Innovation and China

Friday, January 22

Academic WorldQuest for High Schools

MIC’s Academic W o r l d Q u e s ti n t e r n a t i o n a l k n o w l e d g e competition is h e a d i n g i n t o i t s th ird year and continues to grow. The competition challenges Minnesota high school students on their knowledge of flags, world capitals, People in the News and current events.

The event will be emceed by Tom Crann, local host of All Things Considered. As in the previous years, MIC will sponsor the winning team to compete in the 2010 national competition in Washington, D.C.

China invented paper, printing, the compass and the seismograph, and was among the first to harness fossil fuels and map the stars. Within the context of its rise to global economic prominence, China hopes once again to lead the world in creative innovation. On Wednesday, December 9, Mary Kay Magistad, Public Radio International’s (PRI) Asia correspondent, will discuss the history of Chinese innovation and its implications for the future, expanding on a recent PRI series for their program The World.

For almost 6 years, veteran foreign correspondent Mary Kay Magistad has been one of the voices shaping the West’s understanding of China. From the geopolitical struggle over North Korea’s weapons program, to the SARS epidemic,

to tensions in Kashmir, Ms. Magistad has brought local perspective to stories with international impact. Prior to joining The World, Ms. Magistad covered China and Southeast Asia for The Washington Post and other media, and opened National Public Radio’s Beijing Bureau. Event Information:

What: Conversation with Mary Kay Magistad

When: Wednesday, December 9; 5:30 –7:30 P

Where: Coffman Memorial Union Theater, University of Minnesota, East Bank 300 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis.

Parking at the East River Road Garage

Cost: MIC members and students $5; Non-members $15

Advance registration requested

(World Affairs vouchers accepted; to redeem, email dgetahun@umn.edu or call 612.625.0620)

Cosponsors: Berger Brands and University of Minnesota, School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Note: MIC is also partnering with the Walker Art Center and the University of Minnesota for the international film series “The People’s Republic of Cinema: 60 Years of China on Film.” (details on the back page of this newsletter)

Wednesday, December 9

Minnesota’s Door to The World MINNESOTA INTERNATIONAL CENTER | 1

U.S. Foreign Policy Outlook for 2010 Join MIC on Tuesday, January 26, for its popular January tradition as former Career Foreign Service Officer Tom Hanson gives his annual State of U.S. Foreign Policy address. Tom will explore and explain current foreign policy development, trends and challenges faced by the United States in the second year of the Obama administration. This thought-provoking presentation is recommended for anyone interested in international relations, and participants in MIC’s Great Decisions program are especially encouraged to attend.

Tom Hanson is a Foreign Policy consultant

Event Information:

What: Academic WorldQuest for High Schools

When: Friday, January 22, 2010; 9:00 A – 12 noon

Where: McNamara Alumni Center, University of Minnesota (East Bank), 200 Oak Street SE, Minneapolis

For details: Contact Aja at waffairs@umn.edu or 612.624.8620

Sponsors: David Winton Bell Foundation and Anonymous

Tuesday, January 26

and a former U.S. Foreign Service officer whose postings included Germany, France, Norway, the Soviet Union, Sweden, and the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. He also participated in the opening of new U.S. Embassies in Mongolia and Estonia. Currently Tom is Program Secretary of the St. Paul-Minneapolis Committee on Foreign Relations, a member of MIC’s Great Decisions advisory committee, a frequent Great Decisions speaker, and a regular commentator on Minnesota Public Radio.

Event Information:

What: A public forum with Tom Hanson

When: Tuesday, January 26 registration 5:30 P; program 6:00 - 7:30 P; reception 7:30 - 8:00 P

Where: Cowles Auditorium, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, 301 19th Avenue S, Minneapolis

Cost: MIC members and students $5; Non-members $15

Advance registration requested

(World Affairs vouchers accepted; to redeem, email dgetahun@umn.edu or call 612.625.0620)

Communiqué www.micglobe.org   |   612.625.4421 WINTER EDITION 2009/2010  |   Inspiring our Community to Understand Global Issues and Cultures in an Ever Changing World

MIC’S 2010 BENEFIT COUNTRY IS MALAYSIA Mark your calendar for Saturday, June 19, 2010, to celebrate the culture and cuisine of this multi-cultural country.

