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Schedule

 

The following information highlights the general schedule for the Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellows Summer Institute. As Summer 2015 draws closer, a more specific schedule for will be distributed to the incoming fellows. 

Academic activities:

The academic component of the program will include:

  • Presentations by Purdue University faculty
  • Panel discussions with guest speakers: Past speakers have included U.S. Senator Richard Lugar: Nuclear Weapon Proliferation, Carolyn Curiel (former ambassador to Belize and speechwriter in President Clinton’s administration):  Public vs. Private Diplomacy, Brian Lamb, founder and CEO of C-SPAN, Joe Micon, Executive Director, Lafayette Urban Ministry: The Role of Volunteerism
  • Simulations and role games (e.g., United Nations simulation; conflict resolution)
  • Group discussion and debates (e.g., What it Means to Be a Good Citizen, Should We Trust Media, Evolution or Intelligent Design)
  • Group projects (e.g., Project Citizen; This is Our Life Newspaper)
  • Practical workshops and seminars (e.g., How to Develop a Community Project, Starting Your Own Medium).

Site visits:

The fellows will visit Indianapolis, where they will tour the Indiana State House, meet with Indiana State Representative Sheila Klinker, and learn about federalism and how state government works. Other civic education-related site visits take place in Washington and Philadelphia (Independence Hall and National Constitution Center). In Chicago, the Fellows will visit the Museum of Science and Industry and the Museum of Broadcast Communication. Other site visits will include:

  • Lafayette/Tippecanoe County: Lafayette mayor’s office; The Exponent, student newspaper; local TV station; local high school;
  • Indianapolis: city tour, Indiana War Memorial, Indiana State Museum;
  • Chicago: city tour, Shedd Aquarium, Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower, tallest building in the U.S.);
  • Washington: city tour, Capitol Hill tour, Department of State, Smithsonian Institutions, Newseum interactive museum; and the Holocaust Memorial Museum.
  • Philadelphia: Franklin’s Philadelphia city tour, Franklin Institute.

Cultural and social activities:

 In addition to visiting museums, institute cultural and social activities will include
  • July 4th Independence Day picnic
  • International Cultures Night with artistic presentations
  • International Bazaar including charity fund-raising by fellows
  • Visits to the Black Cultural Center and Latino Cultural Center
  • Concerts and movie nights
  • Final creative arts project about new knowledge the fellows have acquired about the U.S. and other participating countries.