May the peace that we wish for this holiday season

become real through our joint efforts to build a more just and fraternal world every day of the new year ahead.

With style="padding-right:0;" our best wishes,

The CLAYSS team

Argentine Service-learning teachers assume public office in various locations

CLAYSS congratulates and wishes the best to Service-learning teachers that after Argentina elections have taken public service in different areas of their provinces and districts. Special greetings to Virginia Hughes, who has just been appointed Secretary of Education Management in Chubut; Gustavo Genusso, elected Mayor of the city of Bariloche, Ana Geron, new Director of Culture in the City of Bariloche, and to our dear CLAYSS team mate Sebastian Puglisi, new Director of Culture for the Municipality of General Pueyrredón (Mar del Plata).

First Service-Learning Award Delivery in Spain

Within the framework of the 8th style="padding-right:0;" Learning Service Meeting held in Valencia December 11th, the first edition of the “APS Awards" in partnership with style="padding-right:0;" Educo and Edebé Editorial took place. The Award was aimed to Educational institutions from all levels (Kindergarten, primary, secondary, vocational training) as well as social organizations that develop service-learning practices. The synthesis and videos of the 12 award-winning experiences can be found (in Spanish) here: http://aprendizajeservicio.net/premio-aprendizaje-servicio-2015/

CLAYSS at the Vatican

CLAYSS representatives Luz Avruj and Nieves Tapia participated in the World Congress of Education organized by the Vatican November 18th style="padding-right:0;" – 21st. Nieves was invited to present on Friday 20th style="padding-right:0;" the Service-Learning pedagogy, in the session organized by the Catholic International Education Office (OIEC) and also on the final day of the Congress, on Saturday November 21st in Pablo VI Hall at Vatican City, which ended with style="padding-right:0;" Pope Francis speech. Among the 10,000 participants from the five continents, there were numerous institutions that currently develop important service-learning programs, as the Catholic University of Australia, and others which develop meaningful experiences under other names such as the Indian School Riverside, and many more that, for the first time, came into contact with style="padding-right:0;" this pedagogy. They expressed great interest in its potential of service-learning to be integrated in Catholic Education, articulating academic contents with style="padding-right:0;" their identity concerns, such as "reaching the peripheries" and "rebuilding the educational pact" as asked by Pope Francis.

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CLAYSS in Vienna

16th style="padding-right:0;" November was a busy day in Vienna. CLAYSS held an exchange session with style="padding-right:0;" universities and representatives of civil society organizations from Austria and Eastern Europe. Nieves Tapia and Luz Avruj introduced CLAYSS and presented the Service-Learning pedagogy which was greeted with style="padding-right:0;" enthusiasm. Many of those present in the meeting emphasized, despite geographical and cultural distances, the common features present in Latin America and Eastern Europe. The meeting was an opportunity to strengthen the ties with style="padding-right:0;" organizations already promoting service-learning in the region and to present the proposal to those who did not know and to plan possible cooperation ways in the near future.

Leading Latin American universities in world report

A report conducted by QS (2015/16 QS World University rankings) on the performance of 800 universities around the world was published. QS is an educational network specialized in higher education for professionals looking to develop their professional profile.
For the outcome six indicators were taken into account: academic quality, prestige of its professionals, college student ratio, proportion of international professorships, proportion of foreign students and citations per faculty.
Among the 10 best Universities in Latin America according to this study, 8 have worked with style="padding-right:0;" CLAYSS or have been part of the "Service-Learning Support Program-Higher Education". Even if we hope that in the future university rankings pay more attention to social responsibility and service-learning activities of institutions of higher education we are pleased by the results of this study for these solidary Universities.

CLAYSS in Brazil

Together with style="padding-right:0;" the Getulio Vargas Fundation CLAYSS co-organized the first symposium about "Educação e Solidariedade" which took place September 21st in San Pablo, Brazil. The meeting was attended by 50 participants coming from different social and educational institutions that are currently developing educational volunteering, socially responsible and service-learning activities.
Enrique Ochoa, International Relations Coordinator in CLAYSS, participated in the event coordination of and gave a presentation about service-learning and its expansion in Latin America. After the presentation, there was a workshop in which the possibilities of CLAYSS development and service-learning advancement in Brazil were analyzed by participants. Also, a number of bilateral meetings took place in which institutional allies analyzed the next steps to be followed.
September 22nd Mr. Ochoa was invited to present in a round table that addressed key features as “education, inclusion and social engagement” within the V Web Curriculum Seminar - XII Encontro de Pesquisadores (www.pucsp.br/webcurriculo), developed by the San Pablo Catholic University.

