Wide Horizons is a 2 -Year leadership development program dedicated to building the capacity of young adults from Burma to work effectively in civil society organizations.
The concept
Wide Horizons (WH) was founded in 2006 by Burmese Migrant Worker’s Education Committee and World Education (WE) as a school where young adults from Burma, working in community-based organizations (CBO) could come to develop their English language, computer and community development skills while cultivating the thought process skills associated with effective leadership. By combining a student-centered, experiential approach to education with a curriculum that emphasizes group work, reflective practice, and critical thinking, WH offers a program with impacts that reach beyond the classroom and into the communities it was designed to serve.
How it works
Every year, a local network of community organizations along the Thailand-Burma border nominates current employees for admittance into Wide Horizons. Ideal candidates have intermediate English skills, at least one year of work in an organization, and a dedication to developing their community. Out of these applicants a multi-cultural cohort of 24 are selected to join the program through a competitive application process.
Once admitted, students enter into an immersive residential learning environment in Mae Sot, Tak Province for 10 months. At WH, students live, study and work together. English is spoken 24 hours a day, and skills learned in the classroom are put to immediate use in community life and work. Students practice leadership skills through rotating positions in school governance and through a series of projects in nearby migrant communities, ensuring that experience and reflection drive their learning as much as their lessons.
Curriculum
The curricular framework was designed for the academic component of the Wide Horizons program in 2010 after a detailed needs assessment of the target student population and their organizations was conducted. The curriculum is accessible on an online network, drawing upon multiple resources; this allows for standards-based instruction that is easily differentiated and adaptable to the needs of communities in the ever-changing border context.
The academic component of Wide Horizons emphasizes three core topic areas: English Language, Community Development, and Computer Skills in an environment of English language immersion. During phase one of the program, students live on campus with their teachers, and coordinator. Computer classes take place for three hours on Saturdays and Sundays.
English classes equally emphasize speaking, reading, and writing, and utilize a wide variety of formats designed to support critical thinking and students’ ability to effectively formulate and communicate their points of view. Community Development classes emphasize concrete project management skills relating to the project cycle along with cross-cutting community development topics.
Community Development classes are reinforced through supervised community projects in a local community with the support of WH staff during the school year. Computer classes emphasize advanced computer literacy and train students to use standard software used by most CBOs working along the border and in Myanmar (Burma).
Work Placement
Following the 10-months of academics, students return to their mother organization for a 1-year opportunity to build upon the skills they learned at WH by gaining practical experience, knowledge and skills in the community work environment. Students contribute to the capacity development of Community Based Organizations along the Thai-Burma border by sharing their newly gained skills with colleagues at their mother organization or school.
Previous students have worked for their organizations by:
· writing professional e-mails, reports, and proposals to donors or interpreting and giving presentations to foreign visitors
· editing advocacy videos and editing layout for newsletters or blogs/websites
· coordinating income generation projects or events
· training staff members or communities in financial literacy, women’s rights, etc.
· managing boarding houses, student groups or teachers
Staffing
WH has a small, dedicated team of staff that works closely together to maintain the integrity and success of the program.
- Program Manager: manages the program operations and budget of the program, and supervises all staff.
- Coordinator: Lives on campus and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day administration of the program.
- Assistant Coordinator:supports students with their daily needs and provides follow-up and support during the students’ work placements in their second year of the program.
- Teachers: Two full-time teachers work at Wide Horizons. One specializes in English language instruction and the other specializes in community development and project management. In addition one part-time teacher focuses on advanced computer skills.
Recognition
Within Thailand, the Ministry of Education has recognized WH as an effective higher education opportunity for young people from Burma. Since WH’s founding with support from USAID, WH has been recognized as a leader in capacity development, attracting the attention of a wide variety of donors and academics, and demonstrating positive results in an evaluation affiliated with Harvard University and is receiving certificates from Windham Institute for Progressive Education (Vermont, USA). We continue to seek out opportunities for WH students to get recognition for their high-quality rigorous coursework within Thailand, Myanmar, and internationally.
Funding
For several years, WH was mainly sponsored by the USAID sponsored Project for Local Empowerment (PLE), as well as by Danish Church Aid (DCA).The last of this funding came to an end in July 2015 and today, WH is sponsored by a network of donors. These donors include:
Thai Children’s’ Trust (http://www.thaichildrenstrust.org.uk/)
Global Neighbors Canada Inc.(http://www.gnci.ca/)
Room To Grow Foundation (for student community projects) (http://roomtogrowfoundation.org/)
Finally, a part of the funding also comes from the teachers’ and students’ own fundraising activities. Read more here
WH is actively seeking new funders and partners for 2014-15. To learn more about donating the program, click here
No comments:
Post a Comment