Project Write Up 3 ............................. 3

Project Write Up 4 ..............................3

Project Write Up 5 ..............................4

Notes from the Field........................... 5

connectionG L O B A L I N F O R M A T I O N I N T E R N S H I P P R O G R A M F a l l 2 0 1 0 N e w s l e t t e r

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NGOs and CLOs have used mobile phone technol-ogies to track violence in Kenya, advancedemocracy in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, and have provided banking services and medical ser-vices in numerous African countries. The possi-bilities of mobile phone technologies are endless, but there is still a lack of understanding in the de-veloped world on how to implement mobile tech-nologies for social advocacy. Will the technology make sense to the locals? Does it contradict local customs or culture? Is there enough electricity?

GIIP BRANCHES OUT

inside...

continued on page 4GIIP Heads Eastby Jessica Carsten

As a recent graduate of UCSC but life-long GIIP dev-otee, I recently started a one-year project in Washing-ton D.C. to manage internship placements for GIIP students while creating opportunities for new strate-gic partnerships. GIIP has expanded greatly since its founding nearly eleven years ago. GIIP now has a ref-erendum fund from UC Santa Cruz, has begun to raise an endowment, has an impressive global network of alumni, and has a growing base of partner organiza-tions, including nine strategic partnerships. Addition-ally, the successful development and expansion of GIIP is outgrowing the capacity of the GIIP Fellows and directors, making alumni a great new resource for the growth of the program and broadening opportuni-ties for new partners.

D.C. is dense with NGOs, social justice related or-

GIIP Returns to Ghanaby Lucas Healy

Lucas Healy is spending an academic year in Ghana

Jessica Carsten is developing GIIP partners in Washington

New Partners in Sustainability

Win Without War

Sustainability Around the World

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Thom, we are designing a unique partnership with WRI to place interns and Fellows working on environ-mental and development issues. This will be a competitive opportunity for the best of the best GIIPers.

We are eternally grateful to Rhys for the effort he has devoted to this partnership, and for the week spent here as on site consultant and guest speaker in November, sharing his knowledge of the inner workings of an NGO and how to improve knowledge communication.

Closer to home, several GIIP Fellows in the Education Working Group are working with ETR (www.etr.org/) in Watsonville to establish joint projects and a long term partnership. Cat Priestly, as always, has done stellar work on developing the education working group.

The UC Technology Leadership Institute continues to thrive as one of GIIPʼs cornerstone projects, and as a shining example of a successful long term strategic partnership. With CMC of Fresno, GIIP hosted anoth-er successful program last summer, and Summer 2011ʼs UCTLI planning is already in the works. Thanks one more time to Cat, Yasmin and others who worked on UCTLI.

We are fortunate to have on board Joop Rueben as advisor to our development group. His expertise has been invaluable in GIIPʼs push to fund an endowment for a Chair to ensure the GIIP program for future generations.

I would also like to express my appreciation to Mark Headley. His generous support of GIIP ensures the programʼs continuing success in transforming undergraduates educational experience and in supporting NGOs, community organizations and schools across the globe.

Finally, in recent days our extended UCSC family, and our small GIIP circle, has suffered a great loss. Gabriel Zimmerman, a gifted 30 year old alumnus of the program, was one of the victims of the Tuscon, Arizona shooting involving Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. The GIIP community cannot begin to express its sor-row, as we remember the life of a young idealist who was dedicated to public service.

Please read UCSCʼs remembrance of Gabriel Zimmerman and consider contributing to the scholarship fund being established in his honor. http://news.ucsc.edu/2011/01/Gabriel-Zimmerman-remembered.html

Warm Regards,

GIIP Director Paul Lubeck (photo:www.jmacmillanphoto.com)

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Paul LubeckDirectorGlobal Information Internship Program

Greetings to the GIIP Community,

The 2010 school year marks the beginning of several ex-citing new partnerships for GIIP. Jessica Carsten (2009) is acting as coordinator for GIIP Internships and Strategic Partnerships in Washington D.C. researching possible intern-ships and spearheading what we hope will be a permanent relationship for GIIPers at the UC Washington Center.

