FIUTS SUSI Alumni
FIUTS SUSI VIRTUAL ALUMNI PROGRAM
From August 2020 through January 2021, FIUTS hosted 6 monthly virtual alumni events. This was a space for SUSI alumni from 16 countries to share experiences and engage in discussion across cohorts. We hope this program will support ongoing work by SUSI alumni and facilitate opportunities for future collaboration.
Friday, January 29: Promoting Media Literacy and Countering Disinformation
Guest speakers:
Jevin West, Director of the Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington
Kelsey Kupferer, Program Producer, KUOW RadioActive Youth Media
Jadenne Radoc Cabahug, Producer, KUOW RadioActive Youth Media
About the Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington: This new, nonpartisan Center has assembled world-class researchers, labs, thought leaders, and practitioners to translate research about misinformation and disinformation into policy, technology design, curriculum development, and public engagement. They do this through their strong network of urban and rural libraries, national network of educators, and institutional partners. They bring together diverse voices from across industry, government, nonprofits, other institutions, as well as those from communities and populations typically underrepresented in research and practice in this field.
About KUOW RadioActive Youth Media: RadioActive Youth Media is where young people discover public radio journalism and gain access to the skills, community and institutional resources that spur their growth as media makers. Through their stories, listeners of all ages gain a deeper understanding of young people whose voices are rarely heard by the greater public. Recently, RadioActive has been developing media literacy workshops in order to help young people become responsible, critical consumers of media.
Friday, December 18: Working Effectively With Diverse Stakeholders
About the Speakers
Chamanie Nanayakkara
Sri Lanka
2014 SUSI on Journalism & New Media
Chamanie leads programmatic activities on strengthening media advocacy and creating an enabling media policy environment in Sri Lanka. Through her experience working closely with a wide array of stakeholders on media policy reform relating to Media Self-Regulation, she has gained knowledge and skills on strategizing media policy and advocacy effort to better suit to the Sri Lankan context.
In this session, Chamanie will share her experience as an International Development professional: “The success of my professional work in Media Advocacy and Media Policy Reform heavily depend upon successful stakeholder relations. I have been engaging with a wide range of diverse stakeholders; and have been learning about strategic Stakeholder Management in my journey. Having some of these skills in your back pocket can come in handy no matter what your industry and profession is!”
Brian Nkala
South Africa
2017 SUSI on Civic Engagement
A techie by heart and an Environmentalist by nature, Brian is also a focused, creative, and hardworking young man with excellent time management skills and a knack for solving complex problems. A collaborator who thrives under pressure. As an ardent analytical person, he is advantageous by nature, and likes to accept new challenges. The concept of life and the many opportunities it holds excite Brian and it is with this passion that he makes use of every experience, both good and bad, to keep growing. When Brian is not learning about the world, the green economy (Energy) or new technology, he enjoys photography and playing volleyball.
In this session Brian will discuss working effectively with diverse stakeholders including community members, political leaders, local businesses, and more.
Past events
Creating Virtual Projects
Friday, November 20
About the Speaker
Medha Kohli
SUSI on Journalism & New Media 2014
Medha is from Hyderabad, India. She completed her Bachelors in Journalism, and went on to pursue the prestigious Young India Fellowship Program that awarded her a Post Graduate Diploma in Liberal Arts from Ashoka University.
She has worked with an ed-tech start-up, a chain of progressive schools and an NGO – all based out of Bangalore, in her quest to explore the education sector. She currently works as an Independent Consultant and is engaged with two projects. ‘Writing Through Crisis’ is a 5-week writing workshop that she has designed. In addition to this, she has also recently taken on a project in the capacity of a Project Producer with Girl Effect – where she is working on a Digital Campaign to sensitize young mothers in India about the importance of vaccines.
Adapting Community Projects In Response To Changing Circumstances
Friday, October 30
Featured Speakers:
Rafael Sizane
SUSI on Civic Engagement 2019 (Mozambique)
Rafael Sizane is an English teacher and a university student who is part of an organization which assists people with their basic needs. What’s more, he does many volunteer activities, one of which is in the American Corner where he teaches English to young and adult people. He loves teaching, singing and serving those in need and hopes that his work changes someone’s life.
Rafael will discuss the impact of COVID-19 on entertainment, especially in the music sector. He will show the changes that had to be made to projects due to the pandemic as well as some of the positive aspects that came out of this time. He will share how musicians impact their communities in these days.
Ilka Saíde
SUSI on Civic Engagement 2017 (Mozambique)
Ilka Saíde is a social and community Psychologist who believes that our talents are put into better use when it’s for the good of others. She strives to promote self-development and women empowerment in communities.
Ilka will speak about the strategies her organization used to keep in contact with the girls in rural communities and how they kept giving self-development training to university girls even though the schools where closed due to COVID-19. She will also speak on how shifting priorities is frequent while working in community projects because circumstances are frequently changing, including examples from her own work throughout Mozambique.
How to Make a Difference in the Face of Systemic Barriers
Friday, September 25
Session recording
For privacy reasons we have removed the full recording but if you would like to view it, please email Ellen!
September 25 Featured Speakers:
Chaitanya Suraj Mamidi
SUSI on Youth, Education & Closing the Skills Gap 2019 (India)
Chaitanya (Chai) is an undergrad student of Political Science and Environmental Studies at Ashoka University, Delhi. He's interested in studying the intersection of politics and the natural environment, especially with regard to issues of wildlife conversation, agriculture, human welfare, and natural resources management. He was a research assistant at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi where he worked on transboundary river water governance in India. He loves watching birds, making and looking at memes, and reading and writing random things on the internet.
What will you discuss during the Alumni Virtual Event?
Oh, my sweet summer child! Yes, Everything is political. Political constraints and social differences can act as barriers for one while trying to engage with the community and implementing one's projects. How can one navigate through these barriers "successfully"?
Zenisha Gonsalves
SUSI on Journalism & New Media 2014 (India)
Zenisha Gonsalves is a writer from India. She currently lives in Fort Kochi, where she works as an editor. She has an MA in English Literature. Her work has appeared in The Ladies Finger, Yahoo! Originals, The Seattle Globalist, The Deccan Herald, and The Bombay Literary Magazine, and has been nominated for the Toto Award for Creative Writing.
What will you discuss during the Alumni Virtual Event?
What I have learned through my experience as a writer for the My Mollem campaign--a citizens' movement to raise awareness about Mollem National Park, Goa, which is currently threatened by three devastating expansion projects.
Muhammad Wildan Teddy Bintang Prakoso Has
SUSI on Youth, Education & Closing the Skills Gap 2019 (Indonesia)
Teddy and his team are managing an organization which aims to establish student-run sexual violence crisis center on campus in Indonesia. He will start his role as a trainee at a law firm while working for the special staff for the Minister of Education and Culture (MEC) of the Republic of Indonesia to create a Ministerial Decree of the MEC about sexual violence on campus.
What will you discuss during the Alumni Virtual Event?
The importance of collaboration between students, professors and civil society in combating sexual violence on campus, advocating for the victims' rights and passing its regulations.
SUSI Virtual Alumni programming is funded by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. FIUTS SUSI programs are produced in partnership with Meridian International Center.
SUSI programs promote a better understanding of the people, institutions, and culture of the United States among international students, teachers, and scholars. Study of the U.S. Institutes (SUSIs) are short-term academic programs for groups of undergraduate leaders, educators, and scholars from around the world. Hosted by academic institutions throughout the United States, these 5- to 6-week Institutes include an intensive academic residency and an integrated educational study tour. Extracurricular cultural and community activities help to broaden the participants’ understanding of U.S. society. Learn more about SUSI programs here.