Students from Effat University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, will join CHC students for a three-part videoconference moderated by representatives from  United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) and Wayne Jacoby, co-founder of Global Education Motivators (GEM), an educational non-governmental organization located at CHC.

In this “In Your World” videoconference series, the students will learn — from speakers from various departments and agencies within the United Nations — about the new UN Sustainable Development Goals implemented on January 1. These goals were developed and approved through input from all the UN member states.

Initial contact was made between the two institutions of higher education in early December when the premier videoconference offered the students a forum in which to present their research on topics ranging from civic engagement to fashion. Although the students sat in rooms nearly 7,000 miles apart, they shared knowledge and insight as though they were right around the corner — and they discovered that their commonalities outweigh their differences. Read more here.

“This program will help us recognize the need for more cross-cultural learning experiences, as it will lead to students working and learning together,” says Jacoby.

“It is our hope that these presentations will bring the two institutions closer together in a variety of ways. It brings us together in our common humanity and will bring about change in the world. Although thousands of miles apart, talking and interacting with others opens doors and shrinks the world. We can create a better tomorrow,” he adds.

The videoconferences are open to anyone interested in learning more about the UN’s initiatives to eradicate all poverty, worldwide, in the next 15 years.

The upcoming videoconferences will each be held from 9:30 to 11 a.m. and are scheduled for Thursdays, February 18, March 10 and April 14.

— Brenda Lange