ISSN 1710-6931 July 11, 2008 Issue 129
FEATURE ARTICLES

Letter Exchange Helps Create Global Citizens

by David Radford

Education has the power to open young eyes to the world in which we share; for them to see the daily situation of millions of refugees and the common humanity that binds us all together.

On this theme, RESPECT International e-Zine interviewed Jennifer Dulac, a teacher at The American School, Japan, about her experience teaching students about current refugee situations in Darfur, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Jennifer used the RESPECT Global Letter Exchange Program as a key tool to connect her students to the lives of refugees.

Jennifer explained her motivations for adopting the program and encouraging her students to swap letters with refugees in Ghana.

"I wanted to have my class take part in the letter exchange program because I didn't want them to think of refugees as a them/us issue," she explained. "I hoped that they'd realize that, first and foremost, refugees are students and individuals just like them, who have hopes and dreams for the future, who enjoy making friends, laughing and playing, and who want to make the world a better place." Letter Exchange

United In All Ways Through Education

by Linda Salim

Denise Poirier

Denise Poirier

United in All Ways is the theme which Denise Poirier, a 12th-grade student at Stevenson Britannia Adult Learning Centre (SBALC), chose for her project at the recent UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Associated School Projects Network (ASPNet) conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

The conference, titled Needs over Wants, displayed the works of students of grades five to twelve of associated schools across the country. Together, SBALC created a quilt showing each student's interpretation of the school.

Graduating from 12th grade in June, Denise decided upon United in All Ways to express her one-year experience in the centre, in which she gained much more than a high school diploma. Studying at the centre has given her respect for and an understanding of world diversity. United In All Ways

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Thank You Aaron

by Will Wallace
VP, Information Technology
RESPECT International

For more than five years Aaron Romero has generously provided space on his web server for the websites of several RESPECT affiliates. This was an important service during the time when RESPECT didn't have space to host the accounts and the affiliates could not afford their own hosting accounts.

Now these websites are being moved to a different server under RESPECT's hosting account. The result is the web addresses (URLs) for the websites are changing. However, Aaron will place information on his server so anyone going to the old addresses will be redirected to the new addresses.

The new addresses are as follows:

Thank you Aaron for your generosity by providing this service to RESPECT affiliates for more than five years.

PHOTO GALLERY

Globe with hands united

United in All Ways, Denise Poirier's drawing displayed for UNESCO's ASPnet at the University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

As in any newsletter or magazine, RESPECT e-zine is committed to striving for interesting articles and announcements concerning refugee issues all around the world.

If you have any suggestions or would like to contribute an article, contact the e-Zine editor, Angela Carter, at editor@respectrefugees.org.

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