Our amazing group of instructors at our all-staff orientation in the High Sierra mountains, California. Photo by Parker Pflaum.

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    [post_date] => 2019-10-15 15:34:08
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    [post_content] => The following is an excerpt of a recent letter that Executive Director Reed Harwood sent to Dragons instructors, past and present. It offers some history on the new Bishop Paiute Scholarship, which is the result of a relationship between Dragons staff and the indigenous tribe that lives near the site of Dragons annual staff orientation in the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains. 



Dear Instructor Community:


“I believe in gatherings” said Paul Chaves, a member of the Bishop Paiute Tribe. “And when you gather good people… that’s powerful. This is powerful.” We shared a canopy of stars, the dusty forest floor, and the piñon breeze.  We gathered in the current and ancestral home of the Paiute: the Payahuunadu, aka the Owens River Valley, aka the annual site of Dragons Staff Orientation in the Eastern Sierra. 


Dragons and the Bishop Paiute forged a connection in June of 2018, when a small group of Dragons instructors visited the Paiute tribe on their land in Bishop. The Dragons delegation had collected seeds from Bolivia, Peru, Guatemala, Madagascar, Thailand, India, Laos, and Mexico for the Paiute’s Food Sovereignty Program. Later that week, a small group of Paiute representatives visited Dragons Orientation at the mouth of Rock Creek. We broke bread, they wondered and laughed at our “Talent Show,” and in Paul’s words a “friendship and allyship” was born. This year, we again participated in their Food Sovereignty program. They shared a meal with us at the our orientation campground, performed traditional songs and spoken word poetry at our talent show, and returned the next day to sell artisan goods at our global market.


Paul told me the ancient myths of the condor and the eagle, and the connections between his people and the people where the Andean condor flies. His people have always been global travelers. “The Paiute are a sovereign nation,” he said, “and our voice is needed at the global table. We’re getting there, but our youth need more global perspective and connection.” I felt the call of reciprocity pulse through my body. The ancestral home of the Paiute has held us for decades, and the Dragons community can now support the Paiute in gaining access to global engagement.


This fall, the Dragons Fund created a scholarship: the Bishop Paiute Scholarship. This annually-awarded, full-ride scholarship will support Bishop Paiute youth on Dragons programs.


As a Dragons staff member, you have received inspiration and solace from the Payahuunadu, the land of the Paiute. You believe in the power of global education. You know how vital it is to have indigenous representation at the table, as we navigate the survival of our collective history. 


Over the next four months, Courtney Zenner Campbell* and Briana Bellamy* will guide the Dragons Fund’s “Ten Scholarships in 2020” campaign, which includes our goal to provide one full-ride summer scholarship to a Bishop Paiute student. Their campaign is just beginning, and they will need your help.  If the spirit moves you to support this scholarship, when donating, simply write “Bishop Paiute Scholarship” in the “Add Special Instructions” section. 


You will hear from Briana and Courtney soon about this important initiative. Thank you, in advance, for considering this effort.


Reed

*Former Dragons instructors and administrators, Briana Bellamy and Courtney Zenner Campbell currently manage the Dragons Fund and its fall “Ten in 2020” campaign. Their goal is to raise money for ten full scholarships for students who could not otherwise afford to participate in a Dragons program. 

You can learn more about the Ten in 2020 campaign at www.DragonsFund.org, or by reaching out to Courtney (courtney@dragonsfund.org) or Briana (briana@dragonsfund.org, 510-990-0271).

Ps. Want Dragons blog updates sent directly to your inbox? One email a week. Nothing markety. Unsubscribe any time. Subscribe to Dragons Blog and stay connected to the community. ❤️

    [post_title] => Dragons ED, Reed Harwood, on Gatherings & The *New* Bishop Paiute Scholarship
    [post_excerpt] => An excerpt of a letter that Dragons Executive Director, Reed Harwood, sent to Dragons instructors to offer history on the new Bishop Paiute Scholarship...
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    [post_date] => 2019-10-08 16:18:01
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    [post_content] => 

Dragons is excited to announce a new collaboration with Lumos Foundation, a non-profit founded by J.K. Rowling that aims to end the use of orphanages and institutions for vulnerable children around the world by 2050. 

Dragons will work with Lumos on their three-year campaign aiming to educate young volunteers abroad on the harmful impacts of voluntourism, especially orphanage volunteering. Ultimately, we want to be a part of the conversation to develop best practices and to spark a wider discussion on what responsible volunteering and travel looks like.

