PARTNERSHIPS

LEADERSHIP FROM THE MARGINS: SAMIA HUQ, DEAN, SCHOOL OF GENERAL EDUCATION, BRAC UNIVERSITY

OSUN embarked on a new project on “Development in the Global South and Leadership from the Margins” that is based at BRAC University, in partnership with other Institutions located in the Global Majority, including the American University of Beirut, Al-Quds Bard, Ashesi University, and Universidad de los Andes. The project seeks to understand how transformation and development have evolved in the Global South, with an eye to recognizing home-grown solutions to a range of social and environmental challenges that emerge from a deep understanding of ground level realities, such as the living conditions of those affected, specifically the poor and the marginalized.

Numerous initiatives and organizations have achieved monumental developmental and transformative gains for their communities, yet these experiences and practices are seldom critically examined, conceptualized, and developed into usable models for globally acceptable knowledge contribution. This project centers and documents such practices and experiences. The second aim of the project is to better understand the initiators of these development and transformative practices–including their visions and aspirations, and the challenges and strategies they encountered along the way. Through a deep dive on dynamic doers and ground mobilizers, the project captures overlooked leadership models that originated in the Global South, in a framework that is not dominated solely by politics and business. Presenting these cases in the forms of a white paper and a course allows OSUN to bring to the table a living understanding of community-based transformative work in the Global South, potentially inspiring students and educators to create similar visions of change in the region.

FRONTLINERS COLLABORATION: LORLENE HOYT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TALLOIRES NETWORK

Increasingly, and out of necessity, universities are responding to local emergencies. Engaged universities are adapting their research, teaching, and service missions to meet the needs of rapidly changing societies around the world. Our two global networks—OSUN and Tatlloires—have joined forces to support and learn with these “frontline” leaders by listening to and documenting their stories.

While we are bringing together voices and perspectives from civic leaders in Bangladesh, Chile, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, and Pakistan, they are creating the path forward by way of cross-border dialogue and exchange. Throughout the year, they are reflecting on their practices together and co-developing a call to action for the international higher education community.

Raquel Bernal, Rector, Universidad de los Andes

As Academic Vice-Rector and then as Rector, I have been able to perceive firsthand that OSUN is a very dynamic, innovative, and proactive network that listens to its partner institutions and is not afraid to experiment. As a result of these important features, which are all fundamental to our conception of higher education and the training of active and critical citizens, at Universidad de los Andes we participate actively in OSUN and have achieved notable visibility within the network. It is very satisfying to see so many individuals at Uniandes, including leadership and managers, faculty, students, and administrative staff from virtually all schools and administrative units participating and leading on several academic, research, creative, and civic engagement initiatives. We not only submit proposals to receive funding, we actually contribute our own ideas, leadership skills, and capabilities to different working groups, both thematic and administrative. We feel we are being heard. A global network such as this, where we learn and share, is the kind of partnership we want to truly engage with and commit to.