IBJ FOUNDATION SUPPORTS OUTREACH TO SCHOOLS

Maurice Brehyah-Addow from Ghana, shares the rich Ashanti culture with students at Cox Elementary in Oakland through the Speakers Bureau.

nternational House was awarded a third-year grant of $24,500 from The Industrial Bank of Japan Foundation Inc. to support the Multicultural/ International Speakers Bureau - a pilot program designed to enrich the K-12 grade social studies curriculum and promote the concept of global citizenship in California public schools.

nternational House's Speakers Bureau is a free-of-charge community service program which pairs international students and visiting scholars with U.S. students for visits to K-12 grade classrooms in three local school districts. The program has been heralded by students, teachers, principals, and participating speakers as an invaluable resource for improving cultural understanding and bringing classroom social studies "to life."

n this third year of the program, our goal is to expand the long-term impact of the Multicultural/International Speakers Bureau by developing a Resource Collection for teachers, speakers, and students to supplement the ongoing speakers program and classroom field trips to International House. Presentation of an Educators' Conference will share information about replication of this model program in other educational settings.

he IBJ Foundation Inc. is a nonprofit, philanthropic organization established in New York in 1989 with an endowment from The Industrial Bank of Japan, Limited, one of the world's largest financial institutions. The Foundation stands as a symbol of IBJ's commitment to American society.

For further information on the IBJ Foundation-sponsored International/ Multicultural Speakers Program call Liliane Koziol, Program Director, at (510) 642-9460.