2009-2010 GSN Session Descriptions
International Development 101
October 19-30, 2009:
When Catholic Relief Services began its work in 1943, its focus was the resettlement of European war refugees. Over the past 65 years, its outreach has expanded to over 100 countries with programming in agriculture, education, emergency relief, food security, health, HIV/AIDS, microfinance, and peacebuilding. Today CRS serves over 80 million people worldwide without regard to race, religion or nationality.
This session will explore some of the following: the fundamental foundations of CRS' work; its understanding of what development is; the major impediments and best approaches to it; the hard lessons learned over the years; the key players in development; the function of developed countries in development; the role of local partners; the relationship of emergency relief to long-term development; the funding sources and their impact on an NGO's mission and operations; the difficult dance of humanitarian, political, economic, and military interests; the effectiveness of U.S. foreign aid; and how NGOs shape U.S. development and aid policy.
Human Trafficking
November 9-20, 2009 & February 16-26, 2010
Human trafficking is a $10 billion+ growth industry with conservative estimates ranging from 700,000 to 2 million people - primarily women and children - trafficked into prostitution and slavery annually. As much as we would like to believe that slavery and human trafficking are only horrific aspects of our collective past, these tremendous abuses of human rights and dignity have in some form continued to exist and in fact are experiencing a dramatic resurgence.
This session will explore: What makes human trafficking one of the fastest-growing and most lucrative industries in the world; the regions with the highest rate of trafficked persons; who are trafficked and why; who does the trafficking; what happens to the victims; what is making people vulnerable to trafficking; what trafficking is happening in the United States; national and international laws and protections; how to prevent it; who's taking action?
Food Security
March 15-26, 2010:
Today almost 1 billion people experience chronic hunger and the devastating effects of severe malnutrition. This highlights the reality that to live a healthy and productive life, one needs a reliable supply of food. This concept is known as food security. Conversely, the food insecure individual or household does not consume a sufficient quantity (or quality) of food to survive; or, if there is sufficient food, the individual does not have the good health to use it properly. Food insecurity is measured by low consumption and high malnutrition and mortality rates.
This session will explore: the recent food price crisis; current legislation and recommendations to Congress of addressing global hunger; the impact of food insecurity on individuals and whole communities; what regions and countries of the world are most vulnerable to food insecurity?; the role of aid agencies in providing food programs; the role of U.S. agriculture in global food insecurity.
Refugees and Internally Displaced People
April 12-23, 2010:
In 1943, as war raged across Europe, thousands of bedraggled Polish refugees fleeing Soviet forced-labor camps streamed across the border of Iran. Most were women, children or very old men, their bodies emaciated, their feet swollen and bleeding. There to meet them were representatives of a newly formed agency, War Relief Services, later called Catholic Relief Services. Six decades later, CRS is still responding to the needs of people who are uprooted from their homes, whether they are refugees forced from their homeland or people displaced within their own country. Around the world, poverty, injustice and armed conflict continue to force millions of people to flee their homes.
This session will explore: a discussion of current conflict hot-spots that are resulting in increased numbers of displaced people; an overview of the terms and concepts related to refugees and internally displaced people (IDP); a recent update on a CRS program in Lebanon that serves Iraqi refugees; what are the unique challenges facing refugees and IDP's?; what is the role of the United States in many of these situations?; does the US hold a particular responsibility?
