A new club at ASU is promoting community and international outreach to address the United Nations’ goals to solve global issues.
The University-Community Partnership for Social Action Research student club became an official ASU organization this week and is working to initiate collaboration between student groups and the worldwide University-Community Partnership for Social Action Research network.
ASU professor Marek Wosinski founded UCP-SARnet in 2008.
UCP-SARnet works to educate community leaders around the world on how to address the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, Wosinski said.
These goals include eradicating poverty, providing universal education and fighting HIV/AIDS.
“UCP-SARnet is trying to prepare a new generation of community leaders to effectively resolve such issues like poverty and AIDS,” Wosinski said.
One way the group does this is by organizing Stand Up Against Poverty Events.
The events work to increase awareness about poverty around the world in order to help solve the problem.
The network has also helped to establish the Gandhi College of Social Work in India, which allows students to gain experience in community leadership and to learn about community issues, all while getting an education.
Wosinski said the network’s projects help aid partnership among the University, community organizations and governments.
The club and the network share the same goals, but the ASU club is looking for a way to collaborate with other student organizations at ASU that focus on similar goals, said Mohamed Camara, president of the UCP-SARnet club.
Osée Roméo Tcheupgoum, UCP-SARnet assistant facilitator for Africa, has worked on projects to train community leaders and organize a Stand Up Against Poverty event in the west African country of Gambia.
Tcheupgoum said the projects and UCP-SARnet are “empowering community leaders around the world.”
UCP-SARnet’s executive team at ASU organizes and assists with the network’s projects.
The executive team is mostly made up of ASU students and some faculty.
The club was formed because the network wanted to get involved with other ASU student organizations that have international outreach projects, Camara said.
“We somehow hope to contribute to their mission and also we hope that they will be interested joining us with some projects,” Wosinski said.
Camara said he hopes the club will engage students in the network’s larger projects.
“We have a new partnership with a refugee program in downtown Phoenix,” Camara said. “We want to get ASU students involved with that.”
Wosinski said he hopes the club will also contribute to recruitment for the network’s leadership team.
The team will be recruiting by tabling and building relationships with other ASU organizations and their projects.
Reach the reporter at sophia.charchuk@asu.edu
