Satoko Kawai is absolutely bursting with excitement.

"We don't have anything like this in Japan" she says, her eyes gravitating to over 100 cultural boxes lining the walls of the WorldOregon office.

Kawai is one of seven students who has come to learn about culture box curriculum from Global Classrooms Manager, Karen Ettinger. She is currently finishing her Masters degree in Education at Portland State University, and has come as part of Professor Yer Thao's multicultural education class. Kawai hopes the culture box training session will empower her with tools to implement a similar program in her home country of Japan.

Japan's educational system shares many similar challenges to the United States. Common factors such as budget and time constraints make it difficult to implement a sustainable cultural curriculum in public schools. And while the demand for foreign language teachers in Japan are also on the rise, the country's demographics remain largely homogeneous. Without this multicultural context, Kawai says its hard for students to understand how their own identity fits within the global landscape. 

Back in Tokyo, Kawai and her nonprofit work to fill in the educational gaps by facilitating cultural workshops for youth. She sees culture box curriculum as a way to promote identity development education. Kawai has already begun experimenting with the program by borrowing items from foreign embassies in Tokyo. These donated items help her to really engage students and bring these cultures to life. 

"It's so important to touch--to feel the culture, you know?" Kawai says while exploring the Korea culture box at WorldOregon. 

WorldOregon's culture boxes are also donations based--many from immigrant families who wanted to share their rich cultural heritage with the K-12 school system. Culture Boxes include items such as toys, clothing, pottery, stamps, and musical instruments and can be used to supplement many different subject lessons. These types of cultural artifacts help students to find similarities between cultures and understand their historical context in a way that promotes dialogue and understanding. 

At the end of the orientation, Kawai's face is absolutely glowing. She's bursting with creative plans for how to implement a similar culture box curriculum in Tokyo. 

We can't wait to see the ripple effects of our Global Classrooms program around the world. To learn more about the Culture Box program and how you can get involved, visit here for more information.

Satoko Kawai and Karen Ettinger pose beside the Japanese Culture Boxes

"On behalf of all Sri Lankans, we would like to thank you for your generosity in meeting with us." 

Kapila Rasnayaka takes his role of cultural ambassador seriously.

Kapila is one of four social media influencers from Sri Lanka who recently traveled to Portland through the International Visitors Program. He was identified as a leader in his community and sponsored by the U.S. Department of State to travel, learn best practices, and create an international network of professional resources.

Back home in Sri Lanka, Kapila focuses on educating children on social justice issues including gender equality and environmental sustainability. He describes himself as a “social reformer” who puts together a variety of art therapy workshops to help empower the next generation.  

Throughout his exchange Kapila was eager to share stories and cultural nuances in Sri Lankan culture. To him, being on an international exchange was more than his professional development opportunities. It was a way to represent his home country on the other side of the world and educate Oregonians about his cultural heritage.  

Many of these professional meetings left a lasting impression on the work Kapila hopes to accomplish in Sri Lanka. In particular-meeting with Muse Storytelling in NE Portland helped Kapila to better understand how video content can encourage positive social change. When he returns home, Kapila plans on expanding his YouYube channel, Voices of Humans, to document everyday stories of working class Sri Lankan people.

"This exchange has been a turning point in my life. I would like to show my respect to all the people who contributed to my journey here in the U.S. because I understand that it takes a lot of time, money, and effort. I feel that I have a responsibility now to use my platform to do more good things and make a difference." 

-Kapila Rasnayaka

Can you really put culture in a box?

Faisal Osman thinks so.

Faisal first interacted with Global Classrooms through the annual Young Leaders in Action (YLA) program when he was attending Madison High School. Faisal had experienced a lack of awareness in Portland about his Somali culture, despite being home to over 8,000 Somali residents.

Taking matters into his own hands, Faisal's YLA action project inspired him to create a brand new Culture Box which expresses the nuance of his Somali identity.

He included a variety of items such as the newlywed Shaash Saar head covering, Uunsi incense, and literature from Cali M. Cabdigiir. Faisal's favorite items are what he refers to as "Icon Cards" which highlight influential artists, innovators, and leaders in the Somali diaspora.

"My personal hero is U.S. congresswoman Ilhan Omar, because I'm also interested in being a legislator. I just love how she's able to present her Somali-American identity without shame or hiding her culture. It's so inspiring!"

Faisal presented his WorldOregon Culture Box cirriculum at the Northwest Teaching for Social Justice Conference to help encourage multicultural education. As a YLA alumni, he hopes his project will inspire future participants to take action and be the change they want to see in the world.

Meet Young Leaders in Action—and be one of them next year! 

2018-2019 YLA applications due May 4
Do you know a high school sophomore or junior in the Portland area who is interested in world affairs, cultures, and collaborating with their peers? Click here for more information and to apply today!

Reynolds High School students, Uma, Fatemah , Zeinab, Collin, Merna, Karima, Farrah, Milen, and Ophelia from Vietnam, Egypt, Somalia, Mexico, Burma, Iran, and Eritrea were chosen for their strong leadership qualities and desire to serve their community to attend the Tend the World Youth: Global Link Between the Environment and Social Justice on January 17th.

They engaged in small group discussions with students from Skyview and Grant high schools about ecological crisis and social justice issues such as having to drink and bathe using bottled water instead of contaminated tap water in Flint, Michigan; fear that undocumented residents have of reporting to FEMA in Houston because of the threat of deportation; and large computer companies that employ child labor and expose them to toxic metals and chemicals overseas, just to name a few issues!

Reynolds High School students met real students advocating for 100% renewable energy in the city of Portland by 2020 through organizing in a youth climate council.  These presenters inspired students to begin to act for change in the school to educate their peers about recycling and rethinking how they consume goods like buying the latest cell phone upgrade.  Reynolds students debriefed and decided on the next steps to making changes in their ways of living; communicating effectively with their peers; and informing people in their community.

Salmonberry School 4th–6th graders invited the community to attend a day-long teach-in on “Buddhism, Tibet and Peace” in the Orcas Public Library. A sand mandala was beautifully created just for the occasion. This was a part of a year-long study augmented by WorldOregon’s Culture Boxes on Nepal, Tibet, Hinduism and Buddhism.  

Learn more from Salmonberry's Head of School,Paul Freedman-https://orcasissues.com/salmonberry-hold-teach-buddhism-tibet-peace/