TAMPA (USA), Jan 24: Faculty members of the Arunachal Institute of Tribal Studies (AITS), Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) discussed and finalized the content of the curriculum modules for the four days ‘cultural resource management training’ for students of the University of South Florida (USF) and RGU in the field of ‘Indigenous Studies for Global Exchange in Northeast India’, fostering educational and public health initiatives.
Faculty members AITS, Prof Simon John, Prof Jumyir Basar, Lisa Lomdak, Dr Wanglit Mongchan and Dr Tarun Mene also finalised the development of the website for the field school and the visit of the USF students to Arunachal Pradesh for their fieldwork in May 2018.
The decisions were taken during their visit to the USF in the USA from 7-18 January 2018 during the ‘Indo-US 21st Century Knowledge Initiative Award’, instituted by the United States-India Educational Foundation.
During the visit, they also interacted with the students, faculty members and other administrative officers of the School of Social Work under College of Behavioural and Community Science, USF, Tampa, Florida.
The AITS faculties also gave presentations on different aspects of language, culture and folklore of Arunachal Pradesh and also shared their teaching and research works with the students and faculties of the School of Social Work.
USF faculties Dr Manisha Joshi, Dr Iraida Carrion and Dr Guitele Rahill, also shared their research works and their personal experiences working with different communities in US, Haiti, Spain, Latin America and the Caribbean, under different projects.
The AITS team also interacted with the administrators and other stakeholders of the USF.
As part of the programme, the AITS team visited the Salvation Army Centre, Tampa Florida. The Centre works on different forms of addiction, especially drug abuse and alcoholism. They offer the services so that people with these forms of addiction are de-addicted and integrated into the larger society.
The team also visited Crisis Centre of Tampa Bay, which primarily works for clients who undergo socio-psychological crisis due to child abuse, domestic violence, sexual exploitation, rape and people with suicidal tendencies. They provide counselling and medical help to the clients.
The AITS faculties also met with the team of women working for Hispanic Service Council at Hillsborough County, Florida and had an interaction with the Hispanic immigrant communities residing at Hillsborough County.
The team also visited Reddick Elementary at Hillsborough County and interacted with the teachers and the administrative staffs of the elementary school and learnt the challenges faced by the children of the migration communities in USA.
