Beverly Hills , Feb. 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Higher education expert Bakhtiyor Isoev released two new episodes of the Education & Empowerment Podcast. The episodes feature interviews with Dr. Andrew Flagel, President and CEO of the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan area, and Nina Oduro and Carlhey Bolz of the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX).
In the just-released episodes, Flagel, Oduro and Bolz emphasize the importance of collaboration when it comes to supporting youth.
Partnerships For Creative Thinking
"I was raised with the idea of being engaged in social justice and activism" says Dr. Andrew Flagel, President and CEO of the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan area. Throughout Flagel's long career in higher education, he has often returned to the notion of partnership–within institutions, between institutions, and between institutions and private and public organizations–as a means of creating a more equitable system.
Flagel believes that the traditional structure of higher education–the tenure system, for example–creates "artificial boundaries within and across the academy," boundaries that can ultimately endanger student engagement and empowerment. Flagel has leveraged his position as the leader of a unique organization–one that includes "public schools, private schools, community colleges, and research one institutions…" to create opportunities for breaking down those walls.
The ongoing global pandemic has both revealed weaknesses in the higher education system and provided chances for real change, Flagel says. He believes that institutions must collaborate, with themselves and with outside organizations, in order to "think creatively" about how to navigate challenges. "There's that old saying," he says. "One plus one is two, but what if one plus one can be greater than two?"
Listen to the full interview of Dr. Andrew Flagel with Bakhtiyor Isoev on 4stay.
IREX: "There's More Power in Us"
"At the core I think youth empowerment is about equity", says Nina Oduro, Senior Advisor for Youth and Leadership at the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX). She works to make young people feel included–both socially and economically–and to provide equal opportunity for all youth. Her colleague Carlhey Bolz, a Program Officer for IREX's Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Professional Fellows Program, adds, "we also provide a space for leaders to gain access to additional skill sets and opportunities."
According to Oduro, the ongoing global pandemic has exposed or amplified existing inequities–for example, access to reliable internet. She points out that young people's mental health and wellbeing is suffering. In addition, Carlhey adds, "Communities that were already marginalized have continued to be so." Resources such as aid and funds available to some may not "trickle down."
The solution, Oduro and Carlhey assert, is partnership with governments,...