Especially promising is GIIPʼs new partnership with World Resource Institute. Through founding GIIP Fellow, Rhys

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My name is Hasnain Nazar and I spent this past summer in Washington, DC working with an NGO, Win Without War (WWW). As a student of politics and international relations, I understand the grave importance of our military policy. I de-cided to apply for the social media intern posi-tion for this particular NGO because of its goal to demilitarize Iraq and Afghanistan and close Guantanamo. I researched both areas and became familiar with our foreign policy toward these na-tions.

My project was funded through GIIP project funds and my own personal funds. WWW pro-duces action alerts, blogs and videos to run a campaign based on a more progressive national security strategy. This NGO was managed mostly through a website. The videos that were posted on the website called for knowledge of Final Cut Pro and iMovie. I wanted to help build their website and make it SEO (search engine opti-mization) friendly. I also was looking forward to making videos for the organization. While there I did both of these- I was able to apply my web knowledge of html and css to manage the website while making videos through both Final Cut Pro and iMovie.

New GIIP fellow Neil Richler spent the summer in Japan working on Advancing Sustainable Commu-nities via Ancient Japanese Farming Practices. The goal of the project was to understand what factors,such as information and communication technolo-gies (ICT), allowed small Japanese farms to prosper, despite the encroachment of cities and the spread of industrial agriculture. Richler worked with a num-ber of small and medium sized farms in Japan whose owners had been struggling to make their farms sus-tainable. He found that the farms that succeeded most in this endeavor were those that used ICT to manage networks of customers, distributors and land holdings.

Even those farms that do use ICT, however, will ben-efit from the expanded use of technology. Such tech-nologies, according to Richler, could include inven-tory management systems and increased use of ICT. The farms make extensive use of networks of con-tacts, but many were informal and organized through personal contacts. Richler found that the farms would benefit greatly from a system that brings together lo-cal sustainable farmers, consumers, and nearby resi-dents. The most successful farms have a strong web presence, and make use of local community networks of suppliers and distributors. They also leverage their close relationships with restaurants, grocery stores,

Fighting For a More Progressive National Security Strategyby Hasnain Nazar

Sustainability Around the World by Emily Milstein and Neil Richler

Neil Richler researching sustainability on Japanese farmscontinued on page 5

continued on page 6

Hasnain Nazar interned this summer for WWW

This year, GIIP is developing a project in partnership with the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the UCDC program. WRI is an environmental think tank based in Washington, D.C., that focuses on objective research and analysis to produce real solutions to en-vironmental and human problems. The UCDC pro-gram provides housing and credits for UC students to live for a school quarter in Washington, D.C. and intern with a governmental or non-governmental or-ganization.

GIIP Director Paul Lubeck, GIIP alumnus and WRI staff Rhys Thom, and GIIP alumna Jessica Carsten are working together to build this new partnership. Combining resources from across the three partners, GIIP plans to train and send interns to Washington, to participate in UCDC while interning with WRI. Lubeck, Thom, and Carsten pitched the program to WRI in mid-November, and the idea was very well-received. According to Thom, WRI is very excited at the possibility of working with GIIP student interns, as the skills GIIP students possess are highly in de-mand. WRI is looking for students with general tech, databasing, web, and video skills, and those with a project-structured focus, all of which are key compo-nents of GIIP training. With UCDC, interns will have access to university room and board, while earning university credits for their work.

Thom traveled to UC Santa Cruz and spoke to new GIIP students in their fall class on November 16th. With many new GIIPers interested in sustainability and environmental issues, there is already a group of interested students. This new program coincides with the development of a sustainability working group, as students look to take a more direct role in environ-mental issues.

GIIP hopes the WRI partnership is one of many new opportunities for internships in Washington, D.C.

GIIP Returns to Ghana, con’t

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Continued from page 1

Can the technology handle the local weather? There are many variables on the ground that can render a mobile technology project useless.

