CCI Alumni Webcast: International Education Week

Date:

Thursday, November 16, 2023 at 10:00am Eastern Time (Washington, DC)
What time is this for you? Click here to find out.

Description:

We’re celebrating International Education Week with CCI alumni and Assistant Director, Sara Mohamed. Join us online as we discuss the role of international education in fostering global citizenship and professional development. There will be time for discussion, so be ready to share your experience as an international exchange student!

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About Your Presenters:

Eliyan Umamy is a co-founder of Nusa Tenggara for Nusantara (NTN) Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Lombok dedicated to community development, with a primary focus on educating children and young people. NTN dreams of building strong communities by focusing on practical knowledge for life skills and involving communities in the learning process. Eliyan is a proud alumna of the CCI Program (Cultural Exchange Program) from the 2012-2013 cohort.

Eliyan brings a diverse professional background, having worked in communication roles and education, including broadcasting and journalism. Her continuous dedication as a volunteer reflects a deep commitment to social, educational, and environmental causes.

Eliyan’s passion for education led her to develop the “Eco School Nusantara” program. This initiative garnered significant recognition by winning a gold category award at the Indonesian Sustainable Development Goals Awards (ISDA) 2022, making a substantial contribution to SDG 4 (Quality Education).

Gomolemo Mohapi is a young South African who is determined to make a long-lasting impact on the world through technology. During his exchange year with the CCI Program, Gomolemo studied Information Technology at Northern Virginia Community College between 2017-18.

In university, he took it upon himself to create multiple written programming tutorials for his peers which significantly assisted those who were struggling to grasp programming concepts. Thereafter, Gomolemo joined the Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador program where he gained advanced technical skills and eventually expanded to host workshops, hackathons and speaking at various conferences.

Gomolemo eventually fell in love with the Power Platform, because it was a low-code platform which gave way for him to empower and upskill not just those with a technical background, but anyone from any industry who was looking to learn how to build applications.

He has since co-authored a Power Platform Udacity course and is now a Cloud Advocate at Microsoft focused on Power Apps and Fusion Development.

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CCI Alumni Webcast: How Are Indian Alumni Making an Impact?

Date:

Tuesday, October 24, 2023 at 10:00am Eastern Time (Washington, DC)
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Description:

Join us for a thought-provoking webinar about empowering change and addressing community challenges. This engaging session will shed light on the incredible efforts of Indian alumni who have embraced their roles as changemakers within their communities. Mayuri and Puja will share their inspiring stories, focusing on the diverse range of challenges they have tackled and the innovative solutions they have implemented.

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About Your Presenters:

Puja is currently coordinating the Youth Advisory Board projects at Pravah. She started her own initiative of change to ensure career guidance opportunity in her community in 2019. She is passionate about working with adolescents and young people in education. She has worked with grassroot communities on youth-leadership programs for bridging learning loss of adolescents and been part of designing and facilitating the Youth Advisory Group of the 1 Million Youth Coalition. She has also contributed to the guidebook on “Setting up a Youth Advisory Group” which was published in 2022 by Dasra. Working with a diverse set of audiences has helped her to build understanding about the sector and the importance of capacity building and advocating for social change. Puja has a postgraduate degree in Communications and Public Relations. She is fluent in English, Bengali and Hindi.

Mayuri is currently working as a senior operations associate for ConnectFor, an online platform that aims to connect NGOs with volunteers and create structure within the Indian development sector. She received her bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Mumbai in 2021. She has extensive experience working with NGOs and managing stakeholder relationships.

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CCI Alumni Webcast: Where Are They Now?

Date:

Tuesday, October 03, 2023 at 10:00am Eastern Time (Washington, DC)
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Description:

Join CCI Alumni Martin Jonah (Ghana, College of DuPage, Engineering, 2021-22) and Pew Chowdhury (Bangladesh, Northern Virginia Community College, Tourism and Hospitality, 2016-17) as they discuss their CCI journey and the initiatives they’re implementing within their communities. Come ready to ask questions and talk about your current endeavors!

