SJI has collaborated with UTEP departments and centers, border-region organizations, and national, and global partners including UTEP’s Center for Civic Engagement, International AIDS Empowerment, FEMAP Foundation, El Paso Studios and YWCA of El Paso; Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, Arkansas, Plexus Institute of NJ, Positive Deviance Initiative at Tufts University, and Communication and Development Studies Program at Ohio University; Save the Children USA, Uganda, and Indonesia; Centrum Media & Gezondheid in Netherlands; University of Antioquia in Medellin, Colombia; Comenius University in Slovakia; University Technology of Chemnitz in Germany; Center for Media Studies and Population Foundation in New Delhi, India.
In 2010, SJI served as a founding member of a Global Consortium on Entertainment-Education and Social Change with global partners such as Oxfam-Novib (Netherlands); Soul City Institute of Health and Development Communication (South Africa); Puntos de Encuentro (Nicaragua); Breakthrough (USA and India); and The Communication Initiative. In 2011, SJI was the core organizing partner (with Johns Hopkins University and University of Southern California) of the fifth International Conference on Entertainment-Education and Social Change held in New Delhi, India.
The Social Justice Initiative (SJI), under the
auspices of UTEP’s Department of Communication,
is committed to social justice actions through local, regional, national, and global programs,
partnerships, publications, and products.
Launched in Spring, 2009, SJI has a variety of interventional platforms, including a Just Speaker Series, Just Story Hour, SJI Publication Series, Media Changemakers Initiative, Mentorship Initiative, The Rwanda Research Group, and Changemaker Awards.
During the 2011-2012 academic year, SJI pioneered Liberating Structures (LS) workshops and communities of practice on the UTEP campus focused on unleashing creativity and energy for classroom and meeting facilitation. In April 2012, SJI hosted a Changemakers’ Summit, inviting Changemakers from different parts of the world to share ideas and action agendas. SJI also received $20,000 from LS pioneer and well-wisher Henri Lipmanowicz and was awarded the 2012 Racial Justice Ambassador Award by the YWCA Paso del Norte.
Just Story Hour in progress. In the inner-circle, storytellers. A 2011 Initiative of SJI where people (from within UTEP and the border community) come together to tell and hear “just” (justice) stories. The launch event on April 29, 2011 was titled “The Mahatma, The Reverend, and The Saint”. See flyer.
Social Justice Initiative partnered in the 5th International Entertainment Education Conference (EE5) in New Delhi, India. read more...(EE Book 2 June_02.pdf)
