UVSC Global Engagement Week (GEW)
November 13-17, 2006

Last year’s (2005) UVSC Global Awareness Week has been permanently changed this year (2006) to Global Engagement Week. The name change will better reflect one of the major purposes of the week-long celebration – to support Global Engagement pillar of distinction in the school’s new mission statement.

UVSC’s GEW is a part of the worldwide International Education Week celebration on the local level.

GEW 2006 kicked off with the signing of the International Education Week (IEW) Declaration in the Governor Huntsman’s office. UVSC’s International Student Council representatives as well as administrators from UVSC and other schools (University of Utah and Snow College) attended the signing (see photo on the left). This joint endeavor showed the importance of the international diversity and heritage to the state of Utah and its residents. Click here for the content of the declaration.

The first official event of the GEW celebration was on Monday, November 13. UVSC International Student Council sponsored the International Food Festival which tremendously grows in popularity with each year. Students prepare entrées from their native countries and offer it to UVSC students, faculty, staff and campus guests. Each year the event is a complete sell out. There is nothing better to tease one’s taste buds than the authentic food flavor!

On Wednesday, November 15, UVSC students were treated to an outstanding keynote speaker lecture. Gideon Lago from MTV News was invited to come to UVSC by the Student Government. A major on-air presence at MTV, Gideon Yago is the face of current events to millions of young adults. As a news correspondent, he writes and delivers the network's daily "10-to-the-hour" news segments and works on longer documentaries. Starting out as a cub reporter during the 2000 presidential election covering the John McCain and George W. Bush campaigns, he was the first MTV News correspondent to travel to Afghanistan, Kuwait and Iraq. He was part of MTV's award-winning coverage for young people in the wake of 9/11 and has hosted specials on drug addiction, bias crime, sex laws, gun violence and other political hot topics. He has also interviewed some of the country's foremost leaders, including Secretary of State Colin Powell, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Ralph Nader, Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III, Senator John Kerry and President George W. Bush. Yago's presentation includes coverage of the recent war in Iraq for MTV, including the network's live moments after the war broke out, and he traveled to Kuwait City to film Diary of Gideon in Kuwait, part of MTV News' extensive coverage of the conflict. He returned to the Middle East in the fall of 2003 to report on how life has changed for young Iraqis and American soldiers still stationed there in Diary of Gideon in Baghdad. A key correspondent for MTV's "Choose or Lose" campaign, Yago has worked all year to get young adults interested in the 2004 presidential election. To a generation that is extremely savvy about media biases and packaging, Yago frames complex issues in an unbiased, informative format. His presentation is a hip look at politics and other newsworthy events around the world.

On Thursday, November 16, President and CEO of Content Watch, Inc. and a member of UVSC’s National Presidential Advisory Board Jack W. Sunderlage presented his lecture “Utah, an Emerging Player in the Expanding Global Economy” to UVSC business students as a part of the School of Business Executive Lecture Series. Mr. Sunderlage has enjoyed a long and successful career in the Information Technology industry. He has held key sales and marketing executive positions with Burroughs, UNISYS, Digital Equipment, Compaq Computer, and Hewlett Packard.

Thursday night brought the excitement on campus for all who value cultural diversity. “We Are the World” multicultural showcase otherwise known as Mr. and Ms. International pageant was a success. The event featured many multicultural couples who not only treated the audience to their unique talents, but also educated attendees about their countries and traditions. The event is sponsored annually by the UVSC’s Black Student Union.

The grand finale for GEW celebration this year was a spectacular performance by Utah’s own International Children’s Choir (ICC). The choir, based out of Salt Lake City, has sung in the Vatican, Carnegie Hall, for the Dalai Lama, President Fox of Mexico. The group has traveled to Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Jordan and Norway. In 2006 the ICC was chosen to represent the United States and Utah in the fourth World Choir Games in Xiamen, China. The choir specializes in music of many cultures and is known for their colorful, authentic international costumes. Photo of the choir is below.