The official deadline has passed but interested students may still sign up by contacting Alyssa Fasano at: fasanoa@newpaltz.edu
The program is open to any student at any college or university, for undergraduate credit!
The equivalent of 6 credits of tuition and fees - See the following Cost Estimate for more details
This 6-credit program will run online from July 5 - August 13, 2021
See our FAQs
These are the two underlying, interconnected ideas upon which this program is built:
The world has tough problems that are highly complex and difficult to solve, but critical to the future of humanity and the planet. These problems - such as climate change, inequality, and eliminating poverty - require our attention and our action if we want a better future for our world. At the same time, they are so big, and so complex, that it can be hard to know where to start, what to do, or how you can make a difference. Yet, there are people and organizations working on these tough problems all over the world, every day.
In partnership with a community-based organization somewhere in the world, you will work with other students in small groups to apply your skills and knowledge to helping this organization craft the story of their work. The projects you complete with these organizations will help tell their story, from their perspective, and give them materials they can use in their work right now. In the process of doing this, you’ll learn about another country and culture, the challenges people experience related to the SDG you’re studying, and how an organization in that community is taking action.
Registration for the program includes two courses: Intercultural Storytelling for Sustainable Development and one of the SDG-focused courses. In each of the classes, you will have additional choices of which issue you would like to study in more depth.
For the Intercultural Storytelling course, you will have an introduction to the principles of storytelling, and then select a media, listed below, to explore how these principles are realized through that media. This is not a course in production, but rather an examination of the storytelling process through that medium. Discussions with students studying other media help you see how storytelling is brought to life through different channels.
Choice of media:
The official deadline has passed but interested students may still sign up by contacting Alyssa Fasano at: fasanoa@newpaltz.edu
The SDG themed courses are organized in a similar way, starting with an overall introduction to the breadth of issues framed by that SDG, followed by an exploration of selected issues in more depth. You will choose a lens within the SDG course for this deeper dive.
Courses and lenses:
At the beginning of the program, participants learn about the partner organizations and the final projects. Students work on these projects with peers from other SUNY campuses along with contacts from our international partner organizations around the world. Projects are conducted and presented in English.
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The official deadline has passed but interested students may still sign up by contacting Alyssa Fasano at: fasanoa@newpaltz.edu
Students work on a storytelling project based on the needs of the community-based organization with whom they are assigned. You will interact with staff at the partner organization, having the opportunity to hear them talk about their work, their culture and their needs, and then you will work with other students in your class to develop a storytelling based project in support of your partner organization. This project will allow you to apply lessons learned from the Intercultural Storytelling course and to analyze actions taken by the organization in relation to the SDG you have studied.
Here are two example videos of organizations that students in the 2020 SUNY COIL Global Commons program worked with:
The inaugural cohort of the SUNY COIL Global Commons recently completed the program and their final storytelling projects are now available to view. Check out their videos, podcasts, graphic novels, and more at the Project Showcase site!
Students worked with a community based or nonprofit organization based in Africa or the Middle East that is working to address one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Students and representatives of these organizations discussed their work, their cultural context and their needs. Students then applied what they learned in the Intercultural Storytelling and Sustainable Development Goal focused courses to develop story-based materials for these organizations. These projects are available on the Project Showcase website.
The official deadline has passed but interested students may still sign up by contacting Alyssa Fasano at: fasanoa@newpaltz.edu