1. Zooming Out for a Global View International Leadership Challenge Project Sponsored by the Office of International Outreach, the European Union Center, the College of Geosciences, and the Academy of Future International Leaders at Texas A&M University Mary Tess Eggebrecht Siddharth Thawrani

2. Purpose The purpose of this project is to inspire high school students from Texas schools to think and learn on a globally connected level. We plan to do this by organizing and hosting the fourth annual Zooming Out for a Global View Conference. This conference requires students to research an issue of global importance and tie it to effects at the local, regional, and national levels. Culmination of this research results in a day- long conference on the Texas A&M Campus at which they are given the opportunity to present their work and be evaluated.

3. Conference Agenda Place: Rudder Theater, Texas A&M University Date: Thursday, May 5, 2011 Time: 8:00-9:00 am Registration & Poster Session set-up 9:00 Keynote Address – “A Geological Perspective on the Need for Sustainability” by Dr. Debbie Thomas 10:15 “Zoom In” Small Group Discussions facilitated by AFIL students 10:45 “Zoom In” Group Challenge” Solving Global Issues 11:30 Lunch provided by the Office of International Outreach 12:00 to 1:00 Poster Session 1:00 pm Presentation by A&M Colleges 2:00 Awards Ceremony and featured student presentations 3:00 Optional opportunities Space: Spots will be given to the first 300 students to submit projects * Note: To be eligible to register, the student(s) must submit a global project either individually or in teams of no more than 4 students.

4. Implementation Determine student project requirements and limitations Publicize conference information to High Schools – Website – Powerpoint – Flyers Prepare facilitators – Recruit – Develop curricula – Train facilitators Receive and judge projects – Communicate with winners Host conference

5. Improvements from Last Year Unexpectedly large attendance – Preregistration – Only for grades 9-12 – Larger space (Rudder Complex) Behavior problems – Security present – Bush Library activities optional – Facilitators more accountable for students

6. Desired Outcomes Successful conference – 357 expected attendance! Develop mentorship skills in Texas A&M students Inspire international interest in students through research and problem-solving Promote Texas A&M as a potential university choice for high school students Sustain AFIL interest in the “Zooming Out Conference” for next year’s class

7. Why Attend? Be a Global Investigator! Make connections between Global Sustainability Issues and the area where you live. Interact directly with Texas A&M students, professors, and peers from across Texas. Excellent way to enhance future scholarship applications. Opportunity to visit one of the nation’s premier public schools and learn about Texas A&M traditions. Opportunity to engage in issues facing the world today. Grasp concepts that world leaders are being faced with internationally.

8. Project Requirements 1.Must pertain to a global sustainability issue that falls within one of the categories listed on the following slide. 2.Must include a written component: 1000 word research paper explaining the project’s relevance to a global issue. 3.Must include a display board and multimedia presentation 4.Must be mailed according to the “Submitting Project” slide

9. Global Issues Categories Environmental Sustainability Issues: Organic Food Genetically Modified Organisms Resource Disputes Clean Water Sustainable Agriculture Economic Sustainability Issues: Black Economy (smuggling) Consumerism Consuming vs. Saving Pirates Poverty Fair Trade Societal Sustainability Issues: Disaster Aid Globalization Pharmaceutical Corporations Territory Disputes Genocide Health Care AIDS

10. Online Resources For more project ideas visit: Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World National Intelligence Council http://www.dni.gov/nic/NIC_2025_project.html Global Issues website http://www.globalissues.org/ The Cyber Schoolbus: United Nations http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/ http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/

11. Submitting Projects Written submission includes 3 parts: 1. Registration Forms (one per student) 2. Project Submission Forms (one per group) 3. 1000 word research paper The multimedia visual aid must be submitted along with the written summary. These forms can be found on the World Room website at: http://worldroom.tamu.edu

12. Submitting Projects Cont’d All projects must be received by Wednesday, April 13 th. Written projects should be printed before they are sent, and multimedia projects should be burned to a disk and must function when received. Projects must be submitted to: Global Issues Conference Project Submission Annenberg Presidential Conference Center Office of International Outreach 1245 Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1245

13. Poster Session During the Conference, students will display their projects through a display board (along with any other visual aid that their project includes). Display Boards: Science Fair Style Bullet points and large fonts are better than large paragraphs. Boards should look neat and professional. Information should be organized like a newspaper so the flow of the project is easy to follow. The title should be big and easy to read from across the room. A picture speaks a thousand words! *Recommended to use a tri-fold display board that unfolds to be approximately 36 inches tall and 46 inches wide.

14. POSTER SESSION EXAMPLES Students will be expected to provide insight about their projects similar to that of a Science Fair.

15. Project Judging Guidelines The projects will be judged by a panel of qualified Texas A&M students based on: Creativity/ Originality Global Insight Relevance to an important Global Issue Overall Quality

16. Judging Rubric The 5 Criteria The project ties to a specific global sustainability issue The project demonstrates creativity and originality. Quality of data in terms of research and presentation of data. Quality of project in terms of presentation and organization. Quality of project in terms of grammar, language use, and neatness.  Each criteria is given a score on a scale from 1-5  All judging takes place before the conference

17. Plagiarism We take plagiarism seriously. Make sure to give credit to all resources you use in creating your project. Any plagiarism found will result in disqualification of the project and students involved will not be allowed to attend.

18. Plagiarism is defined as… “…Presenting someone else's work, including the work of other students, as one's own. Any ideas or materials taken from another source for either written or oral use must be fully acknowledged, […] including: 1. Directly quoting another person's actual words, whether oral or written; 2. Using another person's ideas, opinions, or theories; 3. Paraphrasing the words, ideas, opinions, or theories of others, whether oral or written; or 4. Borrowing facts, statistics, or illustrative material.” (quoted from Indiana University Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct)

19. Contact Information PLEASE VOLUNTEER! AFIL Student Coordinators Mary Tess Eggebrecht and Siddharth Thawrani: zoomingoutconference@gmail.com