Our Mission
We, the Periclean Scholars Class of 2017, aspire to develop the growth of knowledge and service around the world, specifically in the African nation of Namibia. We partner with, instead of creating for, and aim to generate sustainable change in communities, both at home and abroad. Our cohort is currently working in partnership with the University of Namibia to plan a conference that will bring together agricultural experts, local farmers, and university faculty and students to discuss ways of addressing food insecurity. This will take place January 23-25, 2017 in Windhoek, Namibia at the University of Namibia School of Medicine.
Our Country of Focus: Namibia
The Republic of Namibia is situated in southern Africa, bounded on the north by Angola and Zambia, on the east by Botswana, on the east and south by South Africa and bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. The country is quite large (about the size of the province of Ontario or the states of Texas and Louisiana combined) covering 823,145 km2 with a population of just 2 million people. The capital city is Windhoek (population 340,000) which is located in the central interior of the country. More than 70 percent of the population relies on agriculture for all or part of their livelihood. Around 370,000 people are estimated to be vulnerable to hunger in Namibia. According to The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015 report, 42.7 percent of the population was undernourished in 2014. This is due to overarching issues like structural poverty, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, and climate change. Namibia has enjoyed political stability since achieving independence from South Africa in 1990 and has an established presidential democratic government. The last presidential election was held in 2014, with the President elected by popular vote for a term of 5 years.
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About the Periclean Scholars Program
The overarching goal of the Periclean Scholars program at Elon University is to respond in the most robust and meaningful way possible to the words in Elon's Mission Statement that reads in part, “We integrate learning across the disciplines and put knowledge into practice, thus preparing students to be global citizens and informed leaders motivated by concern for the common good.”
The Periclean Scholars program represents a unique academic pathway that facilitates students - as members of a cohort - to do long-term and sustainable work on significant global issues - both social and environment - typically in partnership with people and organizations on the ground in their country of focus. To emphasize: Periclean's never do service for our country of focus or our partners but rather service with these people and organizations. Our approach is described in the Periclean Pledge, a legacy of the Class of 2010:
We pledge to…
Listen to our partnering communities, acknowledging they often have the best solutions to local problems.
Learn about our partner communities’ history and traditions, to better engage in culturally-aware dialogue.
Assist our partners in community-run development projects that will enable their long-term success.
Responsibly study, document, and publicize our partner communities’ needs and desires.
Be committed to building life long sustainable partnerships, recognizing they take hard work and dedication.
Embrace our lifelong journey of global citizenship through intellectual and personal growth.
The Periclean Scholars program represents a unique academic pathway that facilitates students - as members of a cohort - to do long-term and sustainable work on significant global issues - both social and environment - typically in partnership with people and organizations on the ground in their country of focus. To emphasize: Periclean's never do service for our country of focus or our partners but rather service with these people and organizations. Our approach is described in the Periclean Pledge, a legacy of the Class of 2010:
We pledge to…
Listen to our partnering communities, acknowledging they often have the best solutions to local problems.
Learn about our partner communities’ history and traditions, to better engage in culturally-aware dialogue.
Assist our partners in community-run development projects that will enable their long-term success.
Responsibly study, document, and publicize our partner communities’ needs and desires.
Be committed to building life long sustainable partnerships, recognizing they take hard work and dedication.
Embrace our lifelong journey of global citizenship through intellectual and personal growth.
To find out more about the intricacies of the Periclean Scholars Program as well as the accomplishments of past and present classes, read the newly published second edition of our handbook "Mapping Our Success", now available on Amazon.