International Service-learning program in senegal

Yoff, Senegal (December 28, 2012 - January 18, 2013)

This winter session course in “International Service Learning in Senegal: Exploring Women's Role in Sustainable Community Development.” is offered collaboratively by CCNY and the Sustainable Neighbors Network’s (SNN), Sustainability Studies Program (in partnership with the Global Ecovillage Network. It will engage students in understanding an ancient cultural heritage of ecologically protective beliefs and practices, in which women leaders have played key roles in resolving community conflict, and in protecting mental, social and ecological health of the Lebou people, since the founding of the 600 year old fishing village of Yoff, now part of the city of Dakar, and in service learning to protecting the ways in which this wisdom tradition continues to support sustainable community development.

The three-week program takes place in Yoff, where students live in homestay families and study with English speaking Senegalese student partners. With academic theory courses and facilitation provided by CCNY, SNN faculty, Universite de Cheikh Anta Diop faculty, staff and the guardians of the Ndöep tradition, the students will form cross-cultural service learning project teams in small groups with villagers and mentors, according to their personal interests. During the second week, each team will carry out a small project, such as an interview with an elder village leader, a visit to the national archives to document earlier Ndöep practices, or work with local artists to create new representations, high on the beach, or on Yoff’s small sacred island, of four rock formations, important to Ndöep folklore, that have disappeared below sea level. The 3rd week will be devoted to reporting and sharing PowerPoint of findings and activities for discussion with local program participants, including our course sponsors from Senegal’s Ministry of Culture. Instruction is in English, with French and Wolof translations provided by Senegalese students and faculty during service learning.  

SNN, Sustainability Education, and the Ecovillage Movement

The Sustainable Neighbor’s Network (SNN) is a non-profit organization with two bureaus, SNN, US and SNN, Senegal. The founders of both new bureaus began work together in the EcoYoff sustainable community development program, born in Yoff, during the Third International Ecocities Conference in 1996. SNN builds on successes and lessons learned by this earlier program over the past 16 years, in creating and running 28 US and Canadian cross-cultural study-abroad programs, more than 30 technical assistance and training projects and approximately 400 internship, research and volunteer initiatives. The EcoYoff program operated only in Senegal, and used two other names, CRESP  and EREV1 for donation purposes. SNN now provides the former team with its own dedicated fundraising office in the US supporting its Senegal program office.

SNN’s academic EcoYoff Living & Learning Center, is a long-standing member of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN). GEN is an umbrella organization working to create and preserve sustainable lifestyles across the planet. Ecovillages are urban neighborhoods and rural villages striving to integrate the best of modern and traditional culture and technology into a supportive and dynamic social environment with a low-impact way of life. They are human-scale settlements, designed for long-term endurance. SNN’s academic courses are accredited by the education wing of GEN, Gaia Education, a UNESCO partner in sustainability education, and have been accredited by Kalamazoo College, UMass Amherst, UCLA, Carthage College and Laval University. This course builds on traditional African world views and practices that integrated humans sustainably, spiritually and practically, into their ecosystems for many thousands of years.

Student will register for INTL 31xxx International Service-Learning Seminar during the Winter intercession (4 credits).

Program cost: $1374 PLUS tuition and airfare.