School of Media Studies

International Field Program Now Accepting Applications for TNS 2018 Summer Programs in Argentina and Colombia

International Field Program is now accepting applications for The New School’s 2018 Summer Programs in Argentina and Colombia.

Gain international experience in socioeconomic rights, urban and community development, labor practices, governance, human rights, and cooperative development. Through a mixture of hands-on work and an immersive educational experience, students can earn undergraduate and graduate credits by participating in a transformative experience in Argentina or Colombia.

Colombia Studio: Cooperativism and Citizen Empowerment

In this studio, we will explore strategies and challenges for building cooperative enterprises that facilitate both access to markets and decision making power for members. The context for this work is a new partnership between a green coffee import company based in Oregon and a coffee grower’s cooperative in Colombia. These companies have an economic relationship but are also engaged in a project to organize and build capacity among women farmers. The long-term goal is to strengthen organizational capacity and increase revenues of women, improve the visibility, marketability, and revenues of the coop, and strengthen the trading position and price setting capacity of the importer.

The Studio will: research cooperative models and assess the coop partner’s operations in light of these; research marketing of cooperative enterprises and marketing strategies for promoting the co-op partner’s products; research definitions and strategies for assessing “women’s empowerment” and develop tools to test these with the coop partner; research price setting in the coffee industry and design tools for improving price transparency so that partners have stronger negotiating positions. In addition to the above, Studio participants will have the opportunity to learn about the specialty coffee industry including cupping, grading, logistics, sales, and marketing as well as the “culture” of coffee.

The IFP combines pre-departure preparation, in-country seminars, summer fieldwork, and independent research with faculty supervision.

Argentina, Buenos Aires

Between 1998 and 2002, Argentina suffered from a great economic depression, also referred to as “the most severe emerging market crisis in history.” In 2002, at the peak of the crisis, the economy had shrunk by 28%, unemployment reached 23%, and more than 50% of Argentines lived in poverty. Since 2003, in the aftermath of the crisis, Argentina has been restructuring its social and employment policies to address the social and economic crisis, especially the very high levels of poverty and unemployment, by generating decent work opportunities.

Through a collaboration with the UMET university and links with trade unions, human rights organizations, municipalities, research centers, and government officials, the Argentina IFP provides the opportunity to critically study social development and public policy in Argentina since the turn of the crisis. Students can focus their projects on a diverse set of topics such as poverty reduction programs, inequality, human rights issues, educational policies, employment policies, the role of trade unions, or the role of the state in the global system. This type of research is key to understanding current challenges that Argentina and the region are facing, and the role that these organizations and policies can play in mitigating local, regional, or global shocks on democracy and equitable development.

LEARN MORE        APPLY TODAY 

The application deadline is Friday, February 16, 2018, by 11:59 pm.