Augsburg College BSW Senior, Christine Hiatt attended the Young Global Leaders Summit in Madison Wisconsin .

about Americans for Informed Democracy

Americans for Informed Democracy (AID) is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization that brings the world home through programming on more than 500 U.S. university campuses and in more than 10 countries. AID fulfills its mission by coordinating town hall meetings on America's role in the world, hosting leadership retreats, and publishing opinion pieces and reports on issues of global importance. Through these efforts, AID seeks to build a new generation of globally conscious leaders who can shape an American foreign policy appropriate for our increasingly interdependent world. AID is supported by the the CarEth Foundation, Connect US Fund, DarMac Foundation, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Ford Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Open Society Institute, Planethood Foundation, Ploughshares Fund, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Stanley Foundation, United Nations Foundation and its many participating universities.

The Future of Western-Muslim World Relations
September 9, 2006
Madison, Wisconsin

excerpt from AID web

Students and young professionals wishing to make a difference in the world are invited to apply for the Young Leaders Summit on the Future of Western-Muslim World Relations, which is taking place on September 9th at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The summit will bring together young global leaders from across the U.S. for a day of workshops, speakers, and discussions on how young people can take positive action to improve Western-Muslim World relations five years after September 11th. Students will hear from top experts and then have the chance to weigh in with their own view on the future of this critical global relationship. Confirmed speakers for the summit include Gideon Rose, the Managing Editor of Foreign Affairs and former Associate Director of the National Security Council. Click here to see the schedule of the Young Global Leaders Summit. At the Summit, students will learn strategies for talking about global issues with Americans and techniques for organizing town hall meetings in their communities as part of a national series on Western-Muslim world relations called Hope not Hate. Students will also have the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with a diverse group of young leaders, equipping them with the knowledge, support and structure to implement these ideas in their neck of the woods. Thanks to the generous support of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Open Society Institute, and Ford Foundation, the summit is free for selected participants, including tuition and food. Travel to the conference is at the participantÅs expense, but Americans for Informed Democracy will do its best to set up car pools for participants coming from the Northeast or mid-Atlantic.

The Christine Hiatt Interview
special for BSW Frontpage

Why were you interested in going to the summit? Because I knew the theme was U.S. and Muslim relations. In my junior internship I worked with Muslim women at Community Health outreach at Fairview. I went to the summit thinking I didn't have a lot of knowledge of international relations and looked at it as a learning experience. I also wanted to advocate for the Muslim community. I think they (the women) are discriminated against based on their ethnic, racial, religious and gender backgrounds. And I have warm place in my heart for the women from my junior practicum.

Tell us about getting there, the trip over. Had you been to Madison before? It was my first time. The campus was a football game-party crowd. Beautiful campus. Lots of school spirit. I drove there with my mother. My mother studied while I was at the conference.

Tell us about the other students, "the mix." Did you have a chance to discuss things with other students? The students were from mostly the Midwest, some from the East Coast, a few from the West Coast. The group looked pretty diverse. There were many Muslim women who were wearing hijabs to cover their heads. About 45-50 percent of group were "diverse." Later we broke up into smaller groups by region. The organizers knew this facilitated action and cooperation-a way to build a network. Our region was divided into the U of MN group and the rest of us. The students majoring in International Relations and the grad students had good insights and perspectives. I remember walking down the stairs to a small group and it reminded of my internship because there was a man was praying who had set out his prayer rug and was facing Mecca. It felt like "home" in a way. In my internship people would regularly place down their prayer mats, pray, and then go to class.

Any inspiring moments or Big Insights? I observed that just because you have a Ph.D. from Harvard or B.A. in classics from Yale there are details about the BIG Picture you can miss by being caught up in prestige. The keynote speaker Gideon Rose, the managing editor of Foreign Affairs magazine, had a lot of panache, but I didn't agree with his ideas about policy. He had a lack of concern for well-being--or rather he really focused on the doing, with the U.S. as being the prime mover, I'm paraphrasing him: "The U.S .has to get in there and get the democracy going." His general conclusion was that, we, in the U.S. have to use our power to effect democracy in three regional issues: the Arab-Israeli tensions, Iraq, and Iran. During the Q and A session the last question put to him was by a man who challenged him. The man spoke for 5 minutes: He made Gideon Rose back down. He had a weak response and was really nervous. There were a lot of people who impressed others with their views and commitment to their viewpoints - and just to see how powerful it is when a single speaker says something and to think of how effective it could be for the world if a lot of people got together and spoke--was exciting.

What did you, as a student, get from the summit? Did you form your own opinion on how the future will be? I gained new perspective - a light bulb went on about what I can do on the Augsburg campus to raise awareness and get a conversation going.

The panelists who were all from the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Michael Chamberlain, Dr. Kemal Karpat and Dr. Tamir Moustafa, had a different idea than what Gideon Rose did. "Is the US doing anything right, right now in improving relations" was the question put to the panel. A resounding "No" came from the panelists and that is important to recognize. As in social work it is important to realize where you are now if you are going to make things better:Start where the client is.

Anything else you'd like to share? The conference I attended was an excellent learning experience and I encourage students of Augsburg College to seek opportunities like it. Having the chance to listen and discuss issues is a critical component of experiential learning which is a cornerstone of Augsburg's plan of transformative knowledge. The Augsburg community is infused with many creative individuals who demonstrate ingenuity in their work. This creativity and ingenuity can be applied to problem solving in a local sense and in the global realm. There is much potential here I believe we can make a difference in each other's lives. And what better motivation is there for doing this than equality and well being.