3/6/2011 Wave Project

This year, International Women’s Day falls just three days after Minnesota’s Third Annual World Affairs Challenge, where more than 300 students from around the Twin Cities convened at Macalester College to present their research and solutions to some of today’s most pressing local and global food issues. The World Affairs Challenge is a program of World Savvy, a global education non-profit working to educate and engageyouth in community and world affairs in the Twin Cities and nationally. Today’s show highlighted the work of World Savvy with a focus on strategies for encouraging girls and young women to become leaders and changemakers in tackling local and global challenges.

Host: Elizabeth Larsen

Guests:
Dana Mortenson, Founder and Executive Director of World Savvy, a 501c3 non-profit organization working to educate and engage youth in community and world affairs. As co-founder and executive director of World Savvy, Dana has a unique perspective on the importance of empowering young people, particularly young women, to be leaders and changemakers in the 21st century;

Sharon Shelerud, Teacher at Metcalf Junior High and 3-year World Affairs Challenge coach. As a social studies teacher, Sharon shared her perspective on the importance of educating students for global citizenship and strategies for engaging and empowering girls to tackle 21st century challenges;

Kelsey Larson, Maggie Dodge, Erica MacDonald, and Lauren Smith, 11th graders at Burnsville HS and World Affairs Challenge participants, who shared their research and ideas on body image around the world, on ways to become involved in addressing this and other Women's issues locally and globally, as well as their experiences participating in the World Affairs Challenge, and their plans for the future