The orchestra is highly motivated. The conductor masters the large orchestra with clear gestures and great calm. She takes the pauses seriously and makes them wonderfully fitting in the room.”
—Passauer Neue Presse

“Great musical sensitivity: The conductor succeeds in making the sound layers in this monumental work [Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony] audible in a finely nuanced way. The Bruckner interpretation receives standing ovations and many “Brava” calls for the conductor.”
—Rabenstein Kultur Blog

 

Sinfonietta Passau performing at the Church St. Peter in Passau, April 13, 2024. ©Florian Stelzer

Back in my teenager years, the beauty and power of Anton Bruckner’s music awakened in me a love for the orchestral sound and a strong will to become a conductor. I wanted to understand the masterpieces of the symphonic repertoire and the message of the composers in depth and then share it with the audience. I already had a vision of the social impact music can make—as the legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein said: “Art never stopped a war. But it can change people. It can affect people, so that they are changed—enriched, ennobled, encouraged—they then act in a way that can affect the course of events . . . by the way they vote, they behave, the way they think.”

Several years later, my dream came true. After studying orchestral conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and my professional experience with various orchestras in Europe, I decided to create my own symphony orchestra. Together with other supporters we founded the nonprofit association Sinfonietta Passau e.V. in October 2022. My vision was not only to share with the public the beauty and the message of orchestral masterpieces, which are so rarely heard around Passau, but also to have a major social impact. As it turned out, the social benefits were much more than I had thought at the beginning. 

Like many other female conductors, I faced discrimination and unfair treatment in my professional career up to that point. A study by the German Cultural Council in 2021 showed that currently only 8% of conductors in leadership positions in Germany are female, and the same percentage applies worldwide (study commissioned by the conducting competition, La Maestra Paris, in 2022). As the founder and music and artistic director of Sinfonietta Passau, I wanted to send a powerful message to the world of classical music: musicality and leadership skills have nothing to do with gender. Female conductors are equally capable of effectively leading an orchestra as their male colleagues, so they should be given more chances and should be treated with the same respect. This applies also for women in leadership and managerial positions in general.

 

Eleni Papakyriakou conducting Sinfonietta Passau in the Church Mariä Himmelfahrt in Deggendorf, April 14, 2024. ©Florian Stelzer

During the post-pandemic revival of the cultural scene, another goal was to provide greater opportunities for freelance professional musicians. According to a survey by the Berlin State Music Council, a third of freelance musicians no longer see any future in the music profession, and many have already given up or are in the process of reorienting themselves. In addition, I wanted to offer advanced music students the chance of working with professionals, which is of great educational value. The music students can also supplement their CV with professional experience, which gives them a higher chance of being invited to audition for permanent orchestra positions.

An important part of the social action of the orchestra is the inclusion of musicians who come from disadvantaged or war regions, thus promoting mutual understanding and helping create a more open society that is free of prejudices. The peaceful coexistence of people from different origins and social backgrounds is one of the most important purposes of an institution like an orchestra, as well as of music in general. For the April 2024 concerts, professional musicians who fled Ukraine because of the war were invited to participate.

In the small but culturally vibrant city of Passau, a large part of the modern orchestral repertoire—symphonic music by composers such as Bruckner, Mahler, and Sibelius, as well as contemporary music—was almost never heard. But the region has some exceptional local composers, whose works are worth listening to. This combination of old masterpieces with contemporary music, along with rarely performed works, proved to be very successful in enriching the city’s musical life. At Sinfonietta Passau’s founding concerts in 2023, we performed the world premiere of a work by Bavarian composer Cornelius Hirsch. And in the recent concerts in April 2024, the “Tree of Life” by Passau-born composer Philipp Ortmeier impressed the audience and the critics and ensured the composer the recognition he deserves.