The Voice of Ghana (VOG) is a small technology assessment and implementation project taking place in and around the University of Ghana, Accra from July 29th, 2010 to May 2011. Focusing on mobile technologies, VOG will provide a well documented, on the ground assessment of ICTs in Ghana. Under-standing the importance of support from the local people, the assessment will be conducted in coordi-nation with students and faculty at the University of Ghana, and local NGOs.

VOGʼs detailed budget shows the cost of the as-sessment and implementation totaling 10,343. This money will go to research that in the long run aims to improve healthcare, agriculture, education, and the overall quality of life for Ghanaians. This proj-ect is the final result of my work at the University of California Santa Cruz. There I have been trained as a research sociologist and social advocate. I have also been trained by The Global Information and In-ternship Program (GIIP) to design, fund, and imple-ment a sustainable information technology project in partnership with a community.

New Partners inSustainability

by Carrie McKee

Lucas Healy on the Canopy Walk at Cape Coast

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Notes from the field:

Leah Lampa, GIIP alumna: Washington, D.C.I always have had a strong interest in social jus-tice issues. The problem I ran into was trying to stick to one social justice issue and going with it. GIIP helped me find an issue I truly cared about, that being education. Through a course in the GISES major, I was able to do extensive research on youth and education issues in Watsonville that solidified my passion for education. I also contributed in organizing UC TLI two summers in a row. These opportunities, through GIIP, led me to want to continue striving to do what I can to close the educational achievement gap. I am currently in my first year as a corps member of Teach For America (TFA), a nonprofit organiza-tion that strives to close the achievement gap in education through having corps members com-mit two years teaching in low-performing, low-income neighborhoods throughout the nation. I am placed in Washington, D.C., teaching 3rd grade English Language Arts and Social Studies. Teaching has really opened my eyes to the many issues involved in education, and I continue to be shocked, inspired, and amazed by my students.

UCTLI 2010 UpdateThe UC Technology Leadership Institute is a 5-day summer technology camp run through GIIP and the Fresno Center for Multicultural Coop-eration, bringing student leaders from Fresno

These are all skills I received through my time in GIIP. There were very few times I was unable to accomplish a goal I had for assigned myself or one that was assigned to me. Anytime I was faced with a problem I was able to find the solu-tion through research.

Any future interns for this organization should have a comfortable understanding of Final Cut Pro and be able to make storyboards and direct and execute films on their own. Before starting work at the organization make sure to get a clear understanding of what is expected of you and out-line projects that can be completed while you are there. Your time is valuable; as is theirs, make the best of it.

Win Without War con’tcontinued from page 3

Join GIIP online and stay up to date on our

latest news.

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Facebook Groups: GIIP

and Sacramento to UCSC. Through sessions with UC representatives from campus organizations including Admissions, Financial Aid, and Edu-cational Opportunities Program, students gain a detailed understanding of the process of applying and finding funding for college. Each high school student works with a UC Santa Cruz student from GIIP to plan their own personal “Road map to college.” This yearʼs TechCamp also included in-struction in Palabras (palabras.ucsc.edu), UCSC Professor Sharon Danielʼs innovative digital tool-set for community self documentation. UCTLI 2010 was another successful camp, the fourth since the orgininal tech camp in 2007.

Dmitry working with a Butterfly member

Participants from UCTLI summer 2010

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Project Write Up con’t

continued from page 1GIIP Heads East con’t

continued from page 3

and individual customers to ensure that they are matching what farmers grow with what consumers want.

For example, two of the farms Richler visited were run by farmers with computer skills, though the farms could improve their business with a more ef-ficient use of ICT. Richler analyzed the use of new technologies and organizing tools for these farms, such as an inventory management and customer in-teraction system that could manage inventory and expected crop yields. Customers could then enter an online portal, where they could view availabil-ity and place orders. The system will bypass much of the work that had to be done by hand before, increasing the farms ̓efficiency. The platform also gives customers an easy way to enter feedback and interact with the farmers.

