Date:            Friday, Jan 10^th 2014

Venue:         Scarfe Room 1107

Time:            12:30 – 2:00 p.m.

Title:             Socially Responsible Approaches to Global Education Initiatives – First, Do No Harm

Speaker:       Dr. Shafik Dharamsi, Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, UBC

Abstract:

Participation in global education and international engagement initiatives can provide students the opportunity to foster a sense of global citizenship, develop global fluency, and a sense of social responsibility to respond to global inequalities. Many opportunities are often set in socioeconomically vulnerable communities in resource-poor settings. In the health and human service disciplines, there is growing concern that international engagement opportunities are frequently used by students as opportunities to practise clinical skills, enhance one’s résumé, and travel to ‘far-away and exotic’ places. Sometimes referred to pejoratively as ‘voluntourism’, international engagement efforts can result in vulnerable communities serving as a means to fulfil the students’ or the university’s own ends instead of first serving the global community. Rigorous and thoughtful pre-departure preparation can help students consider and avoid the potential for harm and exploitation that can result from their participation in global education programs.

Posted: 01|2|14 at 8:29 pm. Filed under: Announcements, Department Events, Speakers.
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