A partnership between MIC and PRI to bring foreign correspondents to Minnesota audiences

MIC Contributors & Corporate Members

I am reminded of the importance of the educational programs of the Minnesota International Center every time I hand out my Saint Paul Public Schools’ business card. Right there on the front, sandwiching a spiffy graphic incorporating a globe, is the slogan A World of Opportunities. Living up to that slogan is a fundamental challenge for our amazingly diverse district.

MIC’s work with our district and with dozens of other districts across the state ensures that we continue to focus on creating and maintaining world-class and world-engaged educational systems for our students. It guarantees that we will not forget the vital importance of the human and global perspectives even as we strive to deal with difficult finances and a plethora of state-mandated multiple choice tests that have the distressing tendency to narrow our curriculum.

Strong and inspiring curriculum needs to provide both mirrors and windows to our students. Mirrors so our students can see their own lives, experiences and interests reflected in the day-to-day and long-term activities of their classrooms, schools and communities. Windows so our students can see beyond the immediate and put their growing knowledge and understanding to use in making connections across cultures and borders. 21st century schools have no choice: we must help our students to become fully functioning global citizens. Because it provides an understanding of the international context of our shared lives across the globe, this goal is as important as our goals for literacy, math and science.

That’s why my district will continue to maintain and deepen our partnership and

engagement with MIC. We want more of our students to experience the competitive thrill of the MIC’s Academic WorldQuest, expanding and demonstrating their grasp of our interdependent world. We want more of our students to meet the world face-to-face through the visits and cultural exchanges of MIC’s Classroom Program. And our district is embarking on a project that will integrate Great Decisions topics into our social studies curriculum, thereby enabling our students to participate in those important discussions as a core component of their classroom experience. MIC is vital to our work in bringing the world to our students and our students to the world. Micheal J. Thompson is the Director of Secondary Curriculum for the Saint Paul Public Schools and an MIC board member. In June 2009, he participated in the Foreign Policy Association’s Great Decisions Teacher Conference, where he learned how schools around the country are incorporating Great Decisions topics into their local curricula.

2 | MINNESOTA INTERNATIONAL CENTER www.micglobe.org

About the time this newsletter arrives in homes, MIC will have c ompl e te d a l mo st three months of our programming year. In this short time, we have offered our

members and the community-at-large:

and in 2010 we will continue to offer our members as many ways as possible to learn about other countries and cultures. One such event will be our gala benefit which will be a Celebration of Malaysia highlighting the culture and cuisine of that multi-cultural society. The Minnesota-Malaysia connections are many … among the ASEAN countries, Malaysia is the fourth largest export market for manufacturing from Minnesota; many of Minnesota’s corporations have operations in Malaysia; Malaysians constitute the fifth largest international student population at the University of Minnesota; and the U of MN has had a 40-year cultural exchange relationship with the University Sains Malaysia in Penang. So mark your calendar for Saturday, June 19.

All these opportunities fulfill our mission of inspiring our community to understand global issues and cultures in an ever changing world. All these opportunities would not be possible without the support of our members. It is your membership contribution which helps us face the challenges of these difficult financial times and we are truly appreciative of your continued giving:through strong membership contributions; by adding MIC to your will/estate plan; by making a year-end or additional t a x - d e d u c t i b l e d o n a t i o n ; a n d , by spreading the word about our organization and its mission to your colleagues, friends and family members.

Thank you for your partnership in creating open minds and strengthening a global mindset in our community. Have a joyful and peaceful holiday season.

Letter from the President

Winter Edition 2009/2010 | Communiqué

Windows and MirrorsBringing the World to Students, and Students to the WorldMicheal J. Thompson

Premier ($50,000+)

Medtronic, Inc./Medtronic Foundation

Millennium ($30,000+)

3M/3M Foundation

Best Buy Co., Inc./Best Buy Children’s

Foundation

Delta Airlines, Inc.

General Mills, Inc./General Mills

Foundation

Senior Global ($20,000+)

Cargill

Carlson Companies and The Curtis L.

Carlson Family Foundation

Wells Fargo HSBC Trade Bank, N.A.

Global ($15,000+)

Sit Investment Associates, Inc.

Travelers Foundation

Executive ($10,000+)

Education Minnesota Foundation

The Mosaic Company

Leadership Patron ($5,000+)

Colwell Industries, Inc.

Donaldson Co., Inc.

Dorsey & Whitney LLP/Dorsey &

Whitney Foundation

Ecolab Inc./Ecolab Foundation

Faegre & Benson LLP

George Family Foundation

The Lakeland Companies

Target Corporation

Contributing Patron ($2,500+)

David Winton Bell Foundation

Delta Dental of Minnesota/DeCare

Fredrikson & Byron, P.A.

