Schools
BHS Hosts International Videoconference on African Crises
Students from across Pennsylvania, and some in Slovenia, participated in a collaborative video conference on Thursday that focused on famine in Somalia.
As the BBC reported on Thursday morning on what it called a “Twitter War” between African Union troops and the Somalian militant group al-Shabab, who continue fighting in that nation’s capital, students were preparing to send their own tweets about that region.
Roughly 160 students, 75 of them from Baldwin-Whitehall, gathered at Baldwin High on Thursday for an that addressed famine and conflict in the Horn of Africa. Organized in part by the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, the summit used videoconferencing technology and Twitter to bring together about 500 students from schools across Pennsylvania and one school in Slovenia.
The summit began with a discussion including panelists from the University of Pennsylvania, the US Army War College and the U.S. Department of State. Baldwin served as a host site for schools in western Pennsylvania, while the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia used Temple University to the same end on the eastern side of the commonwealth. Others participated remotely through an interactive webcast.
“I’m really excited about the collaboration we have here,” said Steven Sokol, president and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, during an address to participating students.
With a focus on Somalia, panelists discussed the need for humanitarian aid in that region, where 13 million people have been affected by a severe drought and famine, as well as sectarian conflict. Students then broke off into smaller groups, each one collaborating through a videoconference with another school, to develop responses to issues such as health, shelter, education and governance.
An exercise in international communication, the simulation gave students a chance to go beyond memorizing facts and gain an understanding of a large-scale decision-making process, said Kate Presto, a Baldwin social studies teacher.
“They’re not just listening but developing their own ideas and their own solutions,” Presto said.
Among the challenges in delivering aid to Somalia, panelists said, is the lack of a strong, central government there. Since 1991, when clan militias toppled that country’s former government, governance has been a hazy issue. Formally, the nation has a transitional federal government, headed by President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.
In 2006, the militant Islamist group al-Shabab began insurgency efforts that have wavered in degrees of intensity since. Recently, the group began a push to take control of Mogadishu, the capital, engaging in bloody skirmishes with the African Union’s troops and carrying out suicide and roadside bomb attacks.
Meanwhile, drought and famine have plagued the region. Al-Shabab, which controls large portions of the nation’s southern region, has condemned relief efforts.
According to panelist Col. Nestor Sadler, a student at the US Army War College who has participated in special operations throughout Africa, building trust is the first priority when dealing with a nation with a history as tumultuous as Somalia’s is.
Sadler said that, because the United States has a “no boots” policy in Somalia, military forces often work with neighboring nations, such as Kenya, to train troops and build relationships. But the process isn’t a quick one.
“If you want to go fast, go alone,” Sadler said, recalling an African proverb. “If you want to go far, go together.”
That sentiment of togetherness was echoed by Amiena Mahsoob, deputy director of education programs at the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh.
“We really want to give the students a sense of what it means to coordinate and collaborate internationally,” Mahsoob said.
And while Mahsoob said that techonology added a twist to the day—”It’s really fun to see,” she said of the students’ Twitter feeds—in the end, the medium is not the message.
“The technology is cool,” Mahsoob said, “but the opportunity to really have great content ... that is what we’re seeing here.”
Three schools, one is Pakistan and two in Tanzania, were scheduled to participate but did not do so. The Pakistani school canceled at the last minute, Mahsoob said, and the Tanzanian schools hadn’t tapped into the video feed on Thursday morning.
The summit was the sixth of its kind that the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh has organized, and it marked the first time that the group had partnered with its sister organization in Philadelphia.
Baldwin High participated in a that focused on responding to natural disasters, as well as two smaller discussions this year. Thursday’s summit was the first that the school has hosted.