Richler hopes those farms ̓ successful implemen-tation of ICT can serve as a model for other sus-tainable farms throughout Japan and the rest of the world.

ganizations, think tanks, government offices, and accomplished GIIP alumni. Additionally, many motivated students who participate in the GIIP pro-gram also participate in the UCDC exchange pro-gram. This exchange allows them to apply for an internship of their choice in Washington D.C. while remaining a full time student, living, and taking courses at the UC Washington Center.

As the new coordinator for GIIP Internships and Strategic Partnerships in Washington D.C., Iʼve been working with GIIP alumni to assess corporate style NGOs such as the World Resources Institute and Human Rights Watch for effective strategic partnerships for GIIP and intern placement oppor-tunities for GIIP students. My focus is also on re-gional outreach, professional networking, alumni relations, and integrating a permanent internship for GIIPers at the UC Washington Center. This project will also set the groundwork for an alumni-student mentorship program and further fundraising oppor-tunities for GIIP in Washington D.C.

GIIP is working to build a base in Washington, D.C.

Getting to work on a farm in Japan

7

Special thanks to our partners and supporters!

•UCSC Sociology Department

• Social Sciences Development Division

•Dana Priest

•Mark and Chris Headley

•Brian and Jan Cunningham

•Peggy Gibbons

•Lisa Nishioka, Assistant to CGIRS

•Ronnie Lipschutz, Professor Politics

•Arif Mamdani, Christine Roessler, and Mark

Sherman of the ProgressiveTechnology Project

•Bob Minnis, Sita Shapiro, Roger Shaff, and

Michael Hernandez ofInternational Health Programs

•Brandon Wright and MaryJane Skjellerup of

the Center for MulticulturalCooperation

•Institute of International Educationʼ

•Center for Technology and Development

•Center for International Policy

Welcome our newest fellows:Dillon Draper Intensive Sociology, Sophomore

Rachael Oettinger Politics, Senior

Nadya Tannous Anthropology, Sophomore

Welcome Wagon

Fall is off to a great start with the first class in the year-long GIIP series: Sociology 30A- Introduction to Global Information and Social Enterprise Studies. For a new requirement this year, students applied for entry to the class, and there are currently as many students enrolled as the room can hold. 30A is full of many excited new GIIPers, with a broad range of interests from labor organizing to maternal health, sustainability to education. All are enrolled in a lab- either Tech Essentials, covering databases, project management, collaborative editing, and more, or Web Design, teaching students to build their own website using Wordpress.org. The students of 30A are being introduced to project proposal structure and immersed in the study of social entrepreneur-ship and development.

Taught by GIIP Director Paul Lubeck, 30A features many guest speakers, including Katie Roper, GIIP alumna and current organizer for CalPIRG, Kyle Eischen, GIIP Associate Director and Assistant Dean in the Sociology Department, Ronnie Lipschutz, faculty in the Politics department, and Rhys Thom, GIIP alumnus who currently works for the World Resources Institute. With the insight and know-how gained in 30A, students will gear up to compile their complete project proposals in the winter class, Soci-ology 30B.

Class Wrap-Up

Fellow of the QuarterYazmin HerreraYazmin worked with Cat Priestley to lead UCTLI this past summer and is currently working on de-veloping GIIPʼs partner-

ship with the Education and Training Re-source center (ETR) in Watsonville. She is also working with Hasnain Nazar to make a video for GIIP fundraising and promo-tion. Her ultimate goal is to do a project in El Salvador.

1156 High Street, Social Sciences 1, rm 314 University of California Santa Cruz, CA 95064

Web: http://www.giip.org Email: giip@ucsc.eduPhone: 831.459.1572 Fax: 831.459.5900

Contact Us

Global Information Internship Program1156 High Street, University of California Santa Cruz, CA 95064

About GIIP The Global Information Internship Program is an innovative opportunity for undergradu-ate students interested in advancing social justice. It is a digital service-learning program at University of California Santa Cruz engaged in creating a new generation of info activists committed to building social entrepreneurship in our society. It is a three part, year-round course that teaches students to work in solidarity with community and civil society groups to help organizations reach their goals at the local, regional and global levels through the use of information communication technology.