Bard’s Center for Civic Engagement Hosts State Department Public Diplomacy Program

Bard’s Center for Civic Engagement hosted 12 students from Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey in New York City for a 10-day capstone program for the Study of the U.S. Institutes (SUSI), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau for Educational and Cultural Affairs, in collaboration with Meridian International. The SUSI on Civic Engagement explores America’s great leap into participatory democracy, with the goal of providing participants with the tools and understanding to allow them to become engaged citizens in their own communities.

Over the course of 10 days in October, students met with a variety of speakers to learn more about providing voting rights access to college students, climate change policy, immigration rights, and access and equity through technology. Students also visited the United Nations, volunteered at the Bard High School Early College in Queens, and visited the LGBT Community Center in Chelsea, New York. One of the students described the program as, “a dazzling combination of culture and education, which lead up to relentless personal development.”

These students previously attended a virtual component in the summer of 2021. Their SUSI experience culminated in last month's 10-day capstone project in New York.

Post Date: 11-01-2022