The Perfect Holiday Gift!

Have you been wondering what to get a friend or business associate for New Year's? What about a Nationalities Council of Indiana calendar for 2011!

It's filled with photos of the ethnic organizations that make up the council (and stage the annual International Festival in the Indiana State Fairgrounds).

If one of them represents your ethnic heritage, great! If not, it's a reminder of the world in Indiana!

Groups featured are:
January: Barangay Club of Indiana (Filipino)
February: ATA-IN (Turkish)
March: Italian Heritage Society of Indiana
April: Indiana Partners of the Americas (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil)
May: Estonian Society of Indianapolis
June: American Indian Center of Indiana (Native American)
July: Society for the Promotion of Persian Culture (Iranian)
August: Indiana State Association of Middle Eastern Teachers and Dancers
September: Indianapolis Latvian Community Center
October: Circle City Lodge of Sons of Norway
November: Czech and Slovak Society of Indiana
December: Taiwanese American Association of Indianapolis

(Yes, there are more than 30 other groups -- those selected for the 2011 calendar were drawn in a lottery!)

There are a few calendars left for holiday giving! Just send a check for $12 (payable to the Nationalities Council of Indiana) to NCI, PO Box 1623, Indianapolis, IN 46206, and we'll wing one out to you -- or to whomever you'd prefer it be delivered! If you enclose a gift card, we'll send that on as well.

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Language Training Center Highlighted

The Language Training Center in Indianapolis, which offers language and culture training, interpretation and translation services, was featured in the Indianapolis Business Journal. It's owned by Martin George, a former director of the English as a Second Language program at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

He has, according to the IBJ "found himself in high demand among some of the world’s biggest athletes and sports properties, from basketball star Yao Ming and IndyCar Series drivers to the NCAA and LPGA."

Read more here.

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Cummins Expands in Turkey

Columbus-based Cummins Inc. has announced that it will break ground in early 2011 on a multi-phased manufacturing site at the Aegean Free Trade Zone in Izmir, Turkey. The company plans to first build a filtration manufacturing plant and follow with a facility to produce alternators for its power generation business.

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Foreign Language Study Gains in Indiana

A report by the Modern Language Association of America notes that Indiana showed substantial gains in foreign language study at the university level between 2006 and 2009, specifically: 26.7%.

The MLA has gathered and analyzed data on undergraduate and graduate course enrollments in languages other than English in United States colleges and universities since 1958.

Nationwide, course enrollments in languages other than English reached a new high in 2009.

According to the MLA, "In terms of ranking, Spanish, French, and German lead as the three most studied languages, followed by American Sign Language (ASL), fourth in the survey since 2006. Italian, Japanese, and Chinese come next, in the same sequence they have occupied since 1998. Arabic has jumped two positions since 2006 to eighth, now ahead of Latin and Russian, but, with enrollments at 35,083, it is closer in numbers to Latin (32,606) than to Chinese (60,976). Enrollments in courses in Korean have overtaken those in Modern Hebrew, to rank after Portuguese as the fourteenth most commonly studied language in 2009."

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Religious Violence: Myth or Global Reality?

Conventional wisdom in the west suggests that religion is to blame for many of the world’s violent conflicts. Theologian and historian William Cavanaugh (pictured) will challenge this assumption by exploring western ideas about religion, secularism, and power to discuss the idea that religion is to blame for many of the world's violent conflicts during a 7 p.m. presentation 26 January in Clowes Memorial Hall of Butler University, 4600 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis.

The event is presented by the Seminar on Religion and World Civilization at Butler.

Cavanaugh is an associate professor of theology at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., where his research and teaching focus on the intersection of violence and religion. He is the author of The Myth of Religious Violence: Secular Ideology and the Roots of Modern Conflict (2009).

Respondents will be Margaretha Geertsema and Lawrence Gerstein. Geertsema is an assistant professor of journalism at Butler University. Her research draws on studies of globalization, media, culture, sociology, and gender. Gerstein is a professor of psychology at Ball State University and director of the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies at Ball State. He is president of the International Tibet Independence Movement.

(Photo courtesy of University of St. Thomas)

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ISU Officials Travel to Qatar

Three Indiana State University officials will be part of activities this week at the World Innovation Summit for Education in Qatar, reports Inside INdiana Business.

President Emeritus Lloyd Benjamin III, Associate Director for International Affair El-Houcin Chaqra and Professor Karen Liu will be among 1,000 education, corporate, political and social leaders participating in the three-day event.

