Global Citizenship Initiative

	What Students Have Done
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	Professors: Teach a Fiat Lux Seminar

On September 23, 2009, all incoming freshman and transfer students at UCLA were engaged in book discussion groups centered around Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains. The book, designated UCLA’s common book for 2009-2010, follows the work of Dr. Paul Farmer, who has dedicated his life to addressing HIV and Tuberculosis in Haiti and throughout the world

Through the recently launched UCLA Global Citizenship Initiative 5,000 first-year and transfer students were given Mountain Beyond Mountains during their Orientation sessions.

On September 22nd, students participated in Volunteer Day, a large community engagement project organized by the UCLA Volunteer Center at sites throughout Los Angeles.
http://volunteer.ucla.edu/

The next night on September 23rd, as the culmination of True Bruin Welcome Week, students participated in facilitated discussions based on the summer reading and led by members of the Residential Life staff and the Faculty-in-Residence Program. Each book group featured a UCLA student or wider community member, known as a Global Citizenship Ambassador, who spoke about his or her own commitment to global citizenship and service.

Based on dialogue in community discussions, students were encouraged to seek out opportunities to further their experiences, interactions, and connections to the themes of the Initiative. This has been facilitated through community programs, student projects, and personal action plans.

The initiative was undertaken as a joint effort of the UCLA Volunteer Center, the UCLA Office of Residential Life, and the Art | Global Health Center at UCLA.


UCLA is creating a “Community of Heroes” through the formation of the UCLA Volunteer Center.
At UCLA, civic engagement and community involvement are core values. Through the UCLA Volunteer Center, the university is building on its legacy of public service by creating a network community of enlightened volunteers from the campus and the community who are involved in lifelong commitment to civic engagement.
Our goal is to mobilize the extended UCLA family, as well as thousands of people from the community at large, to volunteer at least once a month.
The UCLA Volunteer Center will be implemented primarily as a cutting-edge online gateway for civic engagement in thousands of volunteer projects on campus and in the community. The center will also train and motivate volunteer participants and leaders.

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