AWIU’s 22 Passports bring fresh perspectives, new and evolving skills, and an eagerness to learn about the world to AWIU, and that’s why we love them!
The Passport Committee, with coordinators Barbara Rubio and Ann Diederich, are launching a new initiative on Saturday, January 15, 2022, the monthly, virtual Passport Networking Forum. “The forum will provide an ongoing way for Passports to share resources, goals, and ideas, and will also help them to keep in touch with their mentors and other Passports on AWIU projects,” said Ann.
The first forum will focus on Passports getting to know each other. There are also plans for the group to split into three break-out “rooms” to discuss participation in key AWIU projects: Career Opportunities in International Relations (COIR) Symposium, to be held in Washington, D.C., mid to late September 2022; Become a Reporter for AWIU, where Passports can perfect their journalism skills as they update our audiences on AWIU programs; and the Nepal Teaching Project, where Passports will engage with young students and work with a team to develop the curriculum for a school in Nepal supported through our grant program.
Down the road are plans for a Passport Blog to be featured on the AWIU website and the creation of a Passport Timeline, which will delineate various stages of the Passport experience, from recruitment to submitting an application to mentorship to participation in the IWOC Celebration and the COIR Symposium.
The forum will be Passport-facilitated, with Jessie Sobieski as the first facilitator, and Aloana Hal and Michaela Sabbag as Passport representatives on the committee.