Sinfonietta Passau also aims to act as a springboard for young, talented soloists, who are at the beginning of their careers, in addition to collaborating with internationally acclaimed soloists. In the founding concerts, the award-winning young Greek flutist Stathis Karapanos and the internationally renowned flutist and professor at the Paris Conservatory Philippe Bernold performed the rarely played flute concerto by Carl Nielsen. In April 2024, we had the honor to perform with mezzo-soprano Sarah Romberger, who has already started a brilliant career in Germany. The public was moved and excited with her powerful interpretation of Philipp Ortmeier’s “Tree of Life” and Gustav Mahler’s songs.

 

Mezzo-soprano Sarah Romberger and Sinfonietta Passau, April 14, 2024. ©Florian Stelzer

All in all, the two concerts in April 2024 were a huge success and resonated widely in the local community. The objectives of the orchestra were achieved, and everyone is looking forward to future activities. Sinfonietta Passau aspires to become an important cultural institution in the region, making the city of Passau a radiant artistic center on the German-Austrian border that is worthily represented in international festivals in Germany, Austria and neighboring countries.

 

Sinfonietta Passau performing on April 14 at the Church Mariä Himmelfahrt, Deggendorf. ©Florian Stelzer

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Sylff@Tokyo: Inspired by Sylff Leaders Workshop to Teach Food Justice

July 23, 2024

Susan Banki, a Sylff fellowship recipient at the Fletcher School from 1999 to 2001 and now an associate professor at the University of Sydney, visited the Tokyo Foundation on July 12, 2024.

After participating in the Sylff Leaders Workshop in 2018–19 that was held on the theme of food justice, she developed a deep interest in this issue. She now addresses this topic in her courses at the University of Sydney’s postgraduate Social Justice Program, of which she is the director.

She is currently planning a 12-day food justice trip to India, where she and her students will visit seed banks, agricultural cooperatives, and markets to explore the gender, economic, and political dynamics of the farming sector and the consumption of food.

(From left) Program officer Yumi Arai, executive director Mari Suzuki, Susan Banki, director Keita Sugai.

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Sylff Administrators’ Meeting for Five Chinese Universities in Tokyo

July 17, 2024

Sylff administrators from five leading universities in China gathered in Tokyo on July 1–5 to share updates on how the program is being operated and how Sylff funds are being managed at the respective universities. Owing to pandemic-related travel restrictions, this was the first in-person meeting between Chinese Sylff institutions and the Sylff Association secretariat since the series of events in 2018 to commemorate the program’s 25th anniversary in China.

Attending the gathering in Tokyo were representatives of the five universities where Sylff endowments were established in 1992: Fudan University, Jilin University, Lanzhou University, Nanjing University, and Peking University.

After a welcoming address by Tokyo Foundation Executive Director Mari Suzuki, Sylff Association Chairman Yohei Sasakawa, in his opening remarks on July 2, pointed to the major role the Sylff program and other Sasakawa fellowships have played over the past several decades to develop Chinese leaders in a broad range of fields and to deepen friendship and mutual understanding between Japan and China. He also expressed his wish that fellows would spearhead efforts to build a peaceful future in an increasingly globalized world.

Fudan University Executive Vice President Xu Zheng, right, and Sasakawa Japan-China Friendship Fund Program Director Yu Zhan, left, listen as Chairman Yohei Sasakawa delivers his opening remarks.

Following presentations by the Tokyo Foundation on the history and recent developments in the Sylff program, as well as on the various support programs available for current and graduated fellows, the universities introduced the current status of their respective Sylff programs and the illustrious careers many graduated fellows are now pursuing. Private meetings with individual universities were also held to discuss in greater detail the various challenges posed by the pandemic and other external developments on program operations and fund management.

 

Chairman Sasakawa accepts a gift from Peking University Education Foundation Deputy Secretary-General Geng Shu.

On July 3, meeting participants visited Waseda University—a Sylff institution in Tokyo—to learn from Sylff Steering Committee Chair Shinji Wakao about Waseda’s unique approach to industry-academia collaboration and its highly selective Sylff program, which selects one outstanding graduate student each year to receive a fellowship over a two-year period.

