During the 2012 NAFSA Conference and Expo, the GoAbroad Team was pleased to announce the winners of the 2012 Innovation Awards. As part of a continued effort to recognize the hard work and dedication this year’s nominees, GoAbroad will be sharing individual features of the 2012 GoAbroad Innovation Awards finalists over the coming weeks. This week, we are thrilled to bring you the Innovative New Program, Study Abroad Award finalists!
Please join us in congratulating the following Finalist of the Innovative New Program, Study Abroad Award:
University of Minnesota Twin Cities & Academic Programs International (API)
“Arab Media: Al Jazeera in the Time of Revolution“
This special program entitled “Arab Media: Al Jazeera in the Time of Revolution”, was designed by Dr. Imed Labidi of The University of Minnesota Twin Cities in conjunction with Academic Programs International (API). It brought 19 students on a 3-week trip to Doha, Qatar to study what was arguably the driving force behind many of the recent Arab revolutions – the Doha-based network Al Jazeera.
The program included a series of insightful lectures on media and cultural studies in the Arab world, local guest speakers involved in documentary production, media, and business, and unprecedented access to important media and policy centers around Qatar such as Al Jazeera, the Qatar Foundation, and the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (not to mention cultural visits such as Zubara fort, a desert safari, a camel/falcon farm, and other Qatari heritage sites). It was truly a groundbreaking study abroad program in media studies that would be difficult to replicate in another time or place.