KPMG LLP

Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi

Wanner Engineering

Associate Patron ($1,000+)

Athwin Foundation

Bellcomb Technologies, Inc.

Bepex International LLC

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.

Datacard

Gray Plant Mooty

Imation

Jostens Inc.

Land O’Lakes, Inc.

Medica

Minneapolis Area Association of

REALTORS

Polaris IndustriesSt. Jude Medical

Associate ($500+)

Global Language Institute

Hamre, Schumann, Mueller

& Larson, P.C.

Horton Holding, Inc.

iCre8, Inc.

Intrinzia Family Office

TripleInk

Watermark Initiative, LLC

Sponsoring Hotels

The Marquette Hotel

Radisson Plaza Hotel

Contributions may include gifts in-kind

“MIC is the epicenter of things International in Minnesota. It plays as important a role in educating our young people as it does as our partner in bringing value to Medtronic’s activities in 120 countries and beyond. We are proudly associated with the Minnesota International Center.” ~ Dr. Trevor Gunn, Director of International Relations, Medtronic

A sold-out 9th Annual WorldQuestTrivia Competition;

3 World Cultures Days at Evergreen, Gleason and Creek

Valley Elementary Schools;

Public programs including a f ilm screening, networking cocktail and

Meet the MIC;

Professional appointments for 176 international visitors;

Dinner hosting for 120 international visitors;

A Great Decisions state conference

Carol Engebretson Byrne President, Minnesota International Center

Minnesota’s Door to The World MINNESOTA INTERNATIONAL CENTER | 3

Winter Edition 2009/2010 | Communiqué

On September 25, 16 visitors from the Asia/Pacific region enjoyed a discussion about American foreign policy with MIC member, Tom Hanson, in his Minneapolis apartment. The professional delegation, which comprised emerging leaders from foreign ministry departments, TV and print news, and members of political parties and parliaments, was in the U.S. under the auspices of the

State Department’s International Visitor Leadership program. The purpose of their 3-week, 4-state program was to discuss American foreign policy and the trends within the new Administration. While in Minneapolis-St. Paul, they had appointments with Dean J. Brian Atwood, Humphrey Institute; the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy; the Minnesota Trade Office; and others to

discuss changes in American foreign policy in the Asian/Pacific region, economic foreign policy in the Midwest, and agricultural policies in the Midwest. The participants said that the highlight of their trip to the U.S. was their time in Minnesota, especially the meeting with Tom Hanson and the reception that he hosted for them in his home.

Windows and MirrorsIn the Home and the Workplace with International Visitors

On September 21, the Minnesota International Center hosted a World Cultures Day (WCD) at Evergreen Park World Studies Elementary School in Brooklyn Center. This day-long series of cultural showcases introduced K-5 students to world cultures in a personal way. Students learned about daily life in other countries, meeting with 22 speakers from 16 countries (Bangladesh, China, Hungary, India, Japan, Kenya, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Tajikistan, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe).

This year’s event coincided with the International Day of Peace; a perfect opportunity to celebrate the spirit of internationalism. Evergreen’s mission is to prepare students to be responsible global citizens helping to make a better and more peaceful world. Celebrating its culturally and ethnically diverse community, Evergreen has recognized the International Day of Peace since September 1993 and became an International Peace Site in 1996 to commemorate its commitment. In my opinion, in order for there to be peace in the world, we need to learn about each

other so that we can accept our similarities and differences - Shahid, Humphrey fellow from Pakistan and MIC classroom speaker. This WCD was the third hosted by Evergreen since 2007. World Cultures Days are part of MIC’s statewide effort to provide the students with opportunities to interact with people from other cultures. MIC aims to awaken the children’s curiosity and increase their cultural competency so they can successfully participate in our multicultural community. MIC is planning to host another ten WCDs in the 2009-2010 academic year.

In the Classroom with MIC’s International SpeakersInternational Day of Peace at Evergreen Park World Studies Elementary

Enjoy a World Cultures Day in person If you would like to see a World Cultures Day in action, please join us on Tuesday, November 24 at Stillwater Junior High School. If you are interested, please contact George at ghornik@umn.edu or 612.310.0989.