“This was a truly wonderful event,” noted Fudan University’s Executive Vice-President and Sylff Steering Committee Chair Xu Zheng. “It was a valuable opportunity to look back on the past three decades of the program in China and to look ahead to the next thirty years. The seeds sown by the Sylff program not only at the five institutions attending today but at the five other Sylff institutions in China are now flowering and bearing fruit.”

“The administrators’ meeting for five Chinese Sylff universities in Tokyo was a great success,” added Peking University Education Foundation Deputy Secretary-General Geng Shu. “As a rare opportunity for the universities to gather together, this meeting made it possible for us to learn from successful experiences in program operations, which play an important guiding role in the subsequent development of our university’s program. In the future, we also hope to continue to work with The Nippon Foundation and the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research to cultivate more outstanding young talents and contribute to friendly exchange and cooperation between China and Japan.”



List of Participants

Fudan University
Xu Zheng, Executive Vice President (Sylff Chairperson)
Zhu Yifei, Program Manager, Office of Global Partnership
Shabahaiti Mansuer, Deputy Section Chief of the Financial Aid Office, Department of Graduate Student Affairs
Yun Xiaojing, Deputy Director, Department of Liaison and Development

Jilin University
Zhao Yue, Vice Dean of the Graduate School; Researcher
Sui Yining, Vice Dean of the Academy of Social Sciences; Associate Researcher

Lanzhou University
Cao Hong, Vice President (Sylff Chairperson)
Li Chenyang, Program Manager, Graduate School
Yang Yi, Program Manager, Office of International Cooperation and Exchange

Nanjing University
Lu Yanqing, Vice-President (Sylff Chairperson)
Li Ning, Director of Scholarship Administration Office
Liu Dongbo, Assistant Professor

Peking University
Geng Shu, Deputy Secretary-General, Peking University Education Foundation (Sylff Chairperson)
Li Ying, Finance Specialist, Peking University Education Foundation
Li Huishu, Project Director, Peking University Education Foundation

Nippon Foundation
Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman
Takeju Ogata, President

Sasakawa Peace Foundation
Yu Zhan, Program Director, Sasakawa Japan-China Friendship Fund

Waseda University
Shinji Wakao, Vice President for Research and Industry-Academia Collaboration; Professor, Faculty of Science and Engineering
Masahiko Gemma, Vice President for International Affairs and International Fundraising; Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences
Hiroyuki Matsumoto, Administrative Director, Research Promotion Division
Yang Zhen, Administrative Director for International Projects, International Affairs Division

Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research
Izumi Kadono, President
Hidewo Furukawa, Executive Director (General Affairs)
Mieko Nakabayashi, Executive Director (Policy Research)
Mari Suzuki, Executive Director (Leadership Development)
Keita Sugai, Director for Leadership Development
Yumi Arai, Program Officer, Leadership Development
Konatsu Furuya, Program Officer, Leadership Development
Maki Shimada, Program Officer, Leadership Development
Nozomu Kawamoto, Senior Editor, Leadership Development
Riaki Tanaka, Program Officer, Leadership Development
Chie Yamamoto, Program Officer, Leadership Development

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Facing the World Alone: New Perspectives on Iran’s Nuclear Negotiations through the Lens of Ehsan Abdipour’s All Alone

July 11, 2024
By 28868

The box office success of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer suggests a strong public interest in the narrativization of scientific and political history. For Elham Hosseini (University of the Western Cape, 2019–20), it reconfirmed the effectiveness of cinematic techniques used in an Iranian film detailing the adverse impact of the Iran nuclear sanctions on the lives of ordinary citizens. This article is adapted from a longer paper written with Miki Flockemann, an extraordinary professor at UWC and Hosseini’s academic supervisor.

