On behalf of the MacJannet Foundation and the 2013 Selection Committee, the Talloires Network Secretariat is pleased to announce the winners of the 2013 MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship!
First Place, receiving $7,500
IMU Cares Program, International Medical University (Malaysia)
The Kampung Angkat Project (KAP) [translated: Village Adoption Project] was initiated in 2007 as part of the International Medical University (IMU) Community Social Responsibility (CSR) under the banner of "IMU Cares" and in conjunction with IMU's 15th anniversary as Malaysia's first private medical university. Under the program, each of its three campuses adopted a village identified to have health and social issues and lacking in basic health facilities. The village identified for the IMU Clinical School in Seremban, was called Kampung Tekir, which was a village comprising of 500, mainly of indigenous people, of the Tenum ethnic group, 50% of whom were under 12 years old. At the time only part of the village had electricity and running water, and the nearest health clinic was 20 km away.
The purpose of the program was to enable medical and nursing undergraduate students to practice their knowledge and clinical skills in a rural setting. At the same time, the villagers would benefit from the presence of IMU students through regular free health checks and health education, the treatment of minor ailments, facilitation of referrals to appropriate health centers outside of the village when necessary, provision of free spectacles for visually impaired villagers and an opportunity for students and villagers to bond. IMU holds regular programs every 3-4 months, with one major program every year and several smaller programs. Each program was planned and executed by the students via a committee formed by the students. The KAP committee facilitates the programs by ensuring that permission and approval were obtained from the various governmental agencies. Learn More>> [1]
Second Place, receiving $5,000
Programa Social (PROSOFI), Pontificia Universidad Javeriana - Bogota (Colombia)
The Programa Social PROSOFI, established in 2010, is an academic initiative in the Engineering Faculty, inspired by the mission, educational project and Social Responsibility policy of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. When the program was established, the first task was to look into what was already happening in the Faculty in terms of teaching, investigation and social service. Then, the next task was to define the community to focus in, for which a multivariate mathematical model was applied, taking into account social, economic and logistical criteria, as well as previous University presence and the interest of the community in involvement.
The community of Gran Yomasa-Bolonia in Usme was identified as the community to focus in during 2010-2016, and together university and community members identified six areas of focus: Work and Business Competition; Environment, Sanitation and Sustainable Development; Public Infrastructure, Housing and Community Development; Technological Communications Infrastructure; Comprehensive Social Development, Health and Coexistence; and Participatory Management, Local Development and Public Policies. The program aims to create a model that can be used for the benefit of both community and University development. Eventually the aim is to develop projects in multiple territories and to position PROSOFI as a flagship program and a reference for other universities on both a national and international level.
Third Place, receiving $2,500
Programa de intervención sanitaria en poblaciones vulnerables de la provincia de Córdoba, Universidad Católica de Córdoba (Argentina)
The Programa de intervención sanitaria en poblaciones vulnerables de la provincia de Córdoba (Programa de intervención), in English the Health Intervention Program for Vulnerable Populations in the Province of Córdoba, was established in 2007 in response to sanitary and health issues raised by the community of Costa del Rio Pinto. The purpose of the program is to improve the quality of life of vulnerable populations with structural deficiencies that affect the high incidence and prevalence of communicable diseases, to implement health education as a means for generating behavior change at the individual, family and community, as well as a means to disrupt transmission routes of diseases associated with water and sanitation. The Programa de intervención is interdisciplinary, bringing together students and faculty members from three academic areas, biochemistry, pharmacy and veterinary medicine. Since the implementation of the program, illnesses in children were reduced by 45% and illnesses in animals were reduced by 56%.
The Programa de intervención is being replicated in Cabildo, a slum in Córdoba, following the road map from Costa del Rio Pinto. In the first stage, the students conduct a participatory assessment and develop baseline to determine the epidemiological reality, customs, beliefs, habits and attitudes of the people. In a second step they investigate the prevalence of communicable diseases (parasitosis in children and animals, ITS, zoonoses) and drinking water quality. In the third stage, is diagnosis is designed and implemented participatory health intervention. Learn More>> [2]
In addition, two programs were awarded Honorable Mentions:
Service-Learning Research Scheme (SLRS), Lingnan University (Hong Kong)
In 2004, Lingnan University became the first university in Hong Kong to launch the Service Learning Research Scheme (SLRS). The SLRS is fully embedded in credit-bearing courses, students work closely with community partners to design and implement service projects that address the urging needs in the society, namely Poverty & Housing, Health & Aging, and Sustainable Development. From 2006 to 2013, 2,010 students have participated in 231 Service-Learning projects under SLRS, contributing 75,000 service hours to over 22,500 people. Learn More>> [3]
Humnawa, Beaconhouse National University (Pakistan)
In September 2010, the Punjab Skill Development Fund at Beaconhouse National University developed the Humnawa program in collaboration with the Sungi Development Foundation and the Bunyad Foundation. The main objective of the program, run by 13 students, is to create sustainable empowerment for members of eight communities in Muzzafargarh and surrounding areas. The program informs artisans and community members about home based workers rights, fair wages and opportunities for home based workers as well as providing product exhibitions in Lahore and Islamabad, which aim to elevate artisan confidence and earnings. Learn More>> [4]
As in years past, the quality and the diversity of the projects that were nominated by member universities is truly remarkable and demonstrates the global reach of the community engagement movement in higher education. The MacJannet Prize recognizes the winning programs as models of excellent global citizenship and civic engagement for universities worldwide and will continue to raise awareness and encourage community engagement within higher education.
Thank you to all of our members who nominated a program. We received 61 nominations from 48 universities in 22 countries around the world, and the Selection Committee was highly impressed by the quality and scope of all of the programs. We are incredibly grateful to the members of the Selection Committee, who were faced with the difficult task of selecting winners from the incredibly strong pool of nominations:
- Rob Hollister, Executive Director, Talloires Network
- Anthony Kleitz, Board Member, MacJannet Foundation; Retired Administrator, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
- Juliet Millican, Deputy Director (Academic), Community University Partnership Programme, University of Brighton
- Jayshree Thakrar, National Workshops Program Coordinator, South African Higher Education Community Engagement Forum
- Wenke Thoman, Board Member, MacJannet Foundation; Owner, Industrial Insulation Group
- Chantal Jouannet Valderrama, Deputy Director, Center for Teacher Development, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
- Angie Yuen, Professor and V.P. for Institutional Advancement and Partnership, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Please visit our website [5] to find out more information about this year’s winners as well as the other finalists, and keep an eye out for next year’s MacJannet Prize competition.