Dinner Hosting for International Visitors

MEMBERS ONLY

Share your Thanksgiving celebration with:

9 visitors from Bangladesh, Belize, Botswana, India, Iraq,

Kosovo, Nepal, Nigeria, and China here to discuss HIV/

AIDS education and prevention;

5 visitors from Czech Republic here on a program

entitled, “Social, Political & Economic Empowerment for

Marginalized Populations”

To volunteer for international visitor dinner hosting, please

contact Hayley at hkanlyn@umn.edu or call 612.625.6159

Dinner Hosting/Homestay for

International Students and Scholars

MEMBERS ONLY

Thanksgiving with an international student or scholar

Dinner hosting in mid-January (dates to be determined)

for international fellows who teach English in their home

countries;

Host 1 -2 educational administrators from Russia for a

weekend homestay in late January or early February

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Carol

at csteinbe@umn.edu or call 612.625.9618

Tuesday, December 8; 5:30 – 7:30 P

International Trade Networking Cocktail Topic & Speaker: TBA

Where: Radisson Plaza Hotel, 35 S 7th Street, Minneapolis

Cost: $20 per person (includes appetizer buffet and two beverage tickets)

Advance registration requested online or call 612.625.4421

There are links to all events (including cosponsored events) on MIC’s website www.micglobe.org or call 612.625.4421 for information about MIC EVENTS. Please note that MIC does not handle registration for cosponsored programs. Registration, if necessary, is handled through the presenting organization

Nonprofit OrganizationUS POSTAGEPA I DService Printers

DETAILS AND LINKS FOR ALL EVENTS ARE AVAILABLE ON MIC’S WEBSITE WWW.MICGLOBE.ORG

MINNESOTA INTERNATIONAL CENTER Winter Edition 2009/2010 | Communiqué www.micglobe.org | 612.625.4421

Nov 4-Nov 23 . . . . . .Chinese Film Series at the Walker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4

Mon, Nov 9 . . . . . . . .Americans for UNFPA luncheon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4

Wed, Nov 18 . . . . . . .The Invisible Children documentary film . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4

Thurs, Nov 19 . . . . . .Westminster Town Hall Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4

Tues, Nov 24 . . . . . . .World Cultures Day at Stillwater Junior High . . . . . . . . . page 3

Thurs, Nov 26 . . . . . .Dinner hosting opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4

Tues, Dec 8 . . . . . . . .International Trade Networking Cocktail

Wed, Dec 9 . . . . . . . .Innovation and China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 1

Fri, Jan 22 . . . . . . . . . .Academic WorldQuest for High Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 1

Tues, Jan 26 . . . . . . . .Foreign Policy Update with Tom Hanson . . . . . . . . . . . . page 1

THERE ARE LINKS TO ALL EVENTS ON MIC’S WEBSITE WWW.MICGLOBE.ORG

Event Calendar

4 | MINNESOTA INTERNATIONAL CENTER www.micglobe.org

Save the Date

CommuniquéAddress Service Requested

MEMBER SPECIAL COSPONSORED EVENTS

Wednesday, November 18The Invisible Children, a documentary film about child soldiers in Uganda.

Thursday, November 19 Collaboration with Westminster Town Hall Forum Speaker: Sarah Chayes; Topic: Economic development in Afghanistan

Tuesday, November 24Norwegian American Thanksgiving Breakfast

Monday, November 9; 11:30 A

Progress, Opportunity and Action: Assessing

Women’s Health Globally

A briefing and luncheon with Anika Rahman,

president of Americans for UNFPA. She will discuss

action steps, globally and domestically, to ensure the

health and rights of women by 2015.

Where: Intelligent Nutrients, 983 E Hennepin Avenue,

Minneapolis

Cost: MIC members and Americans for UNFPA

supporters $35; non-members $50

Advance registration REQUIRED online or by

phone at 646.649.9114

ONGOING COSPONSORED EVENTS

Thursday, December 17

2009 AFSA Luncheon with Rep Keith Ellison

2009-2010 Season Rose Ensemble Concerts

2009-2010 Programs

Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies

...At the Walker Wednesday, November 4 – Monday, November 23

for The People’s Republic of Cinema: 60 Years of China

on Film

Where: Walker Art Center and Bell Auditorium (Univ. of

MN – East Bank)

Cost: Screenings at Bell Auditorium are free, screenings

at Walker Art Center are $6 for MIC members. To receive

discount, identify yourself as an MIC member at the

Walker Box Office or by phone at 612.375.7600. Limit 4

discounted tickets per screening.

For more information: Visit www.walkerart.org