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Outreach Programming
Our Outreach Program
LACS's public outreach includes a number of substantive public events each year. We sponsor or co-sponsor several public events, including brown bag lectures, round-tables, conferences, films, exhibits, and concerts involving scholars from a variety of disciplines, professionals, public figures, performers, and artists. With the exception of the LACS Bate Papo (series of lectures in Portuguese), most of our events are co-sponsored by other UM units (area centers, departments, professionals schools, University Musical Society) and other regional universities. LACS also works with private organizations such as the Interfaith Council on Peace and Justice, with which LACS has co-sponsored visits by several grass-roots community leaders from Central America and Colombia. Labor union locals have been involved in events such as an international conference on NAFTA and workshops on labor in Latin America, co-sponsored by LACS and the UM Institute for Labor and Industrial Relations.
LACS also sponsors an average of 10-20 visits each year of varying length by Latin American scholars and artists-in-residence. A community outreach component ? public readings, school visits, exhibits, receptions, etc. ? is always included in each of these visits.
LACS will continue to work closely with the University Musical Society to promote performances of world-class artists at UM and community educational programs focused on Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2007-2008, programming will feature a performance of major Brazilian artists such as Caetano Veloso, and the Assad Brothers. The performances are usually accompanied by a set of education seminars, K-12 teacher workshops, visits to classrooms in the region, master classes, public interviews, or round-table presentations (with participation of performers in most events), organized by LACS and UMS staff.
LACS is also a participant in the University of Michigan International Institute (II) centers collaboration on K-12 teacher training and community projects, OREC. The entire K-12 professional development effort by the II is guided by three principles: Co-development and co-presentation with teachers, content tie-in with Michigan state curriculum benchmarks, and professional development for teachers through partnership with school districts.
