Forging a Future for Africa Through Sustainability: Lesson from Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park

FULBRIGHT-HAYS GROUP PROJECT IN MOZAMBIQUE

Boise State University, through the Center for Global Engagement, will sponsor six Boise State faculty members and six Idaho’s K-12 educators to participate in a Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad (GPA) in Mozambique, Africa. The curriculum development program entitled Forging a Future for Africa Through Sustainability: Lesson from Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park. The sponsorship is possible thanks to a grant funded by U.S. Department of Education’s International And Foreign Language Education program.

Selected participants will travel to Maputo and the Gorongosa National Park in June 2024 for a 4-week immersion experience. On site, Idaho educators will engage in Portuguese language instruction and urban and rural Mozambican cultures while working on curriculum development on topics of sustainability in Africa. During the program, participants will receive formal Portuguese language instruction, lectures on current Mozambican and African topics, experiential learning opportunities, and individual exploration and reflection. This program will grant a unique opportunity for participants to gain first-hand experiences in one of the many African languages and cultures to inform new or enhance existing instructional curriculum, as it relates to the theme of the program.

The GPA Mozambique has sustainability as a thematic focus. The Gorongosa National Park vision for the future of Africa combines a focus on conservation and human development. The focus on sustainability will attract college professors and K-12 teachers with a common interest in teaching sustainability, drawing from the experience of the Gorongosa National Park. While keeping sustainability as a key thematic focus, we expect to recruit educators from different academic areas, including science, environmental studies, international development, public health, business and economics and engineering.