The summit, sponsored by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, brings together 1,000 prominent education, corporate, political and social leaders. The Qatar Foundation invited Benjamin, Chaqra and Liu to participate in the summit and is paying their travel expenses.

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Zimbabwean Dinner

A night of authentic Zimbabwean food, dance, and music is scheduled for 5-10 p.m. 11 December in the Indiana Interchurch Center, 1100 West 42nd Street, Indianapolis. Admission is $25.

Seating is limited to 120; reservations can be made online. The event is hosted by the International Interfaith Initiative. Information, email.

Proceeds benefit the Healing Friends Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization that offers microfinance opportunities and support to families in the African nation.

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Festival Award Winners Announced

Here are the award winners for this year's International Festival, hosted by the Nationalities Council of Indiana.

Cultural Booths of NCI Group Members are judged in the following four categories:

1. THEME: Include in cultural booth historical, geographical, culinary, social or educational aspects of the particular culture. 2010 theme: Food for Thought - Tradition, Culture and Cuisine.
2. EDUCATIONAL VALUE: Provide relevant information about the culture.
3. CREATIVITY: Demonstrate an effective and enjoyable method to attract visitors.
4. QUALITY: Overall excellence. Examples would be people in native costumes and friendly approach to visitors.

First and second place winners for theme:
Society for Promotion of Persian Culture and Swedish American Order of VASA

First and second place winners for educational value:
Sons of Norway and German Heritage Society

First and second place winners for creativity:
Korean American Women’s Association and Hungarian Club of Indianapolis

First and second place winners for quality:
Camp Mabuhay (Filipino) and Swiss Club of Central Indiana

In addition, the Best Overall Cultural Booth, recipient of “The Betty” trophy for 2010:
Taiwanese American Association of Indianapolis

Food Booths of NCI Group Members are evaluated for quality and authenticity of ethnic food, appearance and sanitary conditions and overall assessment.
First Place: Indonesian Association of Indianapolis
Second Place: German American Klub

Finally (but not insignificantly), the NCI's Volunteer Service award (also known as “The Steve” trophy) is presented to the individual(s) who have demonstrated commitment to the goals of NCI and have actively worked toward their achievement. This year, for the first time, three volunteers were honored:
Josef Laposa and Frances Russell (pictured), and Charles Lindgren (deceased).

Mark your calendars for next year's festival, to be held 17-20 November.

(Photo courtesy of Ming Russell)

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IU Expands Agreements with German Universities

More than 60 years after its legendary 11th president, Herman B Wells (pictured), helped establish a "free university" in post-World War II Berlin, Indiana University announced today that it has renewed and expanded cooperative agreements with that institution as well as another of Germany's leading research universities.

While leading a university delegation to Germany, IU President Michael A. McRobbie signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Free University of Berlin, renewing a half-century of relations with that city's largest research university and expanding the partnership into new areas of cooperation -- including faculty exchanges, joint workshops and enhanced academic collaborations.

IU's partnership with the Free University of Berlin, which Wells helped found in 1948, is the university's longest-running exchange partnership, delivering German students to Bloomington and IU students to Berlin for graduate study and research.

McRobbie also signed an MOU with the University of Freiburg, one of Germany's oldest and most prestigious universities, founded in 1457.

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Indiana Tech to Recruit in China

As part of efforts to increase international enrollment, Indiana Tech reports it has entered an agreement with the Foundation for International Education to recruit students from China.

The Foundation for International Education (FIE) will recruit transfer students who have completed three years of post-secondary education in China and wish to pursue a bachelor’s degree at Indiana Tech, 1600 East Washington Boulevard, Fort Wayne, Indiana. FIE also will help identify qualified high school graduates with a similar interest, as well as potential partner universities for Indiana Tech. Under the terms of the agreement, FIE will be Indiana Tech’s sole representative in China for an initial, renewable period of 18 months.

Indiana Tech plans to recruit international students from a variety of countries by establishing articulation partnerships with colleges, developing recruitment agency agreements, and arranging exchange agreements with higher education institutions abroad. Such exchange agreements are intended to increase the university’s international enrollment, while also creating more study abroad opportunities for Indiana Tech students.

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Hans Wagemaker to Discuss International Education Assessments

The head of the organization that administers two of the world's largest education assessment exams will speak on the the challenges of designing an accurate test to understand how students learn across the globe during a presentation Wednesday (1 December) at Indiana University Bloomington.

Hans Wagemaker (pictured), executive director of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), will talk about international education assessments during an Education Policy Chat presented by the Center for Evaluation & Education Policy (CEEP). His presentation, titled "IEA's Assessment Strategy: Measuring Change and Changing Measures," starts at 2 p.m. in the Dogwood Room at the Indiana Memorial Union.

