World Community Workshop opens Thursday at DC; Cambodia featured

Defiance Publishing
http://www.crescent-news.com

By JACK PALMER

palmer@crescent-news.com

A microcosm of a global society comprised of young people from around the world will be present Thursday through Saturday at Defiance College.

The event is the 23rd annual World Community Workshop, sponsored by Defiance Rotary Club, Rotary District 6600 and the McMaster School for Advancing Humanity.

"This workshop provides young people with an opportunity to learn about history, customs, economic and political issues of a selected area of the world," said Ken Wetstein, DC liaison for the event. "In addition, they will share their stories about life in different countries."

The workshop will be attended by about 140 selected high school students from northwest and west central Ohio. The tuition of $225 is covered by the local Rotary Clubs, who provide scholarships to qualified students.

This year's focus is on Cambodia, a country in southeast Asia with a population of more than 14 million people. It borders Thailand to the west and northwest, Laos to the northeast and Vietnam to its east and southeast. In the south, Cambodia faces the Gulf of Thailand.

Workshop participants will be assigned to one of five working groups based on their interest related to Cambodia: history, geography, culture and customs, politics or economics. Within these five topic areas, smaller groups of 7-10 participants will form sub-groups mentored by a DC faculty member, recent graduate or student leader for development of a presentation on Saturday morning.

Fun activities, such as dancing, basketball and games, are planned for evening entertainment.

"The format is different this year," said Wetstein. "Instead of mainly listening to lectures, the participants will become more interactive through small groups. They will have the opportunity to not only present content but also attend presentations by their peers in other sessions."

The grand banquet on Thursday at 6 p.m. features recent DC graduates Jennifer Creighton and Renee Chaffee as keynote speakers. Both women performed community-based research projects in Cambodia as part of the McMaster School for Advancing Humanity program.

Chaffee addressed domestic violence as it relates to women and children to assess whether the center was providing adequate services. She played, talked and worked with women and children individually and in group settings with the help of a translator.

Creighton's project involved the natural forms of birth control, since Cambodia's past unrest has made the use of and methods of obtaining medicinal forms of birth control difficult.

Her research took her to one form of birth control -- cycle beads -- that had 95 percent effectiveness with correct use and 88 percent effectiveness with typical use.

Wetstein said the workshop will be bolstered by the participation of several high school exchange students from China, South Korea, Slovak Republic, Argentina, Germany, Japan, Mexico and France.

"The participants will take an active role in networking and sharing knowledge with their peers," said Wetstein. "This is an excellent program which educates students for responsible world citizenship in the 21st century."