{"id":1273,"date":"2019-08-19T09:35:19","date_gmt":"2019-08-19T09:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/?p=15"},"modified":"2019-08-19T09:35:19","modified_gmt":"2019-08-19T09:35:19","slug":"passport-to-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/passport-to-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"UVI Passport to the World Visits South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A group of students, staff, alumni and friends embarked on an exciting travel-learning tour of South Africa from May 25 to June 8, as part of UVI\u2019s\u202fPassport to the World\u202f<\/em>Travel-Learning Program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The twenty-four-member contingent spent the first week in Johannesburg and the second week in Cape Town. In both cities, participants gained an in-depth understanding of South Africa’s history, before and after the Apartheid regime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To do so, they needed to step out of their comfort zones and see the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“At UVI, we want our students, faculty, and staff to be well-rounded, to be global citizens,\u201d said Camille McKayle, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. \u201cUVI Passport to the World Travel-Learning Program to South Africa provided an opportunity for participants to make those connections between our culture and that of South Africa in many ways.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Johannesburg, the group visited the Apartheid Museum, the home of Nelson Mandela in the South Western Township (SOWETO) as well as the Hector Peterson museum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The attendees partook in a cultural immersion experience which included visits to the Lesedi Cultural Village on the outskirts of Johannesburg, where they learned about the different tribal cultures that contribute to South Africa being known as the “Rainbow Nation”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

UVI\u2019s visiting contingent also had the opportunity to visit non-governmental agencies such as the Johannesburg Development Agency; local business ECONET, a telecommunications and technology company; and institutions of higher learning within the Johannesburg area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second week of the program was spent in Cape Town where participants were able to enjoy and experience Table Mountain\u2014one of the seven wonders of nature. A steep cable ride up the mountain revealed picturesque views of the city of Cape Town. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While in Cape Town, the group continued its exploration of South Africa’s unique history by visiting Robben Island, the island which housed the prison of its name in which Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years of imprisonment.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The group had the chance to speak with one of the former prisoners who served with Nelson Mandela: Sparks, who related his experience and that of the over 500 prisoners who endured hard labor on the island.\u202f 
 
 
A tour of the inside of the prison allowed participants to visit the actual prison cell in which Mandela spent his time.\u202f 
 
They also visited the District 6 Museum where they interacted with a “coloured” man who was forcefully removed from the area by the South African Apartheid government in the 1960’s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For UVI Alumnus and doctoral student Rick Grant, the trip to South Africa wasn\u2019t only about learning about the country\u2019s rich history and past. Rick is most proud to have shared his recently published children\u2019s book, “When I Grow Up” to a group of children in Cape Town. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a mentor, author and educator, my interest was being able to give back to <\/p>\n\n\n\n

a local group of children,\u201d said Rick. \u201cBeing provided the opportunity to engage and encourage children, read my own book and leave copies with the native South African children of the Happy Feet after-school program was the most impactful takeaway for me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akeem McKintosh, UVI alumnus and staff member, describes the trip as an awesome opportunity and a great experience that deepened his love and understanding for African history and culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI enjoyed visiting the various museums and Robben Island, getting a detailed lesson in South African History,\u201d McKintosh said.\u202f\u202f\u201cGaining a deeper understanding of the Apartheid system and the struggles of South Africans added much more context to the music of Lucky Dube. It was easily one of the most memorable days of the trip, I enjoyed getting up-close and personal, having heart to heart conversations with many local South Africans.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lorna Chesterfield, UVI staff member, lauded the UVI Passport to the World Program as an eye-opening, humbling and impactful experience that allows the UVI community to explore different cultures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a really great program that the University has embarked upon in order to <\/p>\n\n\n\n

open the eyes of its students, faculty, staff and alumni so that they may be able to <\/p>\n\n\n\n

experience\u00a0other cultures outside of our immediate Caribbean area,\u201d said Chesterfield. \u201cIt is really great for people who would normally not have the opportunity to travel to those areas on their own, to do so in a group setting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UVI Passport to the World Travel-Learning program is housed in the Office of the Provost and was created in 2015 with a goal to bring UVI to the world. This experiential learning opportunity fuses education, culture, and recreation to create a culturally immersive experience for participants. In the past, the program has included travel to China and India. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

UVI’s Passport to the World Educational Travel Program partnered with World Strides, with its over 50 years of experience in organizing travel-learning experiences, to provide this capstone program.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program is open to UVI students, staff, faculty, and alumni and takes place annually. The program for 2019 is currently being developed. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A group of students, staff, alumni and friends embarked on an exciting travel-learning tour of South Africa from May 25 to June 8, as part of UVI\u2019s\u202fPassport to the World\u202fTravel-Learning Program.  The twenty-four-member contingent spent the first week in Johannesburg and the second week in Cape Town. In both cities, participants gained an in-depth understanding of South […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":433,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1273"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1273\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}