*     *     *

All Alone: The Messenger of Peace is a 2013 Iranian film by Ehsan Abdipour about a boy living near the Bushehr nuclear power plant whose friendship with the son of a Russian engineer is forced to end as the result of the nuclear sanctions against Iran. The film tangibly illustrates the impact of international sanctions on the lives of individuals through the lens of children and highlights perspectives often not directly addressed in the adult world, as the liminal position of preadolescents provides new space for exploring the unacknowledged effects of the sanctions.

On a personal level, the 2023 release of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer triggered in me—an Iranian who closely followed the nuclear talks between 2013 and 2015—immediate recollections of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known more commonly as the Iran Nuclear Deal. In particular, the questions J. Robert Oppenheimer grappled with as a youth about the nature of the universe struck me as paralleling the dilemma faced by the young protagonist in All Alone. In the following, I will examine some of arguments advanced by Iran at the time All Alone was made in the light of new questions raised by Oppenheimer.

Illusion of Control

The connections between Oppenheimer and Iran’s negotiating team need to be clarified at the outset. Obviously, Oppenheimer’s mission to develop the most potent means of mass destruction the world had ever known is distinctively different from the attempts by Iranian negotiators, who included scientists and political representatives, to define the limits of the country’s nuclear program. Yet, one thing they had in common was the illusion of control—either over the results of their research or the outcome of the negotiations—a slippery slope when political interests are involved.

After the atomic bombing of Japan, Oppenheimer experienced a crisis of conscience and tried to warn American politicians against further nuclear development. He was met with hostility from rivals like Lewis Stauss, who supported nuclear development, as described in the Pulitzer prize-winning biography, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer: “Oppenheimer gave us atomic fire. But then, when he tried to control it, when he sought to make us aware of its terrible dangers, the powers that-be, like Zeus, rose up in anger to punish him” (Bird and Sherwin 2005, 15).

Iran’s second negotiating team, headed by a former foreign minister, meanwhile, made a successful attempt to break the international consensus against Iran by pledging a transparent nuclear program in return for revoking the threat of UN resolutions and the lifting of sanctions. However, the negotiators faced two serious obstacles: one was the presidency of Donald Trump, who ignored almost every international agreement between the US and the world—JCPOA being one of them—and the second was the position of hardliners in Iran, who scorned the team’s apparent naivety in believing what they saw as US false promises and urged the withdrawal from the deal as an act of retaliation—which did not, however, happen.

In this regard, the rise and fall of Oppenheimer, an expert in a specialized field of theoretical physics to whom the US government turned during a time of crisis, can be said to resemble the fate of the Iranian representatives tasked with breaking the impasse in the nuclear negotiations, in that both Oppenheimer and the Iranian team were subjected to false accusations despite having achieved what they were instructed to do.

The Figure of the Child in Iranian Cinema

Child-centered cinema has been a defining characteristic of neorealist filmmaking from the outset. As Deborah Martin (2019, 15) notes, these features typically include “a focus on the poor and working classes, a concern with social inequality, the use of natural actors and on-location shooting.” This aligns with All Alone, as Ranjero, the protagonist, and his young friends have to work to supplement the family income (although he is depicted doing so in a cheerful, entrepreneurial spirit, rather than as a victim of poverty). Shooting the film on location in Bushehr put this remote area of Iran and the struggles faced by the marginalized communities there in the spotlight. And while the youth playing Ranjero was not a “natural” actor, many of the other children in the film were nonprofessional, contributing to a sense of authenticity.

Two Iranian boys walk along a beach near the Bushehr nuclear power plant in a coastal village on the northern coast of the Persian Gulf. Bushehr is Iran’s first and only active nuclear power plant and was fully operational and connected to the national electricity grid in 2011 after a long history of construction delays and political challenges. ©Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images

 

Martin notes, “where filmmakers wish to denounce injustice or wrong, the child’s gaze is particularly useful, since cinema ‘tends to project into the child a certain ideal of visual neutrality’” (Sophie Dufays, quoted in Martin 2019, 15). What is interesting in the case of All Alone is that the film interjects three scenes from an adult perspective at strategic points in the cinematic narrative to unsettle the “visual neutrality.”

