What They Say

“The cooperation between the Institute for Domestic & International Affairs and the Center for Global Security and Democracy at Rutgers has done a great deal to advance the development of youth programs to promote civic engagement and empowerment. The partnership provides a unique opportunity for the development of interactive programs such as Global PACT and the World Youth Leadership and Activism Conference (WYLAC). Through this relationship, IDIA and CGSD are able to provide innovative opportunities for young people from around the world to become active participants in their own societies and to engage each other, too.”

--Michael Hinchliffe, Executive Director, IDIA

“The Rutgers University team proved to be a valuable asset to the conference [Innovations in Higher Education: Bringing Ideas to Life] in general and to each working group in particular. Open to discussion, new ideas, eager to share their experience and ready to listen to the participants' opinions, challenges and suggestions, they contributed much to the success of the conference. I should say that their message to the conference participants could be presented in a kind of formula: teaching interactively + always keeping in mind that students and teachers are equal partners = successful/fruitful teaching/learning process.”

--Marina Kaim, Professor of English, Moldova State University

"The continued guidance and assistance we have received from Rutgers faculty have been invaluable in the planning and actualization of the conference [Innovations in Higher Education: Bringing Ideas to Life]. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Rutgers on the implementation stages of the action plans developed."

--Katherine Correll, ACCELS, Country Director Moldova

"My cooperation with University of Rutgers started from one great idea developed by many wonderful people. This idea is service learning - a brilliant concept bringing together high-quality teaching, voluntary work with the community and unconventional real-life experience. These people were bright, committed, caring and inspiring. CGSD smoothly put the idea and the people together and developed a teaching methodology, which not only gives valuable knowledge and practical experience to the students, but also makes the local communities stronger and more coherent, helps voluntary organizations to solve urgent problems in the community and develops democratic values among the students. Civic engagement, dialogue with the community, and a will to make our own town or neighborhood more secure, friendly, clean and supporting all help to strengthen citizens' commitment and responsiveness. This way of teaching was worth of following and thus our university developed a similar program which soon gained positive feedback from students and community partners."

--Annika Velthut, Secretary General of the Ministry of the Environment, Estonia, former Lecturer and Project Manager, Department of Government, Tallinn Pedagogical University, Estonia

“ As International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan continues to explore new initiatives in its international curriculum, it has benefited immensely from the creative advice and under girding support which Michael Shafer has generously offered through the Center for Global Security and Democracy.  His visits to ICU to assist in strategic planning have placed special emphasis on the importance of Service-Learning being a more integral part of the university’s overall academic program.  A group of students from ICU and from the university’s partner institutions in Asia will be going to South Africa to attend a CGSD sponsored seminar.   Preparations for a joint program in Japan on human rights in the modern world for both university and high school students are also gathering momentum.  Michael Shafer and his colleagues at the Center for Global Security and Democracy have indeed provided invaluable support in stimulating a number of new and innovative approaches as ICU addresses the educational challenges of the day.”

--David W. Vikner, President, Japan ICU Foundation 

“The knowledge, inspiration, continued guidance and assistance I have received and my Lithuanian colleagues are getting from Rutgers University team led by Prof. Michael Shafer since 2001 paved the way to introduction of innovative “in-service” teaching elements in several Lithuanian universities outside the capital city Vilnius (Kaunas University of Technology, Vytautas Magnus University, and Siauliai University). The “civic” components appeared in such diverse courses as political science, political sociology, sociology of gender, sociology of organizations, community development and NGOs, marketing, project management, social work, psychological counseling, and you name it. In 2005, Lithuanian partners of the CGSD form a nodal point of challenging university-local community projects, attracting attention and funding from the European Commission (Brussels, Belgium), the Civic Education Project (Budapest, Hungary), and the Democracy Commission (Department of State, USA).”

--Irmina Matonyte, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Social Research, Vilnius; former Director of Public Policy Research Center and Associate Professor at Kaunas University of Technology

"The CGSD made possible an amazing, life-changing experience for a group of 14 Rutgers undergraduates who traveled to Thailand during summer break on a tsunami relief project. Because of the Center's purpose and vision, Rutgers was the only major American research university with academic relief program in the heart of Thailand's tsunami zone. The Center's past accomplishments, current projects and future deserve even more attention than they already receive. In today's increasingly interdependent global economy and within the culturally diverse state of New Jersey, there is no more appropriate place to harness the intellectual energy of Rutgers than at the Center for Global Security and Democracy. CGSD is Rutgers best means to mold the next generation of global leaders and further the noble cause of responsible, humane internationalism."

--Don Curry, Field Team Coordinator, Rutgers Tsunami Relief Team

“I think it is amazing how FACE Human Rights links young human rights activists and supporters across boundaries regardless of their background. There are so many grassroots organization out there desperate to find global partners with whom they can share experience and gather support for issues they adopt. All my friends in the Middle East who work in human rights issues showed great interest in joining FACE Human Rights.”

--Nadwa Al-Dawsari, Senior Program Officer, Tribal Program, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), Sanaa, Yemen

“CGSD gave me the incredible opportunity to be involved with the tsunami-rebuilding effort in Thailand. It provided me with a hands-on educational experience that I simply would not have encountered by sitting in classrooms. I learned that helping rebuild a community is a complex process; it can involve inefficient organizations, fight against bureaucracy and just constant frustration. But, in the end, volunteering was an immensely gratifying experience. I now see myself as a global citizen.”

--Nicole Peter, Public Health Major, Tsunami Relief Team Member, 2005

“One may ask why a student studying science would be interested in working with a team to create a Global Studies major at Rutgers. I would say that the importance of science in understanding and solving many of the global issues today is undeniable. The problems facing the world today cannot be understood by having an education that does not teach you their importance. One only has to step into the working world to realize the value of being able to see and think in global terms.”

--Tanvi Salvi, Genetics and Economics Major, Tsunami Relief Team Member, 2005

"Volunteering for Tsunami Relief was one of the most, if not the most, rewarding and productive jobs I've ever done. I was very proud to represent Rutgers University in Thailand - after all, we were the only student group who stayed in the tsunami zone for such prolonged period of time, not to forget all the additional features of our program, such as lectures and field trips. Thank you for giving me this wonderful opportunity to participate in Tsunami Relief program; this by far has been the best summer ever! During my first 3 weeks, I got stung by a jellyfish, burned my ankle on a motorbike, was chased by a troop of wild monkeys, and temporarily lost my taste buds after trying a very special papaya salad! At the same time, I got exposed to a whole new world of the unexpected and unknown, which tested my endurance and taught me to be ready for anything."

--Olga Petrova, Tsunami Relief Team Member, 2005

“As a Visiting Fellow at the Center for Global Security and Democracy in 2003-2004 I had the opportunity to work with outstanding faculty and students on an ongoing research project that examines the relationship between transnational industries and development prospects in Eastern Europe and other parts of the world. The Center proved to be great place for intense scholarly discussion, workshops, and cooperation in research. It also facilitated unique joint supervision of MA and PhD dissertations by faculty from Rutgers University, Yale University, and the Central European University.”

--Bela Greskovits, Central European University Budapest

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