As part of this work, Dragons will be publishing our own Child Protection Position Paper which will complement our stance on Learning Service and Responsible Travel. In the meantime, if you are (or know) a past or current student who is passionate about this topic and would like to share their story, please contact Jessica Armstrong (jessica@wheretherebedragons.com).

Ps. Want Dragons blog updates sent directly to your inbox? One email a week. Nothing markety. Unsubscribe any time. Subscribe to Dragons Blog and stay connected to the community. ❤️

    [post_title] => Dragons Collaboration with Lumos Foundation
    [post_excerpt] => Dragons is excited to announce a new collaboration with Lumos Foundation, a non-profit founded by J.K. Rowling that aims to end the use of orphanages and institutions for vulnerable children around the world by 2050.
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    [post_date] => 2019-09-05 11:40:18
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    [post_content] => 
There's a lovely feature of our fearless (and fun) leader, Reed Harwood, at GetBoulder.com this week.


Here's an excerpt:


“Our most profound learning doesn’t happen in the classroom. It comes from meandering up a creek bed, peeking under stones, digging through the muck,” Harwood says. “It comes from getting into environments that surprise, challenge and divert us from our everyday context.”



Head over to GetBoulder.com to read the full story!



Ps. Want Dragons blog updates sent directly to your inbox? One email a week. Nothing markety. Unsubscribe any time. Subscribe to Dragons Blog and stay connected to the community. ❤️

    [post_title] => Reed Harwood, Dragons Executive Director, Featured at GetBoulder.com
    [post_excerpt] => There's a lovely feature of our fearless (and fun) leader, Reed Harwood, at GetBoulder.com this week. Read on for an excerpt...
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    [post_content] => We are loving this interview with Dragons students Danielle (South America Semester Alum '19) and Chinelle (Nepal College Study Abroad Alum '19) that played on Jamaican National TV this week. The discussion exploring their Gap Year experiences is well worth your six minutes to watch!

Ps. Danielle was a recipient of Dragons scholarships. Dragons Fund scholarships are generated entirely from the donations of generous Dragons alumni, instructors, and staff. You can learn more about how the fund ensures access for all students, regardless of their financial circumstances at: dragonsfund.org.



Ps. Want Dragons blog updates sent directly to your inbox? One email a week. Nothing markety. Unsubscribe any time. Subscribe to Dragons Blog and stay connected to the community. ❤️

    [post_title] => Interview with Dragons Alumni on TVJ Smile Jamaica
    [post_excerpt] => We are loving this interview with Dragons students Danielle (South America Semester Alum) and Chinelle (Nepal College Study Abroad Alum) that played on Jamaican National TV this week. It's well worth your six minutes to watch! 
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    [post_content] => 
Did you miss the Instagram stories capturing the behind-the-scenes action at our annual Staff Training?


Not to worry, this video/slideshow offers all the visuals and feels....




IMAGERY BY: Aaron Slosberg, David Haffeman, Erin King, and Simon Hart, but let's be honest... most of the really awesome shots are courtesy of Lorin Anderberg ❤🙌

    [post_title] => Dragons Staff Training 2019 Slideshow
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    [post_content] => Dragons was recently interviewed for an article on Global Citizenship Education published in Edition 21 of the Professionals in International Education Review (PIE Review).

Here's an excerpt. You can also visit the PIE website or online PDF issue to read the article in full...

What's important to us is that our participants are actively exploring their own unique definitions...

 



"...Aaron Slosberg, the director of student programming for the transformational education tour group Where There Be Dragons, feels the definition of global citizenship is fluid. 


"For some, it may mean a life mission to connect across international boundaries and embody a transnational identity," he says. "For others, it could mean devoting oneself to a single home community and addressing global issues in a local context." 


He continues, "What's important to us is that our participants are actively exploring their own unique definitions (with all their inherent complexities) of what it means to be a 'global citizen' and allowing those new understandings to inform future choices." 

 

Read the full article at The Pie Review...

 


    [post_title] => Dragons featured in The PIE (Professionals in International Education) Review
    [post_excerpt] => Dragons was recently interviewed for an article on Global Citizenship Education published in Edition 21 of the Professionals in International Education Review (PIE Review). Here's a short excerpt, or you can visit the online issue to read the article in full... 
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