社区参与课程将学生带到桑给巴尔岛
作者:Stephanie M. 麦克弗森
来自太阳城网赌平台的九名代表前往桑给巴尔, Tanzania this summer to assist in social and environmental research in collaboration with State University of Zanzibar (SUZA), 非政府组织Milele和Mwambao, and Tanzania’s Blue Economy Ministry as part of the 席勒太阳城官网所’s Working For and With Communities program.
Seven undergraduates and two mentors conducted interviews employing ethnographic methods to better understand how gender, 宗教, 旅游业与适应气候变化相互作用并影响着适应气候变化, 以便更好地支持桑给巴尔的政策和行动框架.
“The islands of Zanzibar are really a study in the environmental and human effects of climate change, given that local economies like fishing and seaweed farming are vulnerable to even slight changes in water temperature. 最重要的是, 近几十年来，旅游业的繁荣是不可持续的, creating tense cultural conflict and often dispossessing locals of their land and access to the beach,凯特琳·博尔顿说, 林奇教育与人类发展学院助理教授, 这门课是由教师主导的.
每年春季学期，席勒都会开设“为社区工作”课程, 暑假期间去世界各地旅行三周. Summer 2023 saw eight students working in Cambodia in conjunction with the Jesuit Refugee Service there. This year’s program in Zanzibar was put together by Bolton in collaboration with the 席勒太阳城官网所. Bolton’s work in the region extends back to her doctoral research and she has maintained close friendships with professionals in the region. 这反映了这个阶级的风气, which teaches the students that working alongside locals is more productive than attempting to impose their own external ideas.
“我认为，你在个人层面上的关系与项目本身一样重要, 因为它为你如何互动和管理项目定下了基调,Kaley McCarty说, 席勒太阳城官网所的项目助理主任也是这门课的负责人之一.
The students prepared for the trip during the spring semester through a lecture series that taught them how to conduct ethical ethnographic research, which emphasizes understanding the culture they will be entering and making genuine connections once there. Guest speakers discussed the history of Zanzibar and its relationship to mainland African countries, and how an explosion of tourism has damaged local ecosystems and endangered livelihoods that depend on the environment.
该小组在桑给巴尔镇度过了他们的第一周, 与非政府组织代表会面, SUZA, 博士和. 扎卡里亚哈米斯, Director of Zanzibar Fisheries and Marine 资源 Institute (ZAFIRI) in the Blue Economy Ministry (BEM) – a governmental entity working to increase environmentally aware economic growth. The students heard how they could help the BEM gather data needed to create solutions to the issues affecting the coastal communities. 然后，他们出发在Paje村进行了为期两周的采访和太阳城官网.
桑给巴尔是一个穆斯林占多数的地区. One point of contention between the locals and the tourists involves a lack of modest dressing when those from other countries leave the resorts and visit the towns. Bolton and McCarty made sure their students would show respect for the culture by dressing modestly and wearing a hijab while walking around the village.
“I was very happy to see that they appreciated the culture of Zanzibar and wore scarves whenever they went to villages and met community members. 我没想到会这样,玛丽·哈提卜说, lecturer in the Department of Geography at the State University of Zanzibar and one of Schiller’s local partners for this project.
学生们可以完全控制自己的面试时间. 他们参观了度假村，并与经理和员工交谈, 了解他们的需求和动机. They walked around the village to witness day-to-day life and interview residents who have seen their worlds change. 例如, a group of students approached an older woman on her break from work to ask about her experiences growing up and growing old in the village.
“I really appreciated her taking the time to share her story with us as we were complete strangers,Julia Wowkun说, 大三主修环境太阳城官网，辅修金融. “I was really nervous about going up to her because I felt like I was going to be burdening her, 询问她的生活. But it was really rewarding to be able to establish that connection with her and really connect through hearing and listening to her experiences.”
无论面试带他们到哪里，学生们都跟着去, 给他们一个宽广的视野, 对当地局势有深刻的了解.
“桑给巴尔的旅游话题, students had a unique perspective by monitoring the opinions of community members (old and young), the opinions of workers in the tourism sector who are foreigners such as the Maasai and even foreigners and government officials. 这能够从不同的角度提供桑给巴尔旅游的真实画面,哈提卜说.
在旅行结束的时候, they had enough information to draw up two policy briefs with recommendations for initiatives that could aid in bridging the gap between locals and the tourist economy. 他们把最初的想法呈现给了Dr. 扎卡里亚在回美国之前. 学生们在9月初再次会面，敲定了他们的政策简报, 并将于今年秋天晚些时候正式提交给蓝色经济部.
Their ideas include teaching locals how to take advantage of the new economic opportunities that tourism brings. They also suggest creating a document that can help tourists understand both how to be respectful in the villages and that damage to nearby seaweed beds affects the livelihood of local women.
They also uncovered that a lack of communication was a root cause of a lot of the conflict in the area.
“我们发现, let's say a man who worked in the village thought that the hotel was maybe getting unfair advantages from the government, but the hotel feels like the government is unfairly burdening them and that they want to try to help the community but don't know how,Wowkun说. “他们都在说同样的事情，但他们没有意识到这一点.”
This led them to suggest the creation of a local Blue Economy Ministry council in the villages to aid in the communication between stakeholders, 看看他们是否能达成双方都同意的解决方案.
席勒太阳城官网所将在春季再次提供为社区工作和与社区一起工作的课程. 一些学生将前往智利开始一个新的协作社区启发项目, 而其他人将继续桑给巴尔项目. Student representatives from State University of Zanzibar will come to 太阳城网赌平台 to further the work done this summer, 另一批不列颠哥伦比亚省学生将于2026年夏天回国.
“我很感激席勒不仅致力于结果, 但也, 从根本上, 来处理,博尔顿说。. “互惠互利，深入而有意义的合作将在许多层面产生影响.”