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About Your Presenters:

Since January 2023, Pew Chowdhury (Bangladesh, Northern Virginia Community College – Annandale, Tourism and Hospitality, 2016-17) has been serving as a Lead Community Mobiliser at Terre des hommes foundation. During her exchange year, she specialized in meeting, event, and executive management for two enriching semesters and accomplished 225 community service and internship hours. With a background in the development sector spanning 6 years, including 4 years dedicated to emergency humanitarian response, she’s had the privilege of contributing to numerous non-governmental projects both at home and abroad, with a primary focus on the protection sector. Her passion and expertise lie in the fields of protection and research, where she’s honed her skills in project management, team leadership, communication, and program development. Equipped with a BBA in Management from the University of Chittagong, Pew brings a unique perspective to development initiatives and excels in engaging with diverse stakeholders. Excitingly, her journey is set to take a new turn as she prepares to join GiveDirectly, a prominent international non-profit organization, as a Safeguarding Field Manager. In this role, Pew will proudly serve as the country focal person for safeguarding in Bangladesh.

Martin Jonah (Ghana, College of DuPage, Engineering, 2021-22) is currently the In-country Research Youth Advisor on the Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Right Project in Ghana, Rwanda, Cameroon, Malawi, India, and Nepal. He recently represented Ghana in the Women Deliver Conference in July 2023. He is also the Youth Activist for Girls Not Bride – Ghana, advocating for rights of children especially adolescents who are forced into marriage because of their family’s beliefs and discrimination against young girls. He has worked in partnership with NASPA to raise funds to support female students in rural communities with menstrual products, hygiene facilities, waste management and Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (ASRHR) education to reduce period poverty. Martin has been a Project Officer for Care Love Charity Foundation in Ghana from 2015 to date and has supervised day-to-day operations for 150+ volunteers in 60+ local communities, assigning tasks to team members and setting milestones to monitor progress. He has led 100+ youth trainings in stakeholder engagement, project management, conflict resolution, rights of a child, mindfulness, and program logistics for groups of 7-110 people. He is currently a final year student at Takoradi Technical University, pursuing Electrical/Electronic Engineering. He is also currently working on a goat milk and cheese production project to help make milk affordable and reliable for all, especially for the rural communities in Ghana.

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CCI Alumni Webcast: Cultural Exchange

Date:

Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at 10:00am Eastern Time (Washington, DC)
What time is this for you? Click here to find out.

Description:

Join us live online for a CCI alumni discussion about cultural diversity and global citizenship via the CCI Program. The webcast will feature alumni experiences from Mahan Telegbe and Nada Amin, who will discuss their cultural exchange journey. They will also talk about what they’re doing to make a difference in their communities. There will be time for Q&A and discussion so be prepared to talk about YOUR experience because we’d love to hear from you too!

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Contributing to the Climate Movement

Date:

Monday, June 13, 2022 at 10:00am Eastern Time (Washington, DC)
What time is this for you? Click here to find out.

Description:

One of the key goals of the international climate movement is for our planet to not surpass a global temperature rise greater than 1.5 degrees celsius. For that to happen, action is required at all levels – global, national, local, community, and individual. But how can individuals get started? How can individuals continue and scale their action efforts? At this webinar, you will gain a deeper understanding of the youth climate movement, opportunities for getting involved in the movement, how to identify problems and solutions, and the process for creating, implementing, and scaling action plans. We will also discuss challenges young people face in trying to act on climate and some solutions to address those challenges.

About Your Presenter:

Pooja Tilvawala was born in India but raised near Philadelphia. In 2018, she graduated from American University with degrees in Economics and International Studies, specializing in justice, ethics, and human rights, and South Asia. After graduating, Pooja worked as a Project Associate for the Meridian Institute, committed to collaborative problem-solving on environmental issues.

In January 2022, she began her role as Youth Engagement Manager of The Climate Initiative. She also works part-time as the Executive Director of Youth Climate Collaborative, which she founded in November 2020. Her latest project is a podcast, Dare to Envision.

She is active in networks and programs including YOUNGO (the official UNFCCC youth constituency), Coalition WILD, and Aspen Institute’s Future Leaders Climate Summit. Her purpose in life is to nurture her curiosity and creativity, encourage herself and others to challenge the status quo, and unite people to improve the quality of life for all.