High School of Art from Tilcara: solidarity and ancestral music

Students from this school develop a workshop for building and repairing local musical instruments. Serving sikus bands is an enormous contribution to the promotion and preservation of a cultural space in the region.
This experience, winner of the "Solidarity Schools" Presidential Award 2015 has been published (in Spanish) by the journal El Monitor: http://elmonitor.educ.ar/secciones/y-en-este-numero/cuando-la-solidaridad-suena-fuerte/

The Integration and Development Center (CID) from Quilmes continues its solidarity educational project

Children of the Integration and Development Center participated in the municipal Garden Fair held in October in Quilmes, exhibited their plants and flowers production and shared their service-learning experience with style="padding-right:0;" other schools. Also, they still continue with style="padding-right:0;" the maintenance of green spaces as La Cruz, Bicentennial and Communities Parks and with style="padding-right:0;" the gardens of the Casa del Niño Don Bosco. This year they received the second prize for the “Solidary Schools” Presidential Award 2015 awarded by the National Solidarity Education Program of the Ministry of Education of Argentina for their projects "Would you like to make a garden? " and "a grain of sand ".

Important Prize for technical school pioneer in service-learning

The Technical School in Social Management Nehuen Peuman (Master Builder orientation) from Neuquén carries out the “ECOTEC” project that has been named the most innovative project in the National Science, Technology and Arts Fair.
ECOTEC is the continuity of an institutional Project presented in the 2012 Science Fair. The ARB + Ecotécnicos = Bariloche pollution free was a project about social problems related to the environment and household waste organic - inorganic classification. ECOTEC consists of the reutilization of recycled materials and volcanic sand that fell in the area as a result of the Caulle-Puyehue and Calbuco volcanic eruptions. Students used the recycled material to construct hyper pressed solid bricks called ECOTEC that are used with style="padding-right:0;" solidary purposes in the construction of public houses.

CLAYSS Upcoming courses

The next edition of the course "Service-Learning in Higher Education" will take place in the first semester, 2016. To register please write to: [email protected]

CLAYSS year of intense activity ends with style="padding-right:0;" a training activity at Oakhill College

Oakhill schools have a curriculum component for the development of training content and solidarity practices both style="padding-right:0;" for the primary and the secondary level. They have recently decided to manage their solidarity practices through the service-learning pedagogy developing a series of training activities together with style="padding-right:0;" CLAYSS.
During 2015 CLAYSS conducted various training activities at Oakhill School in Pilar. In June, an onsite training for principals and teachers in charge of supportive participation actions was developed. After that, some of those teachers took the virtual course on “Development of service-learning projects”. Finally, December 14th style="padding-right:0;" an open training was developed for all teaching staff attended by about 70 teachers.

CLAYSS Support Program for Solidary Schools

October 9th style="padding-right:0;" CLAYSS participated in the “Education as a social practice in diversity contexts” organized by the students from the Social Project of "Santiago Derqui" School, as part of the CLAYSS Solidary Schools Network and the Support Program for Solidary Schools. There was a workshop with style="padding-right:0;" teachers interested in Service-Learning and its implementation at school through network participation with style="padding-right:0;" the Civil Association Civil Diego Duarte from José León Suárez, the native community Chorcán from Jujuy and the School from Humahuaca.