Drawing on Hamid Reza Sadr’s (2002) comments about how depictions of children in the post-revolution cinema of Iran contribute to exposing lived social realities, Anne Patrick Major (2012, 25) notes, “children in Iranian post-revolutionary cinema function empathetically, and by relating to individuals in a way that bypasses national and social belongings, children become a device to produce intercultural meanings.” While this comment refers to the way the spectators empathize with the characters and are thus affectively drawn into the narrative, the “intercultural meaning” generated is also manifested by the way Ranjero and the Russian boy, Oleg, interact with one another despite language barriers.

Major adds, “Sadr goes on to explain that children’s ‘personal troubles tend not to remain personal,’ which implies their existence in the world anterior to a given film is more realistic,” and this is borne out by Ranjero’s incarceration on an Italian ship. The perspectives outlined here thus clarify how “children allow for humanistic empathy despite the presence of national or cultural signifiers that could produce political and ideological readings if inscribed upon an adult,” which can then explain why the effects of nuclear sanctions in Iran are more compellingly presented via a child-centered narrative.

Emmanuel Levinas’ ideas on ethics presented in Totality and Infinity questions the traditional Greek/European notions based on the “ego as the self-conscious knowing subject” (Levinas, quoted in Nojoumian and Nojoumian 2020, 200). Instead, Levinas proposes an ethical system that puts in question the subject’s own ego and as a result is essentially characterized by the other: “one is in a face-to-face relationship with the other, with infinite responsibility” (quoted in Nojoumian and Nojoumian).

Accordingly, the traditional notions of “self,” which ultimately nurture an egotistical subject, are replaced by a concept in which the self is not only defined by and dependent of but also responsible for the other in their very recognition or being. Attempting to further clarify this responsibility, Amir Ali and Amir Hadi Nojoumian explain that children do not feel responsible toward the other out of reciprocity but essentially as the “self’s obligation” (2020, 200), which sees the other as part of the self, thus enabling a relationship between two boys who do not speak each other’s language.

Making the Unseen Visible

What follows is a close analysis of the film All Alone, which helps clarify how children’s portrayal in fiction and film narratives can move beyond stereotypical assumptions and raise questions about the issues that adults find so difficult to approach. There are certain factors that help All Alone express the genuine feelings of children while also engaging effectively with the world of adults, that is, the nuclear negotiations and sanctions. The first is Ranjero’s age: he is an adolescent, about to step into adulthood but still very much in touch with childlike emotions, which puts him in an “in between” position throughout the film.

The second is the character of Olga, one of the engineers working at the Bushehr plant, who becomes the translator between the Oleg and Ranjero and a facilitator of their relationship. In her role as an interpreter of the events of Ranjero’s life to the captain of the ship in Italy where Ranjero was kept in custody as a stowaway, we too are being informed. Yet, as noted by Sadr, because of the affective identification with the child protagonist in a child-centered film, the viewer responds empathetically (like Olga) to the “intercultural meanings” (quoted in Major 2012, 25) of the worldview of Ranjero and Oleg.

Ranjero’s questions about the nuclear talks can be used to address a range of concepts from a child’s perspective. For instance, in “Visible Man or the Culture of Film” (2010), Béla Balzás makes a connection between a child’s point of view and “the secret corners of a room” (quoted in Han and Singer 2021, 4) that are exposed so that the often unseen becomes visible and open to question through the eyes of a child.

In her 1995 novel Ten Is the Age of Darkness, Geta Leseur uses a poignant metaphor to describe the child’s viewpoint as a “forgotten camera in the corner” (quoted in Flockemann 2005, 117), whose presence may not be felt but fulfills its function to observe and record and, in the process, offers an unconscious critique of the adult world (Flockemann 2005, 117). In a much broader sense, Negar Mottahedeh (2005, 342) draws on Sadr to offer a reading of the child figure in Iranian cinematography as an allegory of the restrictions faced by the film industry: “The child can embody spatial positions and emotional states that other filmic characters cannot. The figure of the child, then, allegorically foregrounds the constraints of the film industry under state-guided dictates.”

