Category Archives: Features

Features

Features

Contribute To The Peace Corps 50th Anniversary Digital Library

The Peace Corps is inviting former volunteers to submit stories and photos from their volunteer experiences to be used in the 50th anniversary celebration of the Peace Corps. From their web site:

The 50th Anniversary Digital Library provides a searchable collection of electronic Peace Corps materials from 1961-present, including:

  • Photos and stories contributed by Volunteers and RPCVs, using an online submission form
  • Digitized newsletters, speeches, annual reports and other key agency historical materials
  • Contributions of photos and historical documents from country posts
  • Brochures, posters, audio and video clips, and marketing materials from each decade of Peace Corps history

Peace Corps invites current and returned Volunteers to share a story and/or photos from your Peace Corps experience. Stories will be collected from Volunteers serving in each generation of the Peace Corps, from the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and on through to the present.

By sharing a story and photos that reflect your unique experience in the place and time you served, you will help enrich Americans’ understanding of what it means to have been a Peace Corps Volunteer. Many of the stories and photos submitted to the digital library will be used to honor and celebrate our legacy of service during Peace Corps’ 50th anniversary celebration in 2011. Digital library materials will be accessible to the public through the Peace Corps website, and will be shared with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

We are currently accepting electronic submission of stories and photos from current and returned Volunteers only. If you are a Volunteer or RPCV, please read the complete photo submission guidelines and story submission guidelines for details on what we are collecting and how to submit your materials.

If you are not a Volunteer or RPCV but would like to submit material to the Digital Library, please contact us at digital@peacecorps.gov.

Full URL:
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.former.fiftieth.library.contribute

Features

Niger On YouTube

Here are a couple of YouTube videos sure to bring back some good memories (if you’ve been to Niger):

And a few more related to Niger that you might find interesting:

Features

YouTube Video: Niger RPCV Dr. Bill Miles Discusses His Memoir

Author and Northeastern Professor William Miles, discusses his memoir, My African Horse Problem on December 3, 2008.

Miles returned to Niger in 2000 with his ten-year-old son Samuel, to resolve an inheritance dispute over a horse. His experience captivated National Public Radio, and “All Things Considered” covered both his pre-departure story and follow-up after his visit. His account weaves together memoir, history and anthropology and journeys back to his days in Niger in the 1970s and 1980s as a Peace Corps volunteer and Fulbright scholar.

Features

One Hundred Years Of Archeology In Niger

Niger has always been a rich country for archeological research. This blog post links to a research paper outlining some of the more notable archeological finds and their significance.

It’s highly technical information, but it’s interesting to get an idea of all the work going in in the country relating to the history of mankind.

Full URL:
http://mathildasanthropologyblog.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/one-hundred-years-of-archaeology-in-niger-pdf/

Features, News

Taking Action on Climate Change

NPCA Profiling Volunteers

Help Take Part By Contributing Your Own Submissions

The National Peace Corps Association is looking for Peace Corps volunteers, returned or current, who are taking action on climate change. The goal is to show how climate change affects their country of service, and to spotlight the activities that they are involved in to help reduce humanity’s effect on the environment.

The advocacy team at the NPCA is calling for submissions in the form of videos or testimonials that you would be willing to share with others showing how climate change affects communities in Niger. This is a great opportunity to showcase how this important issue affects the fragile environment that so many Nigeriens depend on.

You can contact the NPCA advocacy office by email: advocacy@rpcv.org, or through the NPCA web site.

If you don’t have videos, you can also contribute by submitting a Climate Change Profile, to highlight the work you do on a professional or personal level to fight climate change.

Please visit the NPCA’s web site to submit your own profile:

http://www.rpcv.org/pages/survey.cfm?id=60

You can see the profiles that have already been submitted here.

http://www.rpcv.org/pages/sitepage.cfm?id=1412

Thank you for helping to raise awareness of this critical issue!

Features, News

Niger Documentary Filmmaker Wins Golden Giraffe Award

Ingrid Patetta’s documentary, At The Center Of The Earth – Of Wells and Men, has recently won a Golden Giraffe award at the International Environmental Film Festival of Niamey.

Honoring the traditional know-how of the Hausa well-diggers of Niger, the film reveals the pride, the tradition, and the determination of these Sahelian men who dig the earth with their bare hands in order to access water.

The film has also been chosen as an Official Selection the represent the African continent for the International Water and Cinema Events World Water Forum, taking place in Istanbul in March of 2009.

We congratulate Ingrid and hope she continues to produce more wonderful and educational films about Niger.

Features, News

Nomadic Festival August 9 in Ojai, California

Leslie Clark and the Nomad Foundation are putting together a festival on a ranch in the hills above Ojai, California to help raise money for the Center for Nomadic Life.

The Center for Nomadic Life is designed to meet the basic needs of nomads living near Ingall as their life becomes increasingly challenging. Tickets are still available at the Nomadic Festival web site.

Come spend the day enjoying art, exhibitions, food, music, and more, all for a great cause!

Full URL: http://www.nomadfoundation.org/festival.html

Features

Friends of Niger: The Last Ten Years

Those attending the 35th Anniversary of Peace Corps in Niger in July 1997 were moved to revitalize the almost defunct Friends of Niger group, which had been started by Meredith McGehee; a balance of $6,000 remained in a bank account in Washington, DC. The process took almost a year and now ten years later seems like a good time to look back and celebrate the accomplishments of Friends of Niger as Niger has just celebrated the 45th anniversary of Peace Corps in Niger.

Please have a look at our About FON page to see the list of our accomplishments, from the beginnings of the web site and newsletter, to famine relief and fund raising for a variety of projects,.

The link is also found at the top-left of every page on our site.

Full URL: http://www.friendsofniger.org/aboutfon