Jan Stewart, recipient of the 2010 Marsha Hanan Global Ethics Award, heads to Uganda.
WINNIPEG, MB – Jan Stewart boards a plane in Winnipeg tomorrow headed to a northern part of Uganda hit hard by years of civil war. She will spend the next two weeks with up to 100 regional teachers who will gather in Kitgum to learn from each other how to best reach children who have been traumatized by war. The University of Winnipeg Global College announced today that Stewart is the winner of the 2010 Marsha Hanan Global Ethics Award of $10,000, in support of her Ugandan project.
Stewart is Director of The Institute for Children Affected by War at The University of Winnipeg Global College and a Professor in Education. She has conducted numerous seminars at national and international conferences on the needs and educational challenges of children who have been affected by conflict, violence, abuse, mental health issues, neglect, and human rights violations. She is the author of The Anger Workout Book for Teens, The STARS Program and The Tough Stuff Series. University of Toronto Press will release her new book, Children and War: Life After Conflict later this year.
“Being in Uganda with so many teachers from the area will allow me to gain new insights into non-Western ways of helping children in post-conflict situations,” said Stewart. “We can bring that knowledge back to Winnipeg and help teachers here who are dealing with refugee children in their classrooms, often from war-torn parts of the world.”
Stewart is working in collaboration with a team at Makerere University in Uganda, in partnership with Kenyatta University in Kenya, Kigali Institute of Education in Rwanda, University of South Florida, Manitoba Council for International Cooperation, UNICEF Canada, Manitoba School Improvement Project, and Manitoba Education. The project begins April 22, 2010 and is funded by the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation (MCIC), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the University of Winnipeg Research office, and Global College, in addition to the Marsha Hanen Global Ethics Award which goes to a UWinnipeg faculty member who has succeeded in attracting significant funding for human rights and global ethics research and action.
Stewart has created a blog and although wireless will be sporadic she will update it as often as possible from Uganda at http://janstewartblog.wordpress.com/
In July 2010, three teachers from Uganda will travel to UWinnipeg to co-teach with Stewart a Summer Institute entitled The Building Blocks of Hope: What Every Educator and Counsellor Should Know About Appropriate Education for EAL Learners and Children Affected by War.
Stewart is hoping the exchange will result in a collaborative research network where both Ugandan and Canadian researchers are able to learn together.
MEDIA CONTACT
Diane Poulin, Communications Officer, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135, E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
