Extension and the World
University of Illinois Extension
and Purdue University Extension
Professional Development Workshop
October 30, 2008
Overview
• Background
• Internationalizing Extension
– What and Why
• Integrating an international perspective
The “Flat World”
The term comes from the 2005 book
about globalization by The New York
Times’ foreign affairs columnist, Thomas
L. Friedman, entitled:
“The World is Flat: A Brief History
of the Twenty-First Century”
What is a “Flat World”?
A “flat world” is one in which it is
recognized that everything is connected
to everything else. It is a world in which
what is done in one place impacts what
happens elsewhere.
• It is the world in which we live today!
Most of today’s Problems and Issues
Transcend Boundaries
Environment
Energy
Health
Food Safety
Immigration
Water
Trade
Peace/Security
Financial Issues
Pests
Pollution
Climate Change
Population Growth
Families
Some recent headlines…
Bailout details due today
Government plans to spend as much as $250 billion of
$700 billion rescue package to buy stock in private banks
Euro nations agree on credit measures
Bank refinancing plan guarantees new debt up to 5 years
Markets storm back
U.S., European countries move to ease financial crisis
Who'd have thought $3 gas would look good?
Recent drop brings wide disparity across the US
Boundaries are of decreasing importance
as the world becomes more flat
Geographic
Social
Gender
Cultural
Educational
Ethnic
Economic
Religion
Racial
Values
- Boundaries are those parts of life that tend to
keep us apart:
A snapshot of the US today
• One in eight of our population is foreign born
• One in six speaks a language other than
English at home
• Non-Latino whites are a minority in 4 states
(California, Hawaii, New Mexico and Texas)
and in the District of Columbia
• The Latino population increased 77% in
Arizona from 1990-2000 mirroring similar
changes in other parts of the United States
Globalization Today…
“…there is no more pressing issue today
than preparing people for a world that is
coming closer together through
globalization.”
Mike Eskew
Chairman and CEO
UPS
What Does Globalization Mean
for Extension?
As Extension educators and
specialists, we must recognize that we
share an interconnected world,
especially at the community level.
- Do we demonstrate this fact
through our actions?
We are not the Extension System of
yesteryear
- We must become an Extension System that
engages people and communities in education
about critical issues that are integral parts of a
global community
The Extension System: A Vision
for the 21st Century
“The challenge for Extension is to
provide leadership to demonstrate the
local implications and potential
consequences of an interdependent
world.”
NASULGC/ECOP
February 2002
Internationalized Land Grants
- Organizational Culture…
• Research, teaching and extension will form a
seamless whole:
– Multiculturalism and global perspectives will be
expected as part of programming and scholarship.
– International programming and scholarship will
incorporate all three functions.
– International expertise will support domestic
multicultural efforts and vice versa.
Internationalizing Extension
“An international dimension is basic to
effective Extension programs. Not
secondary. Not a luxury. Not an afterthought. Not an add-on.”
- Michael Patton, Journal of Extension
(Cited by Charles Knapp in the Seaman
A. Knapp Lecture, 1997)
Vision of
Internationalized Extension
Globally competent stakeholders,
faculty and students who live, compete,
work well in an ever dynamic and
interdependent world community.
GASEPA STANDING COMMITTEE 1998
Bobby D. Moser, Chairman
What does an Internationalized
Extension System look like?
– Institutional leaders strongly articulate and
affirm the importance of international and
multicultural programming in teaching,
research and extension.
– Leadership for internationalized extension
will be reflected in the actions of faculty
and field-based extension educators.
Characteristics of an
Internationalized Extension System
• Relationship between Extension’s mission and
international issues
• Clientele understand interdependencies
• Impact of international economic forces is
stressed
• Incorporate international aspects into on-going
Extension activities
• Global efforts rewarded through performance
evaluations
Ludwig, 1997
Faculty identified barriers for
International Participation
Time
Clientele support
Colleague support
Administrative support
Family commitments
Expertise
Not program priority
Lack of rewards
Negative career impact
No P&T recognition
No teaching materials
No training
No financial support
Language
Cultural differences
Additional Barriers and Constraints for
Internationalizing Extension
• Lack of clarity regarding congruence of
international efforts and local concerns
• Insufficient knowledge to build an
international element into local programming
• Competing demands on professional time
• Discomfort and/or lack of confidence
Response to Barriers and Constraints
to Internationalization of Extension
We must resist the temptation to
allow barriers to overwhelm our efforts.
