The 23rd Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship (EPIIC) International Symposium will commence this morning, bringing with it a series of firsts for the annual event.
This is the first time that the Institute for Global Leadership (IGL), which houses EPIIC, has invited foreign students to participate in the symposium. These delegates, selected from universities in countries such as Brazil, Ghana and China, will attend symposium panels and workshops with Tufts students to discuss global poverty issues.
This is also the first time that symposium attendees will have the chance to participate in a contest to win funds to develop social entrepreneurship projects that they will implement in developing countries.
And this year, the IGL is introducing EMPOWER, its newest program.
Every year EPIIC members explore the issues related to a different global dilemma or theme. This year's theme, "Global Poverty and Inequality," is also the focus of the upcoming five-day conference.
"Every year we take on a broad interdisciplinary theme, and we always think about ways to have students do work that transcends the classroom," IGL Director Sherman Teichman said. "We try to merge theory and practice and create environments that have a practical impact and a tangible income."
This year's practical impact presents itself in the form of EMPOWER. Initiated this fall, it focuses on social entrepreneurship and poverty alleviation through the conglomeration of Tufts students and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Teichman explained that EMPOWER was born out of the frustration students felt when dealing with the devastating problem of global poverty.
"I could sense that the class would be demoralized" by the upsetting subject matter, he said. "How can you spend an entire year reading about impoverishment, reading about malnutrition, and doing nothing about it?"
Two Tufts alumni, Angelose Metaxa (LA '91) and Javier Macaya (LA '91), came together to establish the EMPOWER program, which provides the IGL with a $250,000 research grant to help students actively pursue solutions.
"They provided us with a quarter of a million dollars to create a mentorship, education and access program that would enable Tufts students to actually work and create their own program to confront poverty," he said.
According to Teichman, students who develop their own project proposals will appeal to EMPOWER for the funding necessary to support their research and travels.
EPIIC has long promoted the involvement of Tufts students in their local, national or global communities. EPIIC students aim to take their work outside of the classroom, pursuing internships and site work as part of the basis for their research.
"EPIIC is an incubator," Teichman said. "The university understands the institute as an 'incubator for innovation,' and we take this very seriously. We try to take 50 or so students and engage them in an intellectual boot camp."
Vikram Akula (LA '90) will open the symposium with a lecture this morning. A microfinance expert who specializes in poverty eradication, Akula traveled to India on a Fulbright Scholarship after graduating from Tufts.
In India, he worked with local state-run banks to coordinate loans for the impoverished. He founded SKS Microfinance, a company that uses smart-card technology to improve microfinance access and opportunities in rural locations. Akula has been recognized by Time magazine as one of the world's most 100 most influential people.
Akula's lecture will be held at 11 a.m. in Cabot, and symposium events will continue through Sunday. The schedule can be viewed on the IGL's Web site.