Challenging the Viewer

Ranjero’s role in the film is to serve as a liminal agent, moving between the children’s and adult worlds to raise new ethical questions regarding Iran’s nuclear program and the controversies surrounding it. His dreams, at the beginning and end of the film, parallel the troubled worldview of the youthful Oppenheimer, which is intriguing in that the physicist’s research can be seen as one source of Ranjero’s anguish. Like the young Oppenheimer, Ranjero is distraught, being stuck on a ship and homesick and crying aloud in his sleep for Heleylah, his hometown. An emotionally immature Ranjero is troubled by visions of a “hidden universe” that he thought he could understand.

What is troubling both Ranjero and Oppenheimer is an apprehension of what is to become of the adult world that, for Ranjero, constitutes “nightmares.” At the end of All Alone we are left with an unanswered question, namely, will Ranjero find a way to overcome the nightmares he has about the future and realize the sweet dreams he hopes for? The open-ended conclusion is deliberately unsettling because Ranjero’s question, posed as a child, offers a challenge to the grown-up viewer.

 

References

All Alone: The Messenger of Peace. Directed by Ehan Abdipour, Edris Abdipour (Studio), 2013.

Bird, Kai, and Martin J. Sherwin. American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robbert Oppenheimer. Vintage Books, 2005.

Bushati, Angela. “Children and Cinema: Moving Images of Childhood.” European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, Vol. 3, No. 3, 2018, pp. 34–39.

Flockemann, Miki. “Mirrors and Windows: Re-Reading South African Girlhoods as Strategies of Selfhood.” Counterpoints, Vol. 245, 2005, pp. 117–32. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/42978695.

Han, Yunzi, and Christine Singer. “Transformational Identities of Children within Iranian and South African Fiction Films: Ayneh (The Mirror) and Life Above All.” Open Screens, Vol. 4(1), No. 5, 2021 pp. 1–9. https://doi.org/10.16995/os.40.

Major, Anne Patrick. “Bahman Ghobadi’s Hyphenated Cinema: An Analysis of Hybrid Authorial Strategies and Cinematic Aesthetics.” Master’s thesis, University of Texas at Austin, 2012. https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/items/f1475305-fd95-4a29-adc2-3c2c02812b3c.

Martin, Deborah. The Child in Contemporary Latin American Cinema. Palgrave Macmillan, 2019. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/978-1-137-52822-3.

Mottahedeh, Negar. Review of Richard Tapper, ed., The New Iranian Cinema: Politics, Representation, and Identity. Iranian Studies, Vol. 38, No. 2, 2005, pp. 341–44. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4311731. 

Nojoumian, Amir Ali, and Amir Hadi Nojoumian. “Towards a Poetics of Childhood in Abbas Kiarostami’s Cinema.” In Bernard Wilson and Sharmani Patricia Gabriel, eds., Asian Children’s Literature and Film in a Global Age: Local, National, and Transnational Trajectories. Palgrave Macmillan, 2020, pp. 195-211, https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-15-2631-2_10.

Sadr, Hamid Reza. “Children in Contemporary Iranian Cinema: When We Were Children.” In R. Tapper, ed., The New Iranian Cinema: Politics, Representation and Identity. I.B. Taurus Publishing, 2002.

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Visits to the Geneva Graduate Institute and Uppsala University by Chairman Sasakawa

June 13, 2024

On May 28, Sylff Association Chairman Yohei Sasakawa visited the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, where he met with Sylff fellows and members of the Sylff steering committee.

Mr. Sasakawa is the WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination and was in Geneva to attend the seventy-seventh World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization, held from May 27 to June 1. The Sylff program at the Graduate Institute, located near the WHO Headquarters and UN Office in Geneva, generously supports two postgraduate students each year, many of whom pursue careers at the United Nations and other international organizations.

