[Community] Letter of Support for YMCA

[Elizabeth Simpson]

Hi all, 

Here is the letter of support that Community Connections agreed to send to the YMCA in their pursuit of a community engagement grant. There is no direct support being pledged, it's a simple gesture of good faith. You can see the general description of the project below the letter. 

-elizaBeth

October 29, 2009

Independent Media Center
202 S. Broadway Ave. 
Urbana, IL 61801
217-344-8820

To whom it may concern, 

The Urbana Champaign Independent Media Center (UCIMC) is a non-profit organization committed to the use of media and arts education, creation and distribution as tools for promoting social and economic justice.  We are particularly concerned with emphasizing the voices and perspectives that often go unheard in the mainstream media. 

We at the UCIMC strongly supports the Scholars and Activists in Residence project proposal submitted by the Center for Global Studies in partnership with the University YMCA and look forward to collaborating with the YMCA in promoting the often unheard international voices of grassroots social justice initiatives in ways that bridge the on- and off- campus communities of Champaign County. We anticipate such partnerships as co-hosting workshops, broadcasting interviews on our local radio station, and including opinion pieces from the Residents in our newspaper. 

Please feel free to contact me with any questions on this matter.

Respectfully submitted, 

Elizabeth Simpson
Community Connections Workgroup
(electronic submission)

 ___________________

   The Center for Global 
Studies (CGS) requests funding for an In-Residence program that would 
bring to campus international scholars and activists engaged in local 
social justice and environmental struggles in communities around the 
world.  This public engagement project would differ in two significant 
ways from Unit One, a well known In-Residence program on campus. First, 
it would focus exclusively on inviting international scholars and activists 
who have first-hand experience in democratic, grassroots struggles from 
regions across the globe.  Second, this initiative would be used 
as a mechanism to develop and build stronger connections between the 
University and local constituencies in the surrounding community.  
Specifically, this project would focus on utilizing Scholars and Activists 
In-Residence as a way to strengthen ties with local community organizations, 
churches and schools (See letters of support)., as well as build instructional 
capacity for the campus community.
   As a research university, 
Illinois attracts a dazzling number of visiting scholars and speakers, 
who, during their short visits to campus, facilitate knowledge transfer 
and debate on some of the most important research issues faced by the 
community and world.  Although well attended by the campus community, 
these fleeting exchanges rarely attract large student or community audiences.  
Nor is there a genuine opportunity for collaboration between campus 
and the community, or opportunities for extended engagement and exchange 
of ideas.  Despite good intentions, too often campus efforts fall 
short of the Land Grant ideal of strengthening the community as a living 
and learning environment.  
   In recent months, 
CGS has been engaged in discussions with the University YMCA about how 
to more effectively educate, engage and generate local awareness and 
interest in the democratic struggles of communities and indigenous people 
throughout the world for social justice and sound environmental policies. 
This project, which is an outgrowth of those discussions, seeks to develop 
a local network of community organizations, churches and schools that 
will work with academics and scholars at the university to identify 
and invite individuals who have participated in such struggles to visit 
our community. (Do we give some examples of the types of speakers we 
might invite - democratic movements in Chiapas Mexico, Burma, Orange 
Revolution in Ukraine etc) Public engagement activities will focus on 
sharing common experiences, discussing how US policies impact their 
work, and exploring their knowledge and perspectives on social and environmental 
movements in different parts of the world.  



      
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