Innovative global opportunities focus on engaging with Indigenous and traditional communities

 

Oshawa, ON – In 2021, Durham College (DC) was awarded $472,000 in funding from Global Skills Opportunity, the Government of Canada’s Outbound Student Mobility Pilot Program, to offer a Faculty-Led Classroom Abroad (FLCA) at Home and Away program. Following a successful inaugural year, we are pleased to offer the FLCA@Home and Away: Storytelling for its second consecutive year. FLCA@Home and Away: Storytelling is an innovative learning opportunity that reflects the urgent need for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada and globally.

“Reconciliation with Indigenous communities is a high priority for students at DC, and that’s why our team is so excited to bring back the FLCA@Home and Away: Storytelling program,” says Janine Knight-Grofe, director, International Education. “Thanks to the funding from Global Skills Opportunity, students can interact and exchange knowledge with communities in Guatemala to develop a foundation for reconciliation and become culturally-sensitive global citizens, while simultaneously building their abilities as storytellers.”

Through a combination of virtual workshops in the fall semester and a 10-day visit to a rural Mayan community in Guatemala during the winter 2023 reading week, program participants will increase their knowledge of intercultural competencies and hone their creativity while demonstrating cultural awareness and self-awareness, particularly in understanding the unique perspectives and contributions of Indigenous peoples.

This engaging learning experience also coaches students to respect cultural differences and to recognize and interpret cultural perspectives without bias. At the end of the winter 2023 offering, a final showcase will feature stories co-created by DC students and students in Guatemala as a celebration of the work accomplished by collaborating and working together.

FLCA@Home and Away was designed in collaboration with DC’s International Education Office, faculty, the First Peoples Indigenous Centre, the Access and Support Centre, and the Career Development Office. This offering is open to students from the college’s School of Media, Art & Design. Eligible students qualify for travel bursaries that cover most of their expenses. 

More information about FLCA@Home and Away: Storytelling can be found at www.durhamcollege.ca/flca. Details about the Global Skills Opportunity program are also available online.

-30-

About Durham College

With campuses in Oshawa and Whitby, Durham College (DC) offers over 13,700 full-time post-secondary and apprenticeship students access to more than 140 programs, including three honours bachelor degrees and nine apprenticeship programs.

DC enables students to develop career-ready skills for the ever-changing job market by providing an exceptional college education. With a focus on experiential learning, led by expert faculty, through field placements, applied research, co-ops and other hands-on opportunities, DC grads are known for having the skills and knowledge employers need.

At the Oshawa campus, the Centre for Collaborative Education brings together local, Indigenous and global communities, featuring the Durham College Spa, Rotary Global Classroom and interprofessional simulation and anatomy labs. The campus is also home to four of the college’s applied research centres, including the AI Hub, Centre for Cybersecurity Innovation, Mixed Reality Capture Studio and Social Impact Hub. Additionally, the flexible, fully automated, and industrial-grade Integrated Manufacturing Centre serves as a model of the new standards in advanced manufacturing, mechatronics and engineering education.

At DC’s Whitby campus, the new 60,000-square-foot Ontario Power Generation Centre for Skilled Trades and Technology shines a spotlight on industrial skilled trades training, innovation and education, and includes a double-height shop lab, new classrooms and student touchdown spaces, among other features. The campus also features the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food, which is home to the award-winning full-service restaurant, Bistro ’67; retail store, Pantry, featuring food grown and prepared by students; and the Barrett Centre of Innovation in Sustainable Urban Agriculture and its community-inspired urban farm.

MEDIA CONTACT
Carmen Doucette
Communications + Marketing
Durham College
carmen.doucette@durhamcollege.ca