Chairman Sasakawa with Graduate Institute fellows Kanikka Sersia, left, and Paula Gonzalez.

The meeting at the Geneva Graduate Institute was attended by Director of Cabinet Laurence Algarra; Director of Studies and SSC member Andrea Bianchi; Executive Director and SSC member Bruno Chatagnat; Executive Director of Studies, Senior Academic Adviser, and SSC member Laurent Neury; and Financial Aid Officer and SSC member Kasia Wasiukiewicz.

From Geneva, he flew to Sweden, calling on Uppsala University on May 30 to meet with Sylff officials and fellows. The Sylff program at Uppsala has a very strong track record over many years and has produced many outstanding fellows. Mr. Sasakawa was graciously greeted by Vice-Rector Tora Holmberg and met with Dean of the Faculty of Social Science and SSC Chair Joakim Palme; Professor of Business Studies and SSC member Linda Wedlin; Professor Emeritus in Peace and Conflict Studies Peter Wallensteen; along with Sylff fellows Caroline Brandt (peace and conflict research) and Naira Topooco (psychology).

Seated facing Mr. Sasakawa are (from left) fellow Naira Topooco, Professor of Business Studies Linda Wedlin, Professor of Political Science Joakim Palme, Vice-Rector Tora Holmberg, Professor Emeritus Peter Wallensteen, and fellow Caroline Brandt.

He also visited the head office of the Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa Foundation, as well as Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, meeting with Chair of the SIPRI Governing Board Stefan Löfven and Director Dan Smith.

He then returned to Geneva to attend the award ceremony for the 40th WHO-Sasakawa Health Prize, held during the May 31 plenary of the World Health Assembly.

Professor Doreen Ramogola-Masire of the University of Botswana, the 2024 recipient of the WHO-Sasakawa Health Prize, is flanked by Chairman Sasakawa and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

 

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An Initiative to Broaden Educational Horizons for Rural Youth in India

June 11, 2024

The Sylff Association secretariat is pleased to announce another recipient of a Sylff Leadership Initiatives (SLI) award.

The awardee is Khinvraj Jangid, who received a Sylff fellowship at Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is now an adjunct professor at the Azrieli Center for Israel Studies (MALI), Ben-Gurion University, in Israel, and an associate professor and director of the Center for Israel Studies at OP Jindal Global University in India.

His SLI project was motivated by a desire to enable high school students in rural areas of India to overcome the barriers to a university education—many of which Jangid experienced himself. He recognized that the information and opportunities necessary to enter and succeed in university environments were severely limited for students living outside of large cities.

“The national universities and colleges are very urban spaces wherein youth born and raised in educated families have comfort and confidence,” he writes. But it can be “intimidating . . . [for] rural youth, born and raised in least educated families,” to find themselves in an “elite-educated ecosystem.”

“I went through such an experience after coming to Delhi from a village in Jodhpur in 2004, and I still find hundreds from the same rural area dealing with the difficulties of not knowing what it takes for good and successful higher education.” After a decade and half of living and working in Delhi and Israel, he wished to share his knowledge with the rural youth of his native village.

Jangid speaking to participants at the workshop in May.

With the SLI award, Jangid held a five-day workshop in Jodhpur, India, giving local high school students an opportunity to learn about the various programs offered at the university level, gain tips on improving English skills, and connect with mentors who work in academia. The workshop was also aimed at enhancing understanding of higher education among the students’ parents and to foster an environment more supportive of those wishing to pursue higher learning.

The Sylff Association secretariat lauds Khinvraj Jangid’s determined efforts to help broaden the horizons of youths in his hometown—in spite of the difficulties posed by the security situation in Israel, where he currently resides. We congratulate him for successfully organizing the workshop to share his experiences and look forward to supporting many more impactful projects through SLI.