University of Maryland initiates its first-ever study-abroad program to Azerbaijan, due to the initiative of the Azerbaijani-American diaspora
Washington D.C. - U.S. Azeris Network (USAN) is proud to showcase an example of grassroots activism by an Azerbaijani-American activist, Ms. Hokuma Karimova, who was instrumental to initiate the first-ever study abroad trip to Azerbaijan at the University of Maryland.
Under the guidance of Karimova's professor, Richard Weismiller, the Summer Environmental Project in Azerbaijan (SEPIA) was created, a project designed to introduce Azerbaijan’s environment and its environmental issues to the students of America. This project is an exchange program between Azerbaijan’s - Khazar University and America’s - University of Maryland.
The project is a two-week program, where students spend the first week in a classroom learning from environmental experts through lectures, power point presentations and case studies. The second week will be spent on hands on activities and site visits, where through field trips to oil production sites and land fills, students will get a first hand look at the environmental problems currently being faced by Azerbaijan.
At the end of this trip, American students will have a better understanding of Azerbaijan, its ecology and the issues it is currently facing. With the help of experts and fellow students, study abroad participators will draft an ‘Action Plan’ to tackle a specific issue of their choice. Upon their return home, they will stay in touch with students at Khazar University through weekly video-conferences and receive updated information about the status of their plan.
This first-ever partnership between University of Maryland and Khazar University not only provides the opportunity for college students of both countries to learn more about each other, but work together on the common goal of addressing environmental issues and working towards a sustainable future. Climate change is a global issue, and through partnerships and projects such as this we will ensure that bridges will be built across cultures, and that the future of this planet will be green.
USAN welcomes all grassroots activism designed to the raise the profile of Azerbaijani-Americans and build bridges between the American (including Azerbaijani-American) and Azerbaijani people as well as their respective nations.
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The U.S. Azeris Network (USAN) <http://www.usazeris.org/> is a registered non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian genuine grassroots advocacy and voter education network that is facilitating political activism and efforts by the Azerbaijani-Americans and other Turkic-Americans and their associations, organizations, councils, conferences, and other formal, semi-formal and informal groups, on federal, state and local levels. USAN is the first nationwide grassroots organization uniting Azerbaijani-Americans, being created by the grassroots, for the grassroots.
