Calendar of Events
Upcoming Programs and Events
Dialogue Beyond Borders (DBB)Interfaith Dialogues FellowshipApplication Deadline August 15thUndergraduate students between their Junior and Senior Year, demonstrating a strong commitment to interfaith dialogue and the mission of DBB are encouraged to apply for the new DBB Interfaith Dialogues Fellowship. The Fellowship will build leadership capacity and provide skills to successfully implement interfaith dialogues among different communities. The Fellowship will be awarded annually to one student based on their academic achievement, demonstrated commitment to interfaith dialogue and the mission of DBB, involvement in community service or work promoting dialogue between diverse communites, and leadership qualities.For more information please download this PDF |
Past Events:
2011
In November 2011, DBB began a partnership with the Brentwood Community
School and Family Service League to hold monthly human rights education
workshops with the school's Multicultural Club and with the parents in the
parents outreach program. Over 15 people attend these workshops!
On Thursday, September 15th, 2011, two students from Adelphi University’s Levermore Global Scholars program and DBB’s Yana Kusayeva performed a traditional Uzbek dance as at the LGS Welcome Dinner. More than 70 people attended the event and enjoyed the performance.
On Thursday, September 8th, 2011, DBB’s Yana Kusayeva performed Afghan and Central Asian dances as part of Queens Public Library’s New Americans Program, co-sponsored by Women for Afghan Women. The event was held as part of an Eid celebration with music and dance from Afghanistan and featured Khalil Ahmadi, the gifted musician and singer from Afghanistan. More than 40 people attended the event.
On Sunday, July 31st, 2011, Dialogue Beyond Borders helped sponsor a family barbecue with Every Child Matters Long Island in order to hold anti-bias workshops with children ages 11+ at the event. DBB also held a Central Asian dance workshop for people interested in dance and Central Asia in order to raise awareness about our educational programs during Fall 2011.
On Thursday, June 30th, 2011, DBB joined the talented musician and singer Khalil Ahmadi for an evening of folk and contemporary music and traditional dance from Afghanistan as part of the New Americans Program, sponsored by the Queens Public Library. Born in a music loving family from Afghanistan, Khalil learned to appreciate music from an early age. Well known in the local Afghan community, he has delighted audiences throughout the tri-state area and New England. DBB’s Yana Kusayeva performed regional dances from Afghanistan and Central Asia.
On Tuesday, May 24th, 2011, DBB held its first graduation ceremony for students enrolled in the Human Rights Education Center at Manorfield Family Center in Huntington. There were 12 students who regularly attended DBB workshops, but five students completed the four-month program in its entirety and received certificates of completion. Students wrote a skit about bullying in schools and performed it at the graduation ceremony as part of their culminating project.
On Thursday, April 28, 2011, DBB Dialogue Through Dance program and Adelphi University’s dance team captain Nicole Lesniak hosted a workshop for the AU Dance Team on Central Asian dance and culture. There were seven (7) program participants who explored the various movements common in Uzbek dance for the first time and choreographed a short dance. This was a great way to begin exposing local Long Island dancers to folk dances of Central Asia.
On March 6, 2011, Yana Kusayeva performed Central Asian dances at the International Women’s Day Celebration hosted by Shakila Hamidi and the Afghan Women of Queens and Long Island. This event celebrated women around the world and featured a fashion show.
On Wednesday, February 16th, 2011 DBB brought fifteen (15) students from a Brooklyn middle school to attend Adelphi University’s production of The Laramie Project. Students toured Adelphi’s campus, watched the play, and discussed the message of the play. The debrief included a discussion about what the students learned, trends in their community and school, and students’ perspectives on the various problems facing them in their school. Students also continued with their Herstory Writing Workshop project, which they learned about during the Human Rights Awareness Conference. They wrote poems about their own experiences and are currently developing a play in connection with New Perspectives Theater.
