Since 2006, ACI has strengthened internal collaboration between its Study Abroad and Health Departments by organizing custom-designed Health courses for American and Senegalese students. The goal of the courses is to share ACI’s experience in HIV/AIDS advocacy and policy, and to strengthen the skills of community organizations responding to the epidemic. American students have the chance to discover the experience of Senegal and its AIDS grass-roots activists and organizations, and Senegalese students and activists get to strengthen their knowledge and skills in the response to HIV and AIDS.

ACI has developed HIV/AIDS-related courses in partnership with Williams College, Beloit College and Boston University. For more information on our Study Abroad program, click here.

A New Dynamic Format Pairing Students With NGO Activists To Produce Short Films With Local Organizations In Kaolack

In January 2008, Williams College returned to ACI with two professors (Video specialist Kiaran Honderick from Williams College, and International Consultant on HIV/AIDS and Gender Jill Lewis from Hamsphire College,) and ten students. The 2008 program was unique in its multiple concentrations: cross-cultural learning, gender, HIV/AIDS and film-making. It built upon ACI’s rich experience with its Poles of Excellence program for strengthening community-based organizations in Senegal in their response to HIV and AIDS. ACI Caseworker Abdoulaye Konaté played a key role as facilitator for the program. In line with ACI’s policy of involving Senegalese students in our Study Abroad programs, the Williams program paired US students with NGO activists from four community-based organizations in Kaolack, an Association for the Promotion of Senegalese Women (APROFES), an association of people living with HIV (BOKK LEPP), the Center for Counseling for Adolescents (CCA) and the Group for Reflection and Development of Senegal (GRADES). The American students and local activists attended the gender training together and later shot footage together and created four short films in Wolof with French sub-titles during a retreat at the seaside town of Toubab Dialao. The finished films were then returned to the four host organizations for use in their education and public relations efforts.

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