George Mitchell

I had the opportunity to meet George Mitchell the other day after he heard about NewView on a local news station. I was struck by his humble nature, genuine brilliance, and absolute honesty. It was such an honor, and an unforgettable experience.

NewView Recognized by U.S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree

NewView is recognized by U.S. Senator Susan Collins

After presenting about NewView at the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SEDTA) in Washington D.C., I had the opportunity to meet Senator Susan Collins to talk about the accomplishments and future plans of this program.

Saudi Arabia

Just got word, we have seven students from Saudi Arabia joining us...the world is getting smaller!

A New Beginning

As the school year is underway, NewView is about to begin again! This year not only will the Pilot group (30 Iraqi/30 Yarmouth Participants) continue, but we are adding a whole new crowd!

So far this includes:
          • 4-5 new schools in Maine
          • students from Saudi Arabia
          • students from Israel
          • MORE students from Iraq
          • potentially a classroom from Pakistan

I am so anxious to get started, and am excited for another fabulous year!

Vision

I have a friend from Kurdistan, the Northern part of Iraq, named Razhan Ali. I met him this summer, and I was immediately impressed by his contagiously calm and respective demeanor. We shared incredible conversations, and I had the opportunity to learn about his passion. This guy is incredible. He created a non-profit organization called Vision. The mission statement for his project reads as follows:

"Vision is a non-profit organization devoted to help attain a brighter future through renovating education and awareness. It is composed of young people in this new generation who see the task of helping their society as a dutiful responsibility of theirs. This organization is formed for the purpose of improving education and raising awareness of communal needs and social concerns in our community, country, and the world around us."

I have added the link to the website below. Recently, he has expressed an interest in taking on NewView as a project for Vision. He lives in Sulimany, Iraq, part of Kurdistan which is the Northern section of Iraq. I have learned how diverse the culture is between Northern and Southern Iraq, so this opportunity will give American participants a completey different perspective.

I am so excited for this to work out.

http://futuresvision.org/#/about-us/4554591865

Enthusiasm is Inspiring

Upon returning from Global Youth Village (GYV) it almost feels like I never left. Even throughout this past week, I have been in close contact with many of the participants. While the Iraqis are enjoying their home-stays in D.C., Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Little Rock, Arkansas...the Indonesians have finally made it home safely. And the American participants? Well, we are back to our usual routines. But I know we would all agree that we will carry those two weeks with us wherever we go.


In the past few days, I have been contacted by a large number of GYV participants who wish to expand NewView to their friends, schools, and communities. The motivation is contagious. The hope is incredible. And the enthusiasm is inspiring. Thank you to all.

Global Youth Village - Mouhanad

I just returned from Session A at Global Youth Village. For those of you who do not know, GYV is an international summer in Virginia. I attended last year where I met some incredible people from Iraq.

This year was another amazing experience. I had the opportunity to meet teenagers from all over the U.S., Iraq, Kurdistan, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia!!

So many of these participants are interested in setting up NewView in their schools! How exciting!!

I would like to send a huge shout out to Mouhanad Hayder (a NewView participant from Iraq) who I had the opportunity to meet at GYV this year. I am so happy and honored that I was able to meet you. You are an incredible person, and I know that we will see each other again one day.

207 Interview about NewView

Check out this link!! 207 interviewed both Hannah Potter and Chris Jones about the work we have done with our MLTI laptops.

http://www.wcsh6.com/life/programming/local/207/article/162641/50/Laptops-in-Schools

Non-Profit!!

NewView has officially been granted non-profit status with the state of Maine!!

While most of us said that in our free time we watch movies, go shopping, or hang out with friends, Marwan (a friend of mine from Egypt), has another way of spending his Friday nights...

Current Situation in Egypt E-mail

American and Iraqi students alike, watched as the this revolution created an enormous influx of media and central attention around Egypt. So, for the month of February, all NewView participants were asked to reflect and share about the current situation in Egypt and the turmoil in the Middle East. This timely issue produced many interesting responses from both the American and Iraqi students.

Here are some excerpts that best summarize the various opinions on this topic:

“Those protesters absolutely have the right to protest if they're feeling there is something wrong with their government because for sure they know better than we do but on the other hand do they know and understand the real meaning of democracy and freedom?” - Zainab (Iraq)

“What will the people do now after getting what they were asking for? What are their plans for the future?! I hope they will make their decision wisely and to have a better leader and a better life.” - Kawyar (Iraq)

“It also affected Iraq and most of all the other middle eastern countries and now they're asking for a new government too. I just hope they knew what they were doing because after all ideas have consequences.”   -  Azheen (Iraq)

“I would love to see the people of these oppressed nations find their freedom, and I think it freedom is a right that all people deserve.” - Danielle (United States)

“Sometimes I take for granted the freedom we have here in the States.” Lindsay (United States)

Please comment/share anything that you agree/disagree with!

Welcome to the NewView Blog

Hey all! I'm really excited to introduce to you the NewView Blog! So far, all of you have been participating in one-to-one dialogue with your selected e-pal, and it has been going great! I've decided to create a blog for a few different reasons. It will give me the opportunity to summarize and share some key ideas from each e-mail topic of the month. This means that I will be able to post a few excerpts from your e-mails every month so that you all can comment on them and share your opinions with everyone, as opposed to just your e-pal. Also, this means I can keep everybody posted with all of the current updates and news about NewView!