Following Wagemaker's presentation, audience members will be able to ask questions. The CEEP Policy Chat is free and open to the public.

The IEA created and administers the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and Trends in International Math and Science Survey (TIMSS), which collect data from more than 60 countries to assess student learning. Education researchers formed the IEA in the late 1950s in an effort to gather information about which countries performed best so that educators could adopt best practices across the globe.

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More Views of the 2010 International Festival

Be sure to mark your calendars for next year's International Festival, to be held November 17-20, 2011, in the West Pavilion of the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis!

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Immigrant Success

Your Ethnic Hoosier usually avoids policy, but this comment from Thomas Friedman's column in today's New York Times needs to be shared. As we in the Nationalities Council of Indiana know, the United States is constantly renewed --and improved -- by its immigrants. This says it all:

"Last week, the 32 winners of Rhodes Scholarships for 2011 were announced — America’s top college grads. Here are half the names on that list: Mark Jia, Aakash Shah, Zujaja Tauqeer, Tracy Yang, William Zeng, Daniel Lage, Ye Jin Kang, Baltazar Zavala, Esther Uduehi, Prerna Nadathur, Priya Sury, Anna Alekeyeva, Fatima Sabar, Renugan Raidoo, Jennifer Lai, Varun Sivaram."

Yes, Indiana's winner is Esther O. Uduehi (pictured, at left) of Evansville. Her parents emigrated from Nigeria. A senior at Indiana University, Bloomington, she majors in biochemistry and mathematics. She was also a visiting student at Oxford. A Wells Scholar, Presidential Intern and Senator Richard Lugar Scholar, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, she is president of the IU Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students. She has won several awards for her research in organic chemistry, and has participated in a U.S.-Russia global health care study program and done research at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Esther plans to do the D.Phil. in chemistry at Oxford.

(Photo courtesy of Indiana University Bloomington)

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This Weekend: Indy's International Festival

Yes, the annual International Festival is underway in the West Pavilion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, 1202 East 38th Street, Indianapolis. It's open today (10 a.m. to 9 p.m.) and tomorrow (noon to 6 p.m.). Come join the fun!

(Photos taken Friday, 19 November, by Susan McKee)

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Today! The International Festival Starts Today!

School buses will be lined up along the West Pavilion of the Indiana State Fairgrounds this morning for the opening of the International Festival in Indianapolis!

Today's just for student groups, but the festival opens to the public tomorrow through Sunday. There's lots more information online.

Y'all come!

Indy's International Festival is This Weekend!

This year's International Festival opens for student groups on Thursday, and for the general public Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Check the website for details!

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It's International Festival Time!

Make plans to head to the Indiana State Fairgrounds this weekend for Indy's International Festival! It's open to the public Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

For details, go online. Don't miss it!

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International Education Week

In celebration of International Education Week, program directors will be promoting their study abroad programs at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

An information table will be on the second floor of Cavanaugh Hall on the IUPUI campus from 15-18 November, where students can find out more information about programs traveling to India, China, France, Germany, Dominican Republic, South Korea, Greece, Canada and many more.

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Indianapolis Firm Receives International Honor

Indianapolis-based global engineering consulting and design firm RW Armstrong has received the United Arab Emirates' Interior Design of the Year award, reports Inside INdiana Business.

The company was honored for designing the approximately $27 million Environment Agency headquarters in Abu Dhabi. RW Armstrong has more than 600 employees in 17 offices in the United States, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Egypt and Libya.

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International Education Week at DePauw

DePauw University, Greencastle, will celebrate International Education Week 15-20 November with events that feature the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide, reports the DePauw News Bureau.

The week culminates with the International Bazaar. DePauw’s 240 international students, representing 41 countries, will share their culinary specialties, in addition to performing cultural songs and dances. The Bazaar begins at 5:30 p.m. 20 November in the ballroom of the Memorial Student Union Building on campus. Admission is $3 per person, and the bazaar is open to the public.

A detailed schedule of events is online.

International Education Week is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Education.

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Santa Claus Christmas Store Hosting M.I. Hummel Demonstration

The Santa Claus Christmas Store, 33 North Kringle Place, Santa Claus, is hosting a M.I. Hummel demonstration featuring Master Artist Ulrich Tendera from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 28 November.

Born in Wiesenfeld, Germany, Ulrich Tendera started his career at the age of 17 when he began an apprenticeship as a ceramic painter.