In the words of Paul Dani, Rector of the institution: “the school opening to new communal spaces, can allow the entering of new outlooks, ways of apprehending, intervene and transform reality and that is no other thing than action in the social context, through social practice and if we allow ourselves the possibility of a back and forth style="padding-right:0;" of existing social problems (any of those) and the classroom, we could come to talk about the social and community praxis”. We thank the invitation and congratulate the School for continuing and deepening their trajectory as leaders in the development of service-learning projects.
October 10th style="padding-right:0;" Belen Chaparro lectured about solidarity as a pedagogic proposal to 150 teachers in the Diocesan Congress of Catholic Education carried out in Burzaco and Organized by the Regional Board of Catholic Education of San Isidro (JUREC).
4th-6th style="padding-right:0;" November Luz Avruj and Gabriela Malacrida conducted -three days of intensive work in the University of Santo Tomas, Bucaramanga Colombia. The first day a number of meetings were held at different locations of the university, Floridablanca, Piedecuesta and Bucaramanga, where they had the opportunity to listen to outreach and extension coordinators in areas such as public health; human rights and post-conflict victims; strengthening business and technology and environmental protection and sustainable development.
After that day the two following days in which the workshops were held with style="padding-right:0;" more than 33 teachers from various faculties, were greatly enriched. In addition to the training they worked to enhance the many interesting projects that have been ongoing in this university and to exchange alternatives for transitions to service-learning.

CLAYSS in the "National Meeting of Senior Guides"

The Latin American Center for Service-Learning provided a training day in the "National Meeting of Senior Guides“ organized by the Argentina Guides Association, held on November 11th- 12th. 350 girls from across the country attended the meeting.
Guides Argentine Association (AGA) is an institution dedicated since 1953, to the integral development, and the promotion of girls and women to develop their fullest potential as responsible citizens, capable of making significant contributions to society.

Training and onsite technical assistance offered

As part of our institutional proposal CLAYSS offers training in the pedagogy of service learning to educational institutions and civil society organizations interested in the design, implementation and institutionalization of community service-learning projects. We provide distance and on-site training of varying length style="padding-right:0;" about Service-learning to institutions of all levels of education (preschool, primary, secondary and tertiary) and youth style="padding-right:0;" and community organizations. On the other hand we offer a wide-ranging program of technical support for educational institutions to contribute to the development of a team of teachers and school leaders in planning, developing and evaluating institutional educational projects that integrate learning activities with style="padding-right:0;" service practices in the community. It aims at managers and teachers at all levels of the institution as well as the educational guidance team. For more information contact Lic. Luz Avruj, Training Coordinator, [email protected]

Spanish Service-Learning Network: eighth style="padding-right:0;" Annual Meeting

December 11th style="padding-right:0;" – 12th, the Eighth style="padding-right:0;" Meeting of the Spanish Service-Learning Network was performed. It was held in Valencia and was organized by the “ApS Promotion Group” from Valencia. Within this framework, the first Spanish service-learning Award was delivered.

Since the creation of the Spanish Service-Learning Network in 2010, annual meetings have helped to consolidate and coordinate the work that different nuclei that make up the Network do in their respective territories, and thereby it has given great impetus to the expansion of Service-Learning in Spain. The first four meetings took place in the same city, Portugalete, and since 2012 the tradition has become for the meeting to take place in a different Autonomous Community from the Region, in charge of the Promotion Coordinating Group from that territory.
CLAYSS greeted the Network through a video (in Spanish) which can be seen here: http://aprendizajeservicio.net/2015/12/14/desde-buenos-aires-clayss-envia-un-saludo-a-los-participantes-en-el-8o-encuentro-aps-y-a-la-asamblea-de-la-redaps/

The National Solidarity Education Program of the Ministry of Education of Argentina meets with style="padding-right:0;" the Ministry of Education of Chile

In late November a meeting of technical cooperation between the National Solidarity Education Program of the Ministry of Education of Argentina and the Ministry of Education of Chile was held. Experiences, visions and proposals were shared in a set of enriching meetings. The National Solidarity Education Program has been valued by its trajectory, strength style="padding-right:0;" and outreach for over 15 years of service-learning in Argentina and Latin American brothers.

