british council and the shakespeare theatre company announce us debut of the great game: Afghanistan
The British Council is delighted to partner with the Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) on the US premiere of The Great Game, an acclaimed twelve-play cycle produced by London’s Tricycle Theatre which traces the history of foreign engagement in Afghanistan from 1842 to the present day. The Great Game will be presented at the STC September 15-26 as the first stop on a cross-country tour this fall.
First presented at London’s Tricycle Theatre in 2009, The Great Game was acclaimed in the UK as a “mind-blowing achievement” (The Guardian).
The twelve plays explore three periods of Afghanistan’s recent history: British rule and independence from 1842 to 1930; communism, the Mujahideen, and the Taliban from 1979 to 1996; and the Afghan civil war, 9/11, and the aftermath of bombing, 1996-2009.
In addition to supporting The Great Game’s American tour, the British Council will partner with key US organizations to host a series of public events to accompany the plays. Public programming pre- and post-performance will include discussions on the role that contemporary art plays in exploring current social issues and international events.
Read more about The Great Game's DC premiere in the Washington Post.
Students at 6 washington, dc public schools study anacostia river through art
This month, eighth and ninth graders at six DC public schools will create artwork inspired by the Anacostia River as part of the British Council’s Rivers of the World project, which links 2,000 13-14 year-olds around the world.
As part of this two-year program, local artist Abi Byrd will facilitate a series of art workshops around a specific river theme and medium at the following schools:
The art will be displayed along the banks of the Thames at the Mayor’s Thames Festival in September and later in several locations in Washington, DC.
Rivers of the World is the flagship art and education project of the Mayor’s Thames Festival, delivered in partnership with the British Council with support from HSBC Global Education Trust.
new collaboration announced with us center for citizen diplomacy
We are pleased to announce a new collaboration with the US Center for Citizen Diplomacy (USCCD), which promotes opportunity for all Americans to be citizen diplomats and affirms the indispensible value of citizen involvement in international relations.
Last month, the British Council held a reception with USCCD board members to formally recognize our work together on the Center's National Summit on Citizen Diplomacy this November.
British Council Chief Executive Martin Davidson will be in attendance for the summit in November, which aims to double the number of American volunteers of all ages involved in international activities at home or abroad.
We are looking forward to hosting a plenary panel session on international perspectives of citizen diplomacy, and producing a report for one of seven featured issues: "Citizen Diplomacy Organizations throughout the World: Opportunities for Cooperation."
british council featured on washington, dc radio - americans getting degrees in the uk
Mary Catherine Scarborough, British Council USA’s Higher Education Advisor, was recently a guest on WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi Show to discuss the new trend of Americans getting full degrees abroad.
The UK has always been the top study abroad destination for Americans, but over the last ten years, more and more Americans are considering going to college or getting a graduate degree in the UK, instead of the traditional semester or year abroad.
Over the last six years, there has been almost a 60% increase in American enrollment in UK bachelor’s degrees, and last year saw a 17% increase in American applications.
Listen to the radio program here or visit www.studyintheuk.org to learn more about getting full degrees in the UK.
british teachers discuss vocational education with delaware governor jack markell
Last month, eleven British teachers from Durham, England joined Delaware Governor Jack Markell, as well as local teachers from Georgetown, Delaware, for a roundtable discussion on US and UK approaches to vocational education.
The eleven British teachers visited Delaware as part of the British Council’s Teachers International Professional Development program (TIPD). Throughout the week, the teachers observed classes and exchanged best practices with local teachers at Sussex Technical School District and Indian River School District.
Read more about the British teachers’ visit to Delaware from WHYY and the Cape Gazette.
Up to fifteen groups visit the USA each year through TIPD, which is funded by the UK’s Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and managed by the British Council. This month, two groups will visit public schools in Chicago, Illinois and Montgomery County, Maryland.
tribute to sandy shmookler
On April 8 we lost a friend and supporter of our work, Sandy Shmookler, who died tragically from breast cancer.
Sandy was the Special Assistant to the Superintendent at Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland. Sandy was one of the first and key partners for TIPD when it was introduced to the USA in 2001 – establishing a long and beneficial relationship with one of the best school districts in the US.
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) hosted several visits from UK teachers every year, and Sandy met with all of them on their first day for an overview of MCPS and education reform in the US. British teachers remember her enthusiasm and warm welcome; she personally drove many of the teachers back and forth to schools. As a former principal within the MCPS district, Sandy loved teachers and the work they do; she was fond of saying that MCPS benefited just as much from the TIPD visits as the visiting teachers.
Sandy was involved in numerous projects with the UK and with many other countries and could not speak enough about the importance of global learning and exchange. In turn we cannot say enough about the enormous role she played for us in making TIPD a success. We will miss her greatly.
BRITISH COUNCIL AROUND THE WORLD
using satellites to broadcast theatre live across the palestinian territories
The British Council recently used satellite technology to transmit the award-winning play One Small Step across the Palestinian Territories.
After securing one of only a handful of theatres in the West Bank, the British Council’s Palestinian office decided to broadcast the play live via satellite to reach an audience in Gaza.
Based on the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, One Small Step magically conjures dozens of characters with the aid of simple household objects, as well as creating the famous Apollo, Gemini and Sputnik capsules from buckets, lamps and cardboard boxes.
Following the play’s success at the Edinburgh Festival, One Small Step is currently on a worldwide tour and will be coming to the US this fall. In Washington, it will be presented alongside other plays from the Edinburgh Festival at the Kennedy Center’s On the Fringe: Eye on Edinburgh Festival.
training english language teachers in afghanistan by radio
The Great Game explores many contemporary topics in Afghanistan, including youth, gender, and education. Our Afghanistan office is working on many of these issues firsthand. Last month, we launched an innovative new radio program that gives 33,000 English language teachers across the country access to the latest teaching materials.
The British Council teaches English around the world, utilizing new and social media. Due to local conditions in Afghanistan, we are using radio as a teaching tool which will reach more than two-thirds of the English teachers in the country. Learn more about the radio program on British Council Voices.
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