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January 4, 2013

InteRDom to Host Third Edition of University of Rhode Island Winter Short Programs

InteRDom to Host Third Edition of University of Rhode Island Winter Short Programs
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The InteRDom program is pleased to announce that it will continue to strengthen its partnership with the prestigious institution of higher education, the University of Rhode Island, this January, hosting two groups of students who will perform service learning activities and explore cultural, political and social elements of Dominican society.

This year there will be two separate groups of students spending their January term in the Dominican Republic: one group of 10 students studying political science and one group of 11 studying nursing.

This year there will be two separate groups of students spending their January term in the Dominican Republic: one group of 10 students studying political science and one group of 11 studying nursing.  Each group will participate in some activities with Dominican professionals which correspond to their separate areas of study, as well as other cultural activities to get to know the social, political and cultural practices of the Dominican Republic together.

Each group of students will arrive in Santo Domingo on Monday, January 7 to participate in an orientation session, and the next day will travel separately to different areas of the country to perform different service activities.  The nursing group, accompanied by professors Alicia Curtin and Diane Martins, will travel to the town of Las Matas de Farfán, in the Western border region of the country to perform medical and public health services; while the political science group, accompanied by Professor Maureen Moakley and Graduate Assistant Matthew Rosa, will travel to batey La Esperanza in the northwestern part of the country to work with InteRDom partner organization Yspaniola on a literacy program for children.

Both groups will spend a week working on their service projects in the Dominican countryside before returning to Santo Domingo to participate in an in-depth program of cultural and educational activities.  The agenda includes tours of the historic Colonial Zone, the Dominican Congress, the Museum of the Resistance and the Mirabal Sisters’ Museum, as well as lectures and activities with experts on Dominican political history public health, population dynamics and Dominican-Haitian relations.

Complementing InteRDom’s agenda of activities will be special sessions coordinated by the program leaders, whose diverse expertise in a wide range of subject areas from Latin American political science to global public health to humanitarian aid will broaden and deepen students’ knowledge of all of the topics explored by the program.  Enthusiastic faculty and advisors are essential to every aspect of a successful international program, from its conception and development to the recruitment of participants to executing an often rigorous and thought-provoking agenda.

This program is a result of the previous three January term trips made by University of Rhode Island students to the Dominican Republic.  URI has also participated in the positive promotion of the country in the greater Providence community through their participation in the New Perspectives photo exhibit in October 2011 and their participation in the InteRDom PRO 2012 program.

The internship program, InteRDom, an initiative of Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), is the premier internship, research and academic study program in the Dominican Republic. It offers international students the opportunity to research important topics at the forefront of the United Nations agenda, obtain professional experience by interning with Dominican organizations and businesses related to their fields of study and/or earn academic credits by taking courses and seminars at a local university.

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