Journals - Sudan Referendum, February 23 and 25, 2011 - Contemporary Issues Through Videoconferencing

In this two-part Pulse series hosted by Global Nomads Group, students were able to dialogue with an expert from Sudan and with their fellow peers in the U.S.A about the reality of Southern Sudan becoming an independent country in the summer of 2011. "The international community's main focus should now be finding ways to assist Sudan in becoming a stable and economically sustainable country. While views and understandings may diverge, it must be a priority to assure stability and provide the proper opportunities for development." -GNG storyboard

During the first videoconference, CITVC students spoke with Gabriel Bol Deng, who was from South Sudan and witnessed horrible atrocities, as well as fled his home and became one of the Lost Boys. He came to America in 2001 and in 2007 he returned to South Sudan to search for his family and he founded Helping Offer Primary Education (HOPE) for Sudan. Read more about this here: http://www.hopeforariang.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7&Itemid=6

During the second vc, students got into a heated discussion of the realities facing South Sudan and the fears that the north will attempt sabotage, or even worse, warfare.