Usap Forum Vision

The prime vision of the Usap initiative is to build a crucial corps of future leaders, well trained, capable, open-minded and committed to their home countries.

THEME: Usap in the Global Village

The Usap Conference now known as the Usap Forum will enhance and expand on the overall Usap vision, that is, to ascertain the role of all, -the current and the future-, Usap students in the future developments of their countries, and furthermore to acknowledge that it is fundamental to start today to nurture this crucial corps.

Primarily, therefore, the conference will serve to bring together, henceforth create strong ties and networks amongst the Usap students residing and studying in the United States of America and in other countries. To date, all the students from the 8 (eight) generations know the names and numbers of the members of this group, but have not had a chance to meet, thus, this Conference will bring the faces, names and numbers together, as well as the individual goals and aspirations.

OBJECTIVE of the Usap Forum 2008 theme

The theme of this year’s Usap forum, "Usap in the Global Village," deliberately alludes to how the Usap group has grown to be ‘global’ over the years. This phenomenal growth has brought new responsibilities on both individuals and the organization as a whole. Globalization is here to stay and the Usap community is embracing this process as an opportunity to develop bright minds for the benefit of society in different spheres of life in Education, Health, Socio-political and Economic Development. In essence, this theme recognizes the dynamic roles Usap has to play in the local and international community now and the future.
The Usap forum 2008 theme hopes to espouse the values of Usap and instill the spirit of service and inspire every Usaper to go out into the world and make a difference – large or small.
Goals of the Conference

  • To Create a strong sense of community and family amongst the Usap students
  • To Provide a platform for discussing Usap overall goals and vision
  • To Facilitate discussion on the present roles of the Usap students
  • To Ascertain the future expectations of the Usap students
  • To Provide a platform for discussion on how and when one can make a significance difference in his/her community
  • To Facilitate discussion of practical career options, relative to our ultimate goals to serve our individual home countries
  • To create networks amongst students with similar academic, social and spiritual interests.
  • To facilitate debate on the current state of affairs in our countries
  • Administer the progress of the UsapTRUST, a fund created by Usap students
  • To plan for future conferences

CONFERENCE STRUCTURE

Duration
The conference is scheduled for 3 days, May 29th – June 2nd, 2008.

Speakers
We plan on having a some outside speakers to touch on, but not limited to, some topic areas explained below, which are believed to be of interest to Usap students

Interactive Discussions
Most of the topics discussed below would be facilitated as mainly student-led panel discussion and some like a workshop. We want to ensure that the students in Usap are comfortable and get as much time as possible interacting in a small group sessions (break out sessions).

We shall put a lot of emphasis on creating interaction between all the generations of the Usap students.

Topics of Discussion
Usap’s role and its contribution in promoting development and democracy in our home countries. Topical issues include poverty; global warming and the environment; HIV/AIDS policies; democracy, Trade Policies.

Students’ impressions and challenges on campuses in the US
People's impressions and experiences in the US (campus life, healthcare system, poverty, inequality, race issues, etc) from which we can later draw comparisons with our home countries.

Key Note Speaker
Ishmael Beah: Former Child soldier and author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

Ishmael Beah was born in Sierra Leone in 1980. He moved to the United States in 1998 and finished his last two years of high school at the United Nations International School in New York. In 2004 he graduated from Oberlin College with a B.A. in political science. He is a member of the Human Rights Watch Children’s Rights Division Advisory Committee and has spoken before the United Nations, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities (CETO) at the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, and many other NGO panels on children affected by the war. His work has appeared in VespertinePress and LIT magazine. He lives in New York City.

Life after college: What’s out there?
Maybe even something to do with whether planning to return to our countries right away is an option, or worth planning for the short, medium, and long term.

One of the goals of this conference is not only to create a network between Usap students, but also to create and maintain relations and networks with Professionals who can provide information and opportunities tailored towards enhancing the Usap experience and vision. It must be made clear that most Usap students would not return home right away, or that most of them would choose to work on International capacities, such that the crop of students produced through Usap is a potential and promising employee pool.

We shall try to invite representatives from various corporate and international organizations. Our target groups would include those organizations with which Usap students have interned or those organizations with strong International focus.

GRADUATE ADMISSIONS PANEL

A key element to making practical choices is often drawn from experiences and advice from other students who were once in the students’ positions now. We will therefore have Graduate Admissions Panel of Usap students who have already been accepted into the various Medical, Business and other graduate schools. This panel hopes to assist the students in the Usap program with information about progressing with their areas of interest and expertise.

Conference Entertainment
The Usap Forum will provide an opportunity for students to play a game of soccer and inculcate the spirit of friendly competition and also healthy living. Students will also be able to tour the historic city of Philadelphia on Friday night and with an option to watch a movie relevant to the Forum.

The Usap students will also provide their own entertainment. It is important to note that a number of Usap students are involved in their various campuses in different activities, and a lot sing or play an instrument or work for the campus radio stations or write articles and poems for the newspapers. The highlight of the Usap forum over the years is the talent show night. The students will organize themselves into groups to perform various activities as individuals or groups.

Conference Finances
Our primary sources of funds are the students themselves, and their respective schools. We believe that each individual student shall make an effort to approach their college’s financial committee and request financial support. We are hoping that most schools understand, and would be educated about Usap and this conference. Request for financial assistance from colleges is hoped to come through the African Student Associations, International Student Organizations, African Studies Departments and other organizations that have interests in the goals Usap strives for.

Outside funding shall be explored, and is greatly appreciated.

Checks should be made out to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania – Usap conference
These have to be mailed to:

Office of Undergraduate Admissions
1 College Hall
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6376
Email: LizH@admissions.upenn.edu