Registration Deadline 3/15/2011. Register today!
Through this sixteen-day accredited academic Expedition, you will create an opportunity to participate in a unique learning environment encompasing a cross-cultural experience, an direct introduction to your professional field, and an overview of the dynamics involved in community participation throughout stages of creating and managing an International Peace Park.
Course Instructors include: Saleem Ali, an expert in environmental conflict resolution and how ecological factors can promote peace. He is a Professor at University of Vermont's Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Founder and Director of the Institute for Environmental Diplomacy and Security. Todd Walters, an expert in environmental peacebuilding and experiential learning; and the Founder and Executive Director of International Peace Park Expeditions.
You will be academically challenged through readings, journal entries, and a group project centered around this innovative experiential learning curriculum. Additionally, students will participate in meaningful cross-cultural interactions while cross-border trekking in the Balkans' remote alpine landscapes.
You will take part in lectures and discussions with guest lecturers ranging from experts, practitioners and professionals within fields of your interest - addressing issues of sustainable forestry management, biodiversity surveys, eco-tourism plans, development and infrastructure planning, environmental conservation, water resource management, peacebuilding initiatives, and cross-border projects.
At the culmination of the course, you will have established a strong understanding of the multi-disciplinary issues converging around International Peace Parks, and a working recognition of the interplay between local communities, broader culture, international development, environmental conservation and peacebuilding initiatives. Within this context, you will have an opportunity to build a professional network before graduation, making connections in government agencies, international development agencies, as well as international, national, and local NGO's working on the ground.
Course Objectives
1. Gain an understanding of International Peace Parks - how they are created, managed and utilized as a tool of environmental conservation, community based development and cross border collaboration.
2. Observe and interact with a cross-discipline field of professionals - the actors and their relationships.
3. Explore relationships between eco-tourism, community based development and environmental conservation, international development and conservation.
4. Experience the cultures of Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro - through homestays, trekking on ancient trade footpaths, learning with local students, and through meals, music and the sports of indigenous communities.
Balkans Peace Park (Proposed)
Albania / Kosovo / Montenegro
May 29, 2011 - June 14, 2011
University of Vermont - In State 3 Credits $3,288
University of Vermont - Out of State 3 Credits $5,259
+ Airfare
Todd Walters
Executive Director
International Peace Park Expeditions
http://peaceparkexpeditions.org
978.270.9356
http://gist.com/todd_walters
http://peaceparkexpeditions.org/expeditions/conservation-beyond-borders
Please quote 10 Academic Resources Daily in your application to this opportunity!
