The IGC Student Council chose four projects for January 2013. These projects span the world, connecting Macalester to myriad communities, near and far.

• Colaboracion y Ciudadania Global: Worked with the Women's Group of Matiguas, Nicaragua
  Hana Masri '13
  

  For me, global citizenship requires leadership across all kinds of borders—physical, age, gender, class, culture, or ability—with the goal exploring alternatives for dealing with universal problems. My project addressed the struggle for women’s rights, working with a women’s group that I helped found in the rural community of Matiguás in Nicaragua. Together, and with the support of the Live It! Fund, we facilitated gender violence workshops for the community members and opened a small convenience store with the profits providing support for the group.

• The Importance of Marine Mammals and the Need for Community-Based Conservation in Kilpit
  YA (Northwestern Sri Lanka)
  Vinod Malwatte '13, Clark Bledsoe '13
  As global citizens, members of an expansive community, we are concerned with social, political, and cultural affairs--both local and international--that affect the environment, and the relationship between humans and the environment. With our project, we documented the endangerment of dugongs (large marine animals related to manatees) off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka, and initialized an education/awareness program addressing their importance to the ecosystem and the needs of the local fishing communities, while also educating investors in the region about the critical need for community-based conservation.
• Rural Minnestoa College Access: Northland High School
  Hannah Trostle '15
  Global citizenship is recognizing the impact we have on our communities and how we can initiate social change at the local level. This college access program did just that as I encouraged students in my own community to pursue their dreams as they advance beyond high school. It gave them the tools to build greater opportunities and allowed me to bring back to my community what I have learned at Macalester from my peers and professors: Education builds a better community for everyone. This is global citizenship.
• Filming My Future
  (Veracruz, Mexico)
  Hector S. Bautista Aniceto '15
  For me, global citizenship is compromise between the individual and the world through which every human being, regardless of his/her background, acquires rights, such as the right for self-expression and also responsibilities, such as the responsibility of contributing to others’ development though their actions. My project consisted of a two-week immersion in the world of filmmaking and TV producing for youth in Veracruz, Mexico. Through this project, youth interested in audiovisual media explored and experienced what it means and how it feels to be a filmmaker or a TV producer. At the end, participants created either a short-film or a mini-TV report portraying their vision of a “brighter future.” These creative works will be publicized in different media ranging from the Internet to local TV broadcasters. In this way, participants exerted their right for self-expression, while at the same time serving as a source of inspiration for the world.
• Nyame Tsease Bakery
  (Cape Coast, Ghana)
  Leah Plummer '13
  Nyame Tsease is a traditional drum and dance group in Cape Coast, Ghana lead by Antoinette Adwoa Kudoto, Ghana's only female master drummer. Nyame Tsease welcomed me into their community this past fall while I studied abroad. They patiently taught me to drum and shared their lives with me. They are incredibly talented young adults but unfortunately, few of them have a consistent place to live or enough food for themselves and their families. Though this grant I supported and provided funds to start up their bakery. The project was originally part of Summer 2012 Live It!