Seeking Cultural Education Ambassadors for 2020!

The UCSB Center for Middle East Studies, East Asia Center, Latin American and Iberian Studies Program, and Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies are partnering on a K-12 Outreach initiative: California Global Education Project at UCSB (CGEP). ​They are seeking Cultural Ambassadors to serve as role models, storytellers and youth mentors for this new educational initiative. No single narrative can represent the whole of a culture, instead Cultural Ambassadors share their experience as a part of a larger cultural and global story. The Cultural Ambassador position is open to all UCSB students. Students from all cultures are encouraged to join them.

They are recruiting Cultural Ambassadors for Winter 2020 through Spring 2020 to help design and run various aspects of the K-12 Outreach Program. Responsibilities include:

• Helping to design Global Bookbags for K-12 and public libraries. A Global Book Bag contains a book with a global theme, related learning activities, and language, cooking and cultural information cards. The bags encourage global competency using children's literature with global themes.

• Designing Zines that explore experiences from Ambassadors' childhoods and current lives. Zines are independently published booklets, that will be publicly accessible and published in partnership with the UCSB Library.

• Designing hands-on activities for K-12 students to participate in that educate and engage them in ambassadors' cultures.

• Helping to run "Global Awareness Evenings" at local K-12 schools where K-12 students and their families are invited to explore their own and other cultures through public talks, hands-on activities, music and different cuisines.

• Leading classroom presentations on global topics in K-12 local classrooms.

The Ambassador program will empower you to own your own culturally-grounded story while further developing your professional skills in public speaking, graphical and verbal storytelling, graphic design, mentorship and leadership. You will also have opportunities to network with educational leaders across Santa Barbara, including UCSB faculty and staff.

This position will entail a commitment of 3 to 5 hours per week. Ambassadors will meet with CGEP faculty and staff, as well as with each other, for: activity design, training on global topics and public speaking (TED-style), adapting materials to culturally appropriate language, and gaining further exposure on working with youth on global awareness subjects. Ambassadors' goals are to teach K-12 students about their cultures, upbringings and experiences, while emphasizing the diversity of stories within each culture, and encouraging K-12 students' ownership of their own culture-centered stories. Ambassadors are unpaid, but all travel and material costs related to the CGEP will be covered by the CGEP.

Required for Ambassadors:

• Currently enrolled UCSB undergraduate or graduate student.

• Cultural humility.

• An understanding that a single story cannot encompass a whole culture, and that cultures are a combination of many individual and community stories.

• Enthusiasm to tell your story.

• Interest in exploring your own and other cultures.

• Organized, flexible and reliable.

• All backgrounds and nationalities are welcome.

• Respect for other cultures and ability to support cultural awareness activities.

Preferred (not required):

• Previous experience working with K through 12 youth.

• Ability to work individually as well as part of a team.

• Well-developed communication skills.

• Experiencing mentoring or in leadership roles.

To Apply: Please fill out this Google Form ​ASAP.

If you have any questions, please email Lisa McAllister.