We should work towards solutions
rather than permit constraints to hinder
the work that we know must be done.
- International efforts are too
important to ignore!
Benefits of Internationalizing
Extension (1)
• Provides stakeholders and communities
with access to tools and knowledge to
address and solve key transnational
issues, which require cooperation
beyond our own borders
– Energy, climate change, food safety, pests,
pollution, health, trade
Benefits of Internationalizing
Extension (2)
• Equips our stakeholders for competitive
success in the global marketplace by helping
entrepreneurs understand their competition
and be successful with new customers.
• Connects us to the world beyond our own
home base, thus contributing to global
security and a more peaceful world
Benefits of Internationalizing
Extension (3)
• Helps integrate new immigrant populations
into community life by opening doors to
understanding and appreciation of both our
differences and our similarities.
• Makes county educators and specialists
better at what they do by challenging them in
new contexts and places
– Enhances global competencies
The Benefits of Strong
Cultural Skills
• It is good business to be able to work
with a diverse workforce/customer base
• The world is very small—need to
communicate and work with others
• Growing pluralism in communities
• Increasing complexity in our lives
• Problems demand “collaboration”
Culture Shock…
• Think about being in an unfamiliar
environment where you are unsure of
how to behave…
– People do not know you
– People think and behave differently
– Don’t know what to expect from them, or
they from you
– You feel like “a fish out of water”
What to do about it?
• Recognize it
– Don’t deny, flee, fight it
• Begin to understand yourself and your
reactions
– What is your own cultural identity or
comfort zone?
– What about the new setting is
uncomfortable?
Levels of cultural sensitivity
A. Generalized
- Aware of superficial differences, stereotypes
B. Us-them
- Aware of significant cultural traits that contrast
markedly from one’s own…recognizes
challenges
C. Side-by-side
- Understands cultural differences, why they
exist, and how to overcome
D. One-world
- Aware and accepts how another FEELS,
through the eyes of the other person
Crossing cultures changes us…
• Realize that people are basically good,
trusting and welcoming
• Faith in yourself and your ability to
overcome misunderstandings
– Value and seek-out diversity
• Pride in your adaptability
• Enjoy and revel in such experiences
Skill Set Required for Successful
Internationalization Efforts (1)
• Confidence to work in a cross cultural
context
• Ability to work with people different
from yourself
• Sufficient knowledge to develop
appropriate programs for
stakeholders in your county
Skill Set Required for Successful
Internationalization Efforts (2)
• Ability to link county and international
work as part of an interconnected
whole
• Flexibility, desire, and time to travel
internationally
• Commitment to and understanding of
the logic for the international
dimensions of Extension
Strive to adapt…
• Try to be open to new ideas, beliefs,
behaviors…see things in context
• Develop friendships or cultural guides
• Keep your own beliefs to yourself…try
not to compare
• “Try it on”… build up participation
Potential Activities
- Besides International Travel
Host visitors
Involve clientele in study tour
Add global activity to current
program
Communicate by e-mail
Subscribe to international
publication
Join an international
organization
Get involved in an
international research project
Sister city projects
Participate in study tour
Work on an international
development project
Participate in a local
international festival
Study international tourism in
local community
Develop an inventory of local
global resources
Study a foreign language
Learn from your experience…
• Cultural confrontation forces you to
better understand yourself
• Appreciate your adaptability—flexibility
• Strengthen your interpersonal skills
• Reflect on your own cultural
“baggage”…evaluate your beliefs &
lifestyle
The Impact of an Extension
Educator
Education opens the public’s eyes that we
are part of a world community… think
about the impact you have when you
give knowledge…
- It’s ironic, we don’t recognize the
benefits of our international programs
End goal…
• We will know that we have an
internationalized extension system
when it is no longer an issue to talk
about.
– It will be a part of our organizational fabric
– Clientele and community/state leaders will
be deeply involved and benefit from our
global perspectives
A Global Perspective towards an
Internationalized Extension
System
“The first day we looked for our countries; the
third day we pointed to our continents; by the
fifth day we were aware of only one Earth.”
Bin Salman
(Saudi Astronaut)
Thank you!
Nick T. Place
Associate Dean & Associate Director
nplace@umd.edu