Today has been an action packed adventure of sitting in
meetings and learning the ins and outs of world politics today. So packed that
I won’t even mention the interesting things that have happened to me today. Well
that’s a lie, but anyways. Today I want to start off with a brief history of
how I got here and it’s impact on myself and Utah Valley University (UVU).
About five years ago I took my first ever international relations
class with Prof. Baktybek Abdrisaev. I went to Utah Valley University because I
knew I could. I knew I would do well there. What I didn’t know was how his
influence, on myself and others, would make such an impact as it has today. While
there has been work made by many a countless soul, to me, Prof. Bek, as his
students like to call him, has always been the face of change, in my eyes. And
today is a great day for its mention. In my previous posts I mentioned the
Fourth Global Meeting of the Mountain Partnership.
What I didn’t mention was that fellow students of UVU were
attending the conference and that they were given a chance to participate. What
a truly fascinating experience it must have been for them.
Also of note. These brave souls were the only students to
have attended from any University (North or South). This speaks volumes about
the intimate relationship UVU’s politically minded students have kept with the
Mountain Partnership, UIMF, and other GO’s and NGO’s for Mountainous Regions.
Also, it verifies the quality or worth of UVU’s students as political actors on
the world stage.
These last couple of days have proven the maturity of this
institution and the growing presence of its student body. With an ever growing
presence in Washington D.C., the United Nations, and now, the world, UVU’s
students are setting a standard that will be hard met; yet eagerly sought after
by future students.
Below is a list of websites which relate to this post:
Hi Joseph. This is Mark Petersen. I am the guy in the picture shaking Thomas Hofers hand. As I am typing this I am sitting in the Millenium Lounge at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul. I must say that I concur with your assessments of UVU and Prof. Abdrisaev. I expressed my desire to the Prof. early in the summer that I wished to learn the protocols surrounding international diplomacy and he hasn't stopped teaching me since. My latest experience has been to attend that 4th Global Meeting of the Mountain Partnership.
ReplyDeleteIt was a great experience to attend the Meeting. The primary purpose of this meeting was to ratify a new governing and strategy document for the Mountain Partnership. This document was ratified on the first day of the conference. We also set about choosing who would be on the Steering Committee of the Mountain Partnership from our region: The North and Central American and Carribean region. In each region a government and an NGO would have one place in the Steering Committee each. From our region it was decided that Vertex would be the NGO and that the government of Mexico would represent the governments.
Seeing these processes in practice and making an amazing list of new contacts is truely what UVU means when it says it involves its students in engaged learning.