Soliya: Enhacing Inter-cultural Understanding
Institutional Affiliation
Al Akhawayn University
Start Date
17-1-2025 11:30 AM
End Date
17-1-2025 1:00 AM
Proposal Type
Presentation
Proposal Format
Virtual
Proposal Description
Soliya Connect is an online program that allows students from across the world to gather in groups, to read articles and news together in order to discuss them and to reach joint narratives concerning them. The program was a response to 9/11, and it initially attempted to bridge the gaps between the United States and the Islamic World. Al Akhawayn University has offered the program continuously since 2006, and the number of faculty offering it recently expanded. This chapter includes an introduction and a brief literature review. Using a narrative history of the program, the formal agreement establishing the program, the 2019 formal evaluation of the program, as well as students’ verbal feedback, this chapter argues that the Soliya Virtual Exchange program was an effective tool for enhancing intercultural understanding.
Soliya: Enhacing Inter-cultural Understanding
Soliya Connect is an online program that allows students from across the world to gather in groups, to read articles and news together in order to discuss them and to reach joint narratives concerning them. The program was a response to 9/11, and it initially attempted to bridge the gaps between the United States and the Islamic World. Al Akhawayn University has offered the program continuously since 2006, and the number of faculty offering it recently expanded. This chapter includes an introduction and a brief literature review. Using a narrative history of the program, the formal agreement establishing the program, the 2019 formal evaluation of the program, as well as students’ verbal feedback, this chapter argues that the Soliya Virtual Exchange program was an effective tool for enhancing intercultural understanding.