On Wednesday, February 9th, 2011 DBB brought twelve (12) former DBB workshop participants from a Brooklyn middle school to attend the 25th Annual Human Rights Awareness Conference, “Your Human Rights Are my Responsibility” hosted by the Nassau County Commission on Human Rights and Adelphi University. Students participated in various workshops on human rights and conflict resolution.
On Tuesday, February 1st, 2011 DBB Executive Director Yana Kusayeva served as a guest speaker on a cultural panel at the Washington Irving High School about cultural competency in the 21st century. The goal of the panel was to explore cultural stereotypes and help students develop cultural competencies through meeting ethnically diverse role models.
2010
In Fall 2010, the Human Rights Education Program was held at the Manor Field Family Center in Huntington Station every other Tuesday at 5:00pm. The program was free and open to middle school students. Seventeen (17) students attended the workshops and learned about stereotypes are formed and the importance of self-reflection in recognizing intolerant behavior.
On Thursday, September 23, 2010, DBB was invited to perform at the Women for Afghan Women’s Housewarming Celebration in Flushing, Queens. Yana Kusayeva performed a traditional Uzbek dance and joined in the Afghan traditional Attan with the women in the audience. For more information about the event please visit: Bayside Times - Afghan Women's Housewarming Celebration
On Wednesday, July 14 2010, DBB Dialogue Through Dance program hosted a workshop for the Big Sister Little Sister summer leadership program for girls sponsored by Women for Afghan Women. Six girls from the local Afghan community learned about the important role of dance as a tool for expression. They also learned about how dance embodies cultural history and meaning, and explored how dance plays a role in their lives. At the end of the workshop, the participants choreographed a Central Asian fusion dance.
On Thursday, April 29, 2010, Dialogue Beyond Borders collaborated with the International Social Action Film Festival (ISAFF) to encourage middle school students volunteer in their communities and take action for positive social change. Students watched six short films about courageous individuals who started their own ventures in order to improve their communities, and then they discussed the importance of community service and brainstormed about how to solve problems that they see in their neighborhoods or classrooms.
On Tuesday, April 12, 2010, Dialogue Beyond Borders began the first of a series of pilot workshops on tolerance and diversity education at Family Service League's (FSL) Manor Field Family Center. Program participants learn concepts such as prejudice, stereotypes, and inequality of opportunities in society, and then examine and address their own biases and possible personal consequences of belonging to certain social minorities or cultural groups.
On Friday, April 9, 2010, Dialogue Beyond Borders brought previous
workshop participants to Adelphi University for a campus tour, meeting with
current students, and a viewing of the play about immigration and hate on
Long Island “What Killed Marcelo Lucero?” Students discussed the
importance of college education, exposure to new environments and people,
and the link between artistic expression and social action.
On Tuesday, March 23, 2010, Dialogue Beyond Borders’ Ross Jandrew spoke
about DBB’s work in the field on tolerance and human rights education
at Adelphi University’s forum on peace and human rights. This forum,
organized as part of Adelphi’s campus-wide discussion with internationally-recognized
peace educator, Dr. Dale Snauwaert, was held after Dr. Snauwaert’s
lecture “Is the World of Peace and Justice Possible?”
In January 2010, DBB’s Ross Jandrew spoke on a career panel organized by the Living the Life Support Group - a group that provides queer-identified youths and straight allies a safe and open environment to discuss and learn about concerns related to being a lesbian, bi-sexual, gay or transgender (LBGT) in collaboration with collateral agency Live Out Loud. The panel discussion addressed living as an LGBT individual, making good choices for school and career, as well the personal and professional struggles experienced by panelists.
2009
In Fall 2009, Dialogue Beyond Borders (DBB) held a series of workshops at the P.S./ I.S. 137 Rachael Jean Mitchell School in Brooklyn, NY. DBB worked with a group of 14 seventh-grade students to explore their identities and roles in society through critical thinking and interactive activities.