C. INTERNATIONAL ALUMNI PROGRAMS OFFICE

E. COLUMBIAN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

E. 1 Ghana

GW Department of Geography/University of Ghana, Accra, Institute for Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER)

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  Location: Accra
  

one of three research partners on this grant

Ryan Engstrom

Assistant Professor of Geography

Tel.: 202-994-7979

E-mail: rengstro@gwu.edu

David Rain

Associate Professor of Geography and International Affairs

Tel.: 202-994-8523

E-mail: drain@gwu.edu
Principal contact in Ghana:

Professor John Anarfi

Principal Researcher, ISSER

Institute for Statistical, Social and Economic Research

University of Ghana - Legon

Tel.: 233-21-512502/ 512503

Fax.: 233-21-512504 / 500937

Brief description of partnership: The research team, including GW, Harvard, and San Diego State University, has a long-term contractual relationship with ISSER to provide logistical and statistical support for ongoing surveys related to the “Wealth, Poverty and Place” NIH project, which has sought to further understanding of the spatial dimensions of women’s health in Accra, Ghana. Project achievements have included the training of five GW master’s in Geography students and two participating faculty.
Source of funding: The National Institutes of Health, Grant number RO1 HD054906.

*Social Sciences

*Research & collaboration

*Women’s issues

E. 2 South Africa

GW Department of Theatre and Dance, Bokamoso Youth Center

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  Type of agreement: No formal agreement
  

Leslie Jacobson

Director of the Academy of Classical Acting

Professor of Theatre 

Tel.: 202-994-7072 
E-mail:  lesliej@gwu.edu
Brief description of work: Since summer 2003, Professor Jacobson has traveled to the rural township of Winterveldt with colleague Roy Barber from St. Andrews Episcopal School to work with young men and women at the Bokamoso Youth Center, using theatre, music, and dance to address challenging issues, including poverty, lack of education and employment opportunities, teenage pregnancy, rape and other violent crime, and the HIV/AIDS crisis. The Bokamoso Youth Center works with at-risk youth to bring focus and hope to their lives and to get them into school and training programs. Each summer, Jacobson and Barber, often accompanied by GW students funded by undergraduate research fellowships, collaborate with the youth at Bokamoso, developing plays and songs that address community social problems. Every January since 2004, a dozen of the Center’s program participants have traveled to GW, where they stay with GW students for a week, attend classes, and participate in university life. This deeply meaningful cultural exchange culminates in a performance at GW’s Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre to benefit the Center’s Scholarship Fund. In winter 2011, twelve South African youth visited GW, and performed at the end of their stay. The program took place again during winter 2012. A program documentary created by Caroline O’Grady, a theatre major who accompanied Jacobson to Winterveldt in 2009, was funded by a Gamow Undergraduate Research Fellowship (see http://theatredance.gwu.edu/Prospective%20Students/bokamoso.html). 

*Arts & Humanities

*Service

*Research & collaboration

*Publication/film/performance/other media

*Global education