Chicago's growing Hispanic/Latino community has a great impact and influence on the culture of the city, and attention to this community, its needs and aspirations is an integral part of DePaul's global engagement strategy. With a renewed commitment to the city of Chicago, Global Engagement – Latin America continues to be active in the local community through its Hispanic Initiatives project.
The project provides support to faculty and students working on initiatives related to the Hispanic/Latino community and works to increase DePaul's collaboration with universities and organizations in Latin America that are dedicated to promoting higher education.
The Hispanic Initiatives project organizes, promotes, and is involved in several initiatives throughout the year:
Transnational Communities Conference
This
conference is held every year in May and focuses on the interconnectivity
between Latin America and the U.S. in aspects such as education, politics, human
mobility, economics and culture, how the constant mobility gives rise to new
faces of the Latino community in this country. The conference is a collaboration between DePaul’s Department of Modern Languages and Universidad Nicolaita de Michoacan, Mexico.
Every year the conference engages major research
institutions from Latin America, such as UNAM Mexico, CISAN, Colegio de Mexico,
Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Peru, Universidad Iberoamericana, and Universidad
Xaveriana de Colombia.
Pasos
al Futuro
This
is a project, funded by the Mc Cormick Foundation, that focuses on creating
awareness and appreciation of Latino cultures in the U.S., grounded in history,
communication, culture, performance, and sociology. Every year we collaborate
with faculty from College of Communication in the organization of the Symposium
in Latino Media and Communication and the Pasos al Futuro Summer Workshop.
Both,
the symposium and the summer workshop are possible thanks to the connection
that we have developed with Chicagoland high schools with a large concentration
of Latino population and Univision,
Telemundo, ABC and other important media outlets in the city.
The
Symposium brings high school students to DePaul campus, and exposes them to how
journalism and media creation is approached at DePaul.
The
two-week summer workshop, provides high school students with the opportunity to
develop technical and critical thinking skills, assess credible news sources
and learn the importance of journalism as the voice of their own
community.
Latino
Film Festival
In
order to increase the awareness of Latin America culture among our student
population, every year we sponsor and actively participate in the Latino Film
Festival. Over 100 long and short films
are screened; some of DePaul’s faculty members bring their students to the
screenings, incorporating the festival in their curricula.
Through the student section of the Festival,
our students also have the opportunity to present their own productions and
learn about the great diversity of themes and genres of filmmaking in other
Universities in Latin America.
Poetry
in April
Learning
a second language or maintaining the heritage language and culture is important
for students. Through the Poetry Festival “Poesia en Abril” our students are
exposed to different literary genres and the work of poets from different
countries in Latin America. Poesia en Abril is held every year in collaboration
with Contratiempo, an important cultural organization in Chicago. Through panel
discussions, open mics, lectures and poetry presentations in various venues
around the city, the festival is geared to cultivate an appreciation for poetry
in Spanish while encouraging students to participate with original pieces and
performances.
Hablemos de Latino America
The
close collaboration with the diplomatic community of Chicago has played an
important role in the internationalization of the campus, consuls, cultural and
business attaches contribute to the education of our students in several forms.
In order to promote broader awareness of Latin America culture and working with
embassies and consulates of the region, we have created the “Hablemos de Latino
America” week. This is a space to connect our students with representatives of Latin
America countries to discuss important aspects such as immigration, technology,
scientifically advances and trade interactions. Our students receive
information from direct sources incorporating this learning experience to their
global education, fostering critical thinking and open-mindedness.
International
Research Collaboration
Research
funding and attracting students into research field is challenging but necessary to compete in a global environment. Through our partnerships with consulates,
local organizations and Institutions in Latin America such as UNAM and TEC de Monterrey and PUC Peru and
others we have developed research projects that addresses the needs of
the Latino Community in the City.
Working with faculty and scholars from these institutions our students
learn the nuances of international
research, such as facing different forms
and requirements for protecting human subject, transmitting information, planning financial
and costs, manage a project, etc.
For More Information
If you’re interested in being a part
of any of these initiatives, or have ideas for other possible ways to engage
with local community partners, please contact Maria DeMoya Taveras, associate director of regional initiatives for Latin
America, at mdemoyat@depaul.edu.