Civic Happenings
from the UMass Civic Initiative                                              

September 2019
Director's Greeting

Sometimes, it is hard to tell exactly when something begins and when it ends. 

For me, the Civic Summer of 2019 started on May 24th with the arrival of our 24 Argentinean Fulbright participants. Argentina was also involved at the end as Becky and I, in cooperation with the Argentine Fulbright Commission and the U.S. Embassy in Argentina, hosted an alumni reception in Buenos Aires that attracted over 150 of our past participants. We also  managed a week-long seminar for over 40 Argentinean students, 24 of whom will come back to Amherst in 2020.  The end was also a beginning!

Before it was all over, we:
  • hosted 109 participants from 25 different countries
  • employed 17 mentors and 6 academic directors
  • organized 181 classes and events
  • worked with 72 speakers
  • managed 15 large dinners and barbecues including a July 4th celebration for over 150 people
  • visited 12 U.S. cities
  • rented 12 vans
  • arranged for 25 host family overnight visits
  • logged over 3800 miles in a bus
The numbers give a sense of scale but don't even begin to capture the impact on the lives of both visitors and hosts. The topics and classes were all explored in depth and integrated  with   community service and experiential learning. Even more important was the learning done out of the classrooms where new relationships were formed and stereotypes banished. This quote from one of our participants captures the summer experience from every angle:

"Being in Amherst, living this life, meeting these people, interacting with American society, literally each single moment was shaping my own experience, I didn't feel that I was a foreigner even for one second. From the first day everyone was smiling, all the people were welcoming, helping & supporting. If I'm going to live in any other community outside mine, for sure it's going to be Amherst."

I want to conclude by thanking everyone who helped make the 2019 summer a success! Extending a kind welcome to international visitors may seem like a small thing but in today's political climate such seemingly small gestures make a big difference. All of you participated in showing a welcoming and supportive face and we can't thank you enough for all of your efforts.


Mike Hannahan
Director, UMass Civic Initiative
Looking back at an Amherst Summer

The Economic & Entrepreneurship group and friends
at the Amherst Farmers' Market in July

It's only been few weeks since the last participants went back to their home countries, but we are already nostalgic for the times we had! 

It all started off with the Argentina Fulbright group in May. Putting their sessions on political theory, constitutional law and civil rights to the test, teams were formed by based on the personalities of current U.S. presidential candidates. This culminated in campaign presentations judged by Mike Hannahan. They had fun, too!  An "asado" (BBQ) at the Fenton house in Pelham on beautiful summer night brought together Civic friends from across Massachusetts.

We hosted a new program this year, the SUSI Entrepreneurship & Economic Development program with 20 participants from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia.

Our SUSI Pakistan program was 30 students strong and we kept them busy both on and off-campus

The CSO group at the "Lady Bea" boat cruise on the Connecticut River

Another new program is "Strengthening Civil Society in Pakistan". We actually started this program back in January in Islamabad. This summer, 18 representatives from Pakistani civil society organizations came to Amherst for seminars on capacity building for their organizations. Topics included communications, grant writing, project management, social change and development and more.

The APD group convened for the 14th year and stayed busy with seminars on politics, government and the American experiment in democracy. Our participants represented  Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Burma, Cameroon, Chile, Ethiopia, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Lithuania, Mongolia, Serbia, Sudan, and Uganda. Learn more here
Buenos Aires: Checking in with alumni and meeting new people

A huge gathering of old friends paired up with a five-day seminar attended by prospective 2020 Fulbright participants

Mike and Fulbright alumni 
from the first years of the program
Within a few days of end of the summer programs, Mike and Becky headed to Argentina. Their visit was two-fold: to connect with Fulbright alumni and to meet potential Fulbright 2020 participants. 

Alumni gathered at  the Bosch Palace, the residence  of U.S. Ambassador  Edward C. Prado, to gather as friends and to formally network based on their interests, program year and field of work. Ambassador Prado also addressed the 150+ alumni and Fulbright staff. 

The five-day seminar was attended by 45 young Argentinian professionals and college students selected by the Argentina Fulbright Commission. Mike Hannahan co-taught the five-day seminar with Michael Flamm from Ohio Wesleyan University. Mike covered U.S. political science topics while Dr. Flamm discussed U.S. history.  Of the 45 attendees, 24 will be chosen to come to Amherst next summer for the 11th year of this program.
Alumni and Staff Showcases

We LOVE reaching out to our alumni and former staff to see what they're doing and how they look back on their time in the U.S.!

When we reached out to Hina and Mohammad, they gave us such great (and long) answers, we had to put them on the UMass Donahue website. Get the link below.

Hina Bashir
Hina Bashir
SUSI Pakistan Student Leaders 2019

Mohammad Elghoul
Mohammad Elghoul
Mentor & Team Leader, Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program (IYLEP), 2011 & 2012
Academic Director, IYLEP, 2013-2015


Do You Remember? 

Becky talking bike safety and getting nearly everyone's attention 
(Argentina Fulbright 2015)
APD 2011 at the lake
Argentina 2014 at Kappa Kappa Gamma with Myrt Wright
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