Changes in the address of NYLC and “27th style="padding-right:0;" Annual National Service-Learning Conference”

Kelita Bak, current CEO of the NYLC, announced her resign from her current position effective 31st December 2015. We hope the best for Kelita in her new challenges, and congratulate our friend Amy Meuers, the new Interim CEO. CLAYSS is looking forward to keep collaborating with style="padding-right:0;" NYLC, co-founder of the Iberican-American Service-learning Network and one of the leading NGOs in the Service-learning field.
Under the slogan “Educate. Ignite. Transform” NYLC organizes the traditional Service-Learning National Conference March 30- April 2 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. As in previous years, the first annual meeting of the Ibero-american Service learning Network will take place.
The call is now open for workshop presentations. For further information please go to:
http://servicelearningconference.org/2016/

Service-learning in Silvia Henriquez University celebrates its 5th style="padding-right:0;" anniversary

Silva Henriquez Catholic University (UCSH)of Chile started to create a team of professors with style="padding-right:0;" the objective of understanding the scope of a bidirectional work and the level of significance of teaching by interacting with style="padding-right:0;" the surrounding communities, as the first solidary practices started.
In 2012, UCSH began with style="padding-right:0;" the Service-Learning Support Program for Higher Education offered by CLAYSS in which onsite and online training were carried out. These activities contributed with style="padding-right:0;" a deeper theoretical background for participating teachers that had the opportunity to become members of Networks with style="padding-right:0;" other national and international higher education institutions that also develop Service-Learning programs. To this day, around 16 courses from different careers implement Service-Learning projects.
Within the framework of the curricular redesign, the agreed commitment in the Strategically Development plan 2012-2020 and as a result of 5 years work, the University is walking towards the institutionalization of the work done in each subject.
CLAYSS congratulates the University for the Great Achievements of these years and wish them sustained and even better accomplishments.

Call for 2016 MacJannet nominations is now open

The MacJannet Prize was established by the Talloires Network and the MacJannet Foundation to recognize exceptional student community engagement initiatives at Talloires Network member universities and contributes financially to their ongoing public service efforts.
Nomination and selection process: To be considered for the MacJannet Prize, programs first need to be nominated. Anyone can nominate a program – including their own. The programs must be based at Talloires Network member universities. Nominations must be accompanied by a letter of support from the head of the university. A selection committee, including representatives of the Talloires Network and the MacJannet Foundation as well as international higher education community engagement experts, will review nominations and identify the finalists. Finalists will be contacted and asked to provide additional information, including contact information for faculty, students, and community members involved with style="padding-right:0;" the program. In some cases phone interviews may be requested. The selection committee will then deliberate and select one First Prize, one Second Prize, and one Third Prize winner.
Timeline for the 2016 MacJannet Prize:
Nomination forms available: 20 November 2015
Nomination forms due: 29 February 2016
Finalists notified: Late March 2016
Additional information from finalists due: Early April 2016
Phone interviews with style="padding-right:0;" finalists: April and Early May 2016
Winners notified: May 30, 2016
Winners announced: Mid- June 2016
For further information please go to: http://talloiresnetwork.tufts.edu/about-the-macjannet-prize/nomination-and-selection-process/

10th style="padding-right:0;" year anniversary of the Talloires Network

The Talloires Network is a pioneer Organization in promoting the growth style="padding-right:0;" of Civic Engagement in the academic field of Higher Education worldwide.
Since its beginning in 2005 it has successfully built a Network that currently has more than 350 members in 75 countries around the world. The Network continues to play a key role in supporting Higher Level Educational Institutions to be civically committed and socially responsible.
We congratulate the Network. We will continue working together and articulating with style="padding-right:0;" universities that develop Solidary practices in Latin America and the Caribbean.

New Network for solidary Universities

With style="padding-right:0;" the support of other 12 Universities around the world including the Tufts and the Talloires Network, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University has constituted a new Network to support and promote University Social Responsibility (USR). The “University Social Responsibility Network” (USRN), was launched in Hong Kong October 9th. The USRN is committed to be a global platform for the exchange of ideas and resources, fostering association and collaboration to contribute to the global development of USR and for Higher Education to work as a catalyzer of social improvement.

2016:

March 30 - April 2: “27th style="padding-right:0;" Annual National Service-Learning Conference”. NYLC organises the traditional Service Learning Conference in USA at Minneapolis, Minessotta. http://servicelearningconference.org/2016/

June 22-24 2016: 7th style="padding-right:0;" Living Knowledge Conference – Dublin, Ireland. Living Knowledge 2016 will be hosted by Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland.