Help Send Grace to the Balkans

Grace Keyes Start Date: Jan 29, 2015 - End Date: May 8, 2015
  • Study/Degree Abroad
  • Intern Abroad
  • Professional Development
  • Montenegro
  • Albania

My Travel Story

by: Grace Keyes Start Date: Jan 29, 2015 - End Date: May 8, 2015
  • Study/Degree Abroad
  • Intern Abroad
  • Professional Development
I will be going to the Balkans this summer! First, I will be going on a study abroad program offered through Ohio University, and then I will begin an embedded fellowship that will last until mid-August. The study abroad program surrounds topics such as environmental peacebuilding and sustainability. What is really fantastic about this program is that I will be receiving seven credit hours, all of which pertain to my two majors: Global Studies War and Peace, and Environmental Pre-Law. The program is directed by Dr. Geoff Dabelko and is in collaboration with the International Peace Parks Expeditions, founded by Todd Walters. We will be hopping from Kosovo, Albania, and Montenegro; interacting with the locals; doing some incredible hiking; all while completing an interdisciplinary and fun curriculum.

We will end in Kosovo, and I will then begin the embedded fellowship at a local non-governmental organization in Peja, Kosovo called the Environmentally Responsible Action Group, or ERA. I will remain in Kosovo for the duration of the summer.  I will be researching topics surrounding transboundary national parks and their respective laws. I hope to maintain a blog while working with ERA in order to build momentum for a comparative case study that I will produce by the end of the summer. In addition to the blog and case study, I will be assisting ERA in their many exciting programs. I am very, very thrilled.

Although I do not have a definite idea of what I will be doing after my undergraduate career, I do have aspirations to attend graduate school. I believe that this study abroad and embedded fellowship will assist me in developing skills that will benefit me in my graduate education and in gaining a clearer idea of my career goals and dreams. 

I appreciate any and all help that I may receive. Thank you for taking the time to look at my campaign. Now, help send me to the Balkans!
  • Montenegro
  • Albania

Updates

3

  • Embedded Fellowship Outline

    This is my scope of work for the embedded fellowship with the Environmentally Responsible Action Group in Kosovo. It lays out essentially everything that I will be doing for my research - check it out! 


    "IPPE Embedded Fellowship - ERA Group - Kosovo - Grace Keyes

    Start Date: March 1, 2015

    End Date: August 31, 2015

    Time Commitment: 30-40 hours per week expected.

    Salary or stipend: This is an unpaid fellowship.

    Fellowship Advisor: Todd Walters, International Peace Park Expeditions

    Local Contact in Montenegro: Ellen Frank Lajqi, ERA Group

    Overview:

    This project involves analyzing legislation surrounding Kosovo’s two transboundary national parks, aiming to make comparisons with other transboundary national park laws in Europe, particularly involving countries new to the European Union.

    Trans-boundary national parks have the potential to foster peace and encourage cooperation between and within countries that have different management dynamics and cultural values. This prospect is not only important for peace, but it is integral for the conservation of nature and biodiversity.

    The parks under examination are the two national parks in Kosovo: National Park Bjeshket e Nemuna (2012) and National Park Sharri (1986); and the tri-lateral trans-boundary park in the Carpathian Mountains, shared between Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine; and the Triglav/Prealpi Guiulie trans-boundary national park between Slovenia and Italy.

    Purpose:  The structure of this project will be a comparison case study, with the end product a comprehensive research paper and public presentation of results in Peja, Kosovo and Athens, OH.  

    Pre-fellowship research will surround Kosovo’s history, its existing political structure, and also its social dynamics as a multi-ethnic state. Understanding these factors will further improve the understanding of the subsequent laws being analyzed. Once each national park law is understood I will then compare Kosovo’s transboundary park laws with the two other transboundary national park laws.

    The hope is to find and highlight both similarities and differences between the laws in place in Kosovo, and how ERA Group can utilize this information to support Kosovo’s bid for European Union Membership.

    Responsibilities:

    The ERA Group Embedded Fellow is responsible for representing themselves, their families, their University, and International Peace Park Expeditions in Kosovo, while working directly with local partner ERA Group.

    The Fellow will have four main responsibilities:

    Project Deliverables:

    Conduct extensive research into the EU accession process and transboundary national parks. While the research is being conducted, a blog will be maintained to keep track of the research findings and musings.

    Understand Kosovo’s strategy for completion of the process.

    Provide a framework for the strategic positioning of ERA within the EU accession structure in order to determine the ways in which ERA may help further facilitate accession and benefit from the process.

    The conclusion of the research will be a comparative case study that exhibits what has been found over the researching period. The case study will be in the form of a formal, academic paper identifying what makes transboundary national parks useful and strong, and conversely, what makes them fragile and insecure.

    Public Presentation of findings in Kosovo at ERA Group’s Haxi Zeka’s Mill

    Public Presentaion of findings in Athens, Ohio during the Fall 2015 International Education Week.

    As the ERA Group Embedded Fellow, Grace  will work to conduct desktop research in the U.S., from March 1, 2015 to May 10, 2015.  Grace will participate as a student on the 2015 Expedition “Environmental Peacebuilding and Sustainability: A Peace Park in the Balkans” traveling to Washington DC, Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro from May 10, 2015 to June 1, 2015.  Grace will work directly with ERA Group, based in Peja and Hajla, Kosovo from June 4, 2015 to August 7, 2015.

    The ERA Group Embedded Fellow will work directly with IPPE’s Executive Director, Todd Walters, and ERA Groups Program Director, Ellen Frank Lajqi, with skype and in-person check ins on a weekly basis, with additional check ins as needed. The Fellow will be expected to work effectively as an individual and as part of a remote team, managing their own time from a results oriented, deadline perspective. The Fellow will use Skype, google docs and google calendar, and the task management tool Asana to keep their project progress on schedule.

    The ERA Group Embedded Fellow will present their work publicly in Peja, Kosovo at Haxi Zeka’s Mill as part of an event during the first week in August, 2015; and will present their work publicly at Ohio University, as part of International Education Week during the Fall Semester 2015.

    Office Location: The ERA Group Embedded Fellow will be based in Peja, Kosovo and will travel regularly to Hajla Mountain Education Center in Rugova Valley.  The fellow will stay with a local family in Peja.  The fellow is part of a remote Team of volunteers for International Peace Park Expeditions, and will be able to work from any location that has an internet connection and a phone line, in order to access Google Docs, Google Calendar, Asana and Skype."

    Basic Budget:

    IPPE Embedded Fellowship Fee - $1,000 (to be split $500/$500 between IPPE and ERA Group) - covers your emergency medical and evacuation insurance, all in-country logistical support, access to IPPE’s network, and regular weekly meetings with IPPE Executive Director and ERA Groups Program Director; and the ability to contact either of us anytime 24/7 in the case of emergency.

    Logistical Support - ERA Group will pair you with a Green Team peer volunteer who will help you with translation, coordination of logistics, navigating cultural nuances, and as your first line of questions.  ERA Group Program Director will be your next level of local support, and IPPE Executive Director will be your final level of support.  

    Lodging - Peja Homestays with local family ~  € 20 per night.  Staying at Hajla Mountain Education Center is free.

    Transportation - Prishtine to Peja by bus is ~ € 10; by taxi ~ € 40

    Nourishment - typical meal prices - breakfast € 2, lunch € 5, dinner € 8 (~ € 15 per day)

    Communication - basic cell phone € 30, local SIM card € 10, Credit for pay as you go ~ € 5 per 2 weeks, ~ €20-30 for 2 months."

  • Expedition Outline

    I cannot believe that there are only 51 days until I leave the US for the Balkans. All that is in front of me now are finals and scrambling to make sure that I have everything I need for my travels. To give you all a better idea of what I will be doing for the first portion of my trip, I have copy and pasted the expedition summary that is on Ohio University's study abroad website. I hope that you will take a look! I hope to also update you all on what I will be doing for the second half of my summer during my embedded fellowship with the Environmentally Resposible Action Group (ERA) in Peja, Kosovo. 

    Again, I appreciate any and all donations that I may receive and am forever grateful for the help. 

    "Summary 
    This 7 credit field course (in Washington DC and the Balkans) will provide students with a unique, experiential learning opportunity in one of the last bio-diversity hotspots in Europe, a place where the legacy of the conflict of the 1990s is being overcome with entrepreneurship, ecotourism and environmental peacebuilding. Starting with three days in Washington DC, students will gain a foundational understanding of how environmental security thinking led to a focus on environmental peacebuilding.

    We will meet with some of our nation’s foremost scholars and policy analysts on environmental peacebuilding, sustainability and transboundary protected areas management including officials at the National Park Service Office of International Affairs, US Agency for International Development, Conservation International , the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and others.  We will visit one of the Balkans Embassies and hear a presentation from the Ambassador about regional environmental cooperation and the value of international educational exchange.  

    Program Focus

    Community driven sustainable development
    Cross border environmental conservation
    Eco-tourism
    Natural resource management
    Activities

    Trek on the award-winning "Peaks of the Balkans Trail," which showcases the border region's stunning natrual beauty.
    Enjoy the phenomenal hospitality of the local people in all three countries through home stays and learn from the people who work in environmental peacebuilding every day.
    Climb cross border trails that were previously used by Roman soldiers and Kosovar refugees.
    Experience the unique "higher mountain culture" and its traditional organic farming and cuisine, music and dance, traditional clothing, centuries old architecture and rugged way of life.
    Students will see firsthand how the environment is harnessed as a tool to stimulate cross border cooperation between communities and countries; and how entrepreneurship and ecotourism are providing an alternativemodel for sustainable development and real world livelihood creation. The field-based experiences are accompanied by faculty and guest lectures, the international policy environment in Washington, D.C. and with park officials, community leaders, and experts in Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro.


    The study abroad program will be led by Dr. Geoff Dabelko, a leading expert on environmental peacebuilding and long-time program director at the Washington-based Environmental Change and Security Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center. He joins Todd Walters, founder and executive director of International Peace Park Expeditions, who has led student experiential learning study abroad programs in the Balkans and Central America with a focus on transboundary conservation and peacebuilding.

    Links to an article on the front page of the TRAVEL section of the New York Times highlights the route we will follow, The Peaks of the Balkans Trail, which won the World Tourism and Travel Council’s Award for Top Sustainable Destination in 2013.  National Geographic posted photos and a write-up of our 2011 Expedition on their website. For a slide show of past IPPE-led study abroad programs to the Balkans, visit the IPPE.

     
    Program Dates
    Summer 2015
    May 10- June 1, 2015
    Courses and credits
    Students will enroll in 7 credit hours during this program.

    Undergraduate students:
    ES 4900 Special Topics: Environment, Peacebuilding & Security (3 credits)
    ES 4910 Special Topics: Environmental Studies Leadership Experience (3 credits)
    ES 4930 Independent Study in Environmental Studies (1 credit)"



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