Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s deep harbors and geographic centrality have given the country strategic importance for many years. The history of colonialism, the development of tea plantations, the burgeoning tourism sector, and the nascent climate for social entrepreneurship all provide a rich setting for educational programs. Envoys partners with the Educate Lanka Foundation and other local organizations to ensure that our programs are of benefit to the local communities.

We are...

Envoys is dedicated to expanding the realm of possibility for global education. We collaborate with innovative schools to design, develop, and implement comprehensive international programs.

Envoys programs are designed and implemented as a collaboration between the school and our highly-trained trip leaders, support staff, and curricular team. Upholding our mandate for community development, intercultural understanding, and empathy, we partner with carefully selected experts at home and in our destination countries to ensure the highest-quality educational experience.

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“Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.”

-Helen Keller

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Program Objectives

Build and demonstrate greater appreciation for the complex beauty of Sri Lanka’s history, culture, and modern challenges

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Develop a more nuanced appreciation of human universals and learn to better appreciate the commonalities that bridge geographic, social, and cultural divides

Develop an understanding of the dimensions of the global community and their responsibility as citizens within that community

Preparatory Courses Travel health and safety Learn about your destination Students research the health risks relevant to Sri Lanka, learn about methods to mitigate those risks, and pass assessments related to health and safety.

Pack Smart Students learn about best practices for packing light and traveling smart.

Disease Pathways Students learn about common pathways for diseases, including vectors, food and water, and animals, as well as necessary precautions to take while traveling abroad.

Situational Awareness Students learn about methods to calculate risk and the heightened potential for faulty judgments when abroad.

Basic preparation Building a knowledge base Students review a curated series of videos, articles, and other media relevant to Sri Lankan history and culture.

Instructors from Envoys facilitate discussions and answer questions. Students take assessments to prove their understanding.

Briefing Sheets After developing the necessary background knowledge, students select an individual research topic research topic and create a briefing sheet to share with their classmates. These sheets provide the basis for individual research areas conducted while incountry.

Empathy and Cross-Cultural Sensitivity Through a series of introspective and collaborative exercises, students begin the process of examining their own assumptions around culture. Students take empathy assessments and create plans for developing their empathic abilities, both at home and abroad.

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EDUCATE LANKA STUDENT, KANDY 6

Sample Itinerary D AY 1 INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS

We depart in the late morning, transferring through Abu Dhabi on our way to Sri Lanka.

D AY 2 We arrive in Colombo during the late afternoon.

Envoys staff introduce the rules and protocols necessary to maintain good health and minimize the risk of accidents during the program.

D AY 3 We set out to explore the sights of Colombo, including the Old Fort, Cinnamon Gardens, and ‘Slave Island’. If the schedule permits, we take in an evening cricket match!

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BUDDHIST TEMPLE, COLOMBO

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TEA PLANTATION WORKERS, HATTON

D AY 4 We rise early and depart by private bus for the hill station of Hatton, surrounded by tea plantations.

While in Hatton, we engage in celebration of the Poson Full Moon Day, a Buddhist ceremony unique to Sri Lanka.

D AY 5

TEA PLANTATIONS, HATTON

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We tour the surrounding tea plantations and meet with local workers. Students are led through a series of exercises connecting the crops they see to the global flow of products. These events provide the perfect context for our evening activities assisting students to reflect on their own identity as global citizens and conscious consumers.

D AY 6 - 1 1 After a morning hike to a nearby waterfall, we set off for Kandy, former capital of the Sri Lankan kingdom. We spend the next several days exploring Kandy. We take short trips to visit several Buddhist temples, including the spectacular Golden Temple of Dambulla and the famed Temple of the Tooth in Kandy.

As we visit the temples, students are provided with a different perspective with which to approach the experience. Some engage as tourists, some as religious scholars, some as journalists, and some with an open mind. All act with respect throughout the visit. After experiencing the temple, the students regroup to compare notes from their different perspectives.

HILLS OVER KANDY

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EDUCATE LANKA FOUNDATION

During our time in Kandy, students work in depth with their peers from the Educate Lanka Foundation on comparative explorations of values and plans for the future. We collaborate on learning journeys, thereby building a foundation of relationships that transcend the trip and continue once wehave returned home.

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We also spend time learning about the daily procedures of the Educate Lanka Foundation, delving into what it means to conduct a real changemaking organization in a developing-world context.

GALLE LIGHTHOUSE

D AY 1 2 We travel by private bus through Colombo and on to Galle. During the late afternoon, we tour Galle Fort, the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European occupiers. Envoys staff help students to uncover the respective architectural traditions and express their own preferences.

ELF PRESIDENT MANJULA DISSANAYAKE

D AY 1 3 Hard-hit by the 2004 tsunami, Galle provides a strong context for an exploration of priority given to tourism in economic development. Students are broken into teams to research and discuss the benefits and costs of prioritizing tourism, housing, or education in the aftermath of the tsunami. A final negotiation simulation has students representing both international and domestic interests in this debate.

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D AY 1 4 On our last full day in Sri Lanka, we spend the morning in the amazing Martin Wickramasinghe Cultural Center, learning about the impacts of European colonialism on Galle and Sri Lanka. This step back into history provides the perfect context for a final discussion on the positive and negative aspects of globalization.

D AY S 1 5 - 1 6 GALLE FORT

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INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS Students return to their personal learning goals and assess how far they have come in their understanding of Sri Lanka and their own identity. A series of activities pushes students to make commitments for future self-improvement, maintaining connections to Sri Lanka, and developing their passions. We then bid farewell (for now) to beautiful Sri Lanka and board our plane to return home!

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