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Malawi, a small and beautiful country to the north of South Africa has been linked
with India and the University of Indiana since 2008. This partnership forged with
the idea of sharing experiences and learning from each other has been growing from
strength to strength. To further this collaboration a seminar on the theme Civic
Education as a catalyst for Social Transformation and Democratic Development
was organized at Malawi from May 28th to June 2nd 2010.The
event organized at Lilongwe and the Domasi College of Education, Zomba, brought
together experts in the field of Civic Education from different parts of the world.
Delegates from USA, Senegal, South Africa, Malawi and India met to share learnings'
on issues related to Civic Education in various parts of the world.
The idea of the universities role, the community's role and the relationship
between the planned curriculum and the transacted curriculum were discussed at length.
The understanding that civic education had no boundaries and that it transcended
subject areas to be included in all subjects was brought out with a number of examples
and relevant national documents that had stated this explicitly. Students who had
participated in the project Citizen programme came out with the impact of the experience
that "anger against the wrong that was happening around them made them passionate
and committed to become active citizens of their country". It only reflected
what students all over the world felt and revealed the need to get our youth involved
in the processes that were necessary for social change. The Seminar was largely
interactive and well planned to accommodate questions and discussions.
The opportunity to share ideas and thoughts with each other was well appreciated.
At the Domasi College of Education we also got to meet the faculty and understand
the teacher training agenda for Malawi. By incorporating Civic Education into the
Teacher Education Curriculum it has been possible to reach out to a large audience.
The Indian delegation was represented by Meera Balachandran Director Education Quality
Foundation of India, Coordinator Project Citizen India, and Shatarupa Dasgupta Manager
Community Programmes Learning Links Foundation. They presented their views and experiences
of implementing community based project in India that fosters Civic skills through
the participation of the community and the medium of technology. The participants
expressed their appreciation of the fact that through the programme there had been
such an impact on the community and local environment. They were of the opinion
that such programmes would be possible in Malawi. The technology medium used to
achieve the said outcomes was an eye opener to most of them. It was well received
as they were able to relate to the situations.
The role of Indiana University in organizing this seminar, particularly the effort
put in by Dr. Terence Mason and Arlene Benitez is to be really appreciated, for
besides organizing the seminar they consciously took care to ensure that every delegate
was well looked after. It would be worth mentioning that the Project Coordinator
for Malawi, Mr Mishak Munthali must also be acknowledged for the concern and care
taken in making the seminar worth while. It is hoped that this partnership will
really grow into a wonderful worthwhile learning experience for all of us.
"Few will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change a
small portion of the events, and in the total of all these acts will be written
the history of this generation...It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and
belief that human history is thus shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal,
or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends
forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers
of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest
walls of oppression and resistance."
Day of Affirmation Address, University of Capetown, South Africa, June 6, 1966. Kennedy
Meera Balachandran
Country Coordinator Project Citizen India
Director Education Quality Foundation of India
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