M.I. Hummel is best known for the collectibles depicting Bavarian country children (such as those pictured) as drawn by Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel.

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Burmese Refugee Event in Indy

(IUPUI = Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis)

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Ball State Assists Kandahar University

A $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of State will allow Ball State University to help Kandahar University in Afghanistan develop curricula emphasizing free market principles and entrepreneurship within its new College of Economics, reports the BSU news bureau.

The two-year grant enables faculty members from Ball State's Center for Entrepreneurship to work with members of Kandahar's economics department in creating entrepreneurial courses that will lead to an expertise in entrepreneurship, business development and economic development.

Additionally, faculty from Ball State's Intensive English Institute will work with Kandahar University to improve the English language proficiency of its faculty and students.

Members of Ball State's Career Center also will assist Kandahar University with the creation of its own career development center, which will serve as another method of integrating the university with the business world and give students more opportunities for internships and employment.

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Unintentional Intolerance

Steve Robbins (pictured) will discuss "Unintentional Intolerance: What Nice People Need to Know" during a 3 p.m. event 17 November in 93 Auditorium at Eli Lilly and Company's corporate headquarters in Indianapolis.

Dr. Robbins, a diversity expert, notes that "cognitive flexibility and behavioral adaptability are necessary for navigating a 21st century world". A reception follows his presentation.

The event is sponsored by Lilly India Network, Eli Lilly Asian Network, Chinese Culture Network at Lilly, Middle Eastern Network at Lilly and the Asian-American Alliance of Indiana. For reservations, please send an email; deadline is 8 November.

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IU Projects Receive Funding to Study Water Use

The National Science Foundation has allotted an Indiana University-led research project in Zambia, according to the IU News Bureau.

IU Bloomington geographers Tom Evans and Scott Robeson will be studying farmers' interactions with their local environments and how they survive periods of drought through different types of coping strategies. Their work is being conducted in Zambia, where drought frequently causes food shortages and future climate variability may have dramatic impacts on human welfare. The title of the project is "Spatial Resilience of Agriculturalists to Coupled Ecological and Hydrological Variability in Rural Zambia."

According to the NSF, the foundation is funding seven awards under its Environment, Society and Economics (ESE) umbrella to foster collaboration among geoscientists and social scientists to address crucial issues for the environment, society and the economy -- and how the three affect each other. The awards will factor valuation of "ecosystem services" into economic activities in a way that provides critically important information about land and water use.

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Charles Beeker Recognized by Armenian Scientists

Charles Beeker, director of the Office of Underwater Science at the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at Indiana University Bloomington, has been honored by the National Academy of Sciences for the Republic of Armenia (NASRA) for his archaeological work with the Armenian-owned 1699 Quedagh Merchant, Captain Kidd's shipwreck discovered in the Dominican Republic.

Indiana University research on the Quedagh Merchant is funded in part by the United States Agency for International Development, under the Living Museums in the Sea project, which will establish the Captain Kidd shipwreck as an Underwater Preserve, protecting the archaeological and associated biological resources as a sustainable tourism destination.

(Image of certificate courtesy of Indiana University)

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It's Almost International Festival Time in Indy!

Plans are well underway for the next International Festival. It's set for 18-21 November in the West Pavilion of the Indiana State Fairgrounds, 1202 East 38th Street, Indianapolis.

Hours for school groups and other student tours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. both 18 and 19 November. The festival's open to the public from 2 to 9 p.m. 19 November, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 20 November and noon to 6 p.m. 21 November.

Come see the world without leaving home (and bring your appetite: there'll be authentic, traditional cuisine from around the globe).

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Fort Wayne Lauded for Immigrant Integration

Recognizing that local governments play a central role in developing and implementing immigrant integration programs, a new report from the National League of Cities (NLC) showcases 20 city programs for promoting social cohesion within the community.

The report, Municipal Innovations in Immigrant Integration: 20 Cities, 20 Good Practices, is produced by NLC’s Municipal Action for Immigrant Integration (MAII) program and focuses on public safety, immigrant outreach, civic engagement and city services.

The 20 city programs featured in the report are:

· Fort Wayne Indiana (Hispanic Immigrant Liaison)
· Austin, Texas (Immigrant Outreach Program)
· Seattle, Washington (Latino Advisory Council)
· El Paso, Texas (Victim Services-Immigration)
· Durham, North Carolina (Mayor’s Hispanic Latino Initiative)
· Louisville, Kentucky (Office of International Affairs)
· Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Mayor’s Commission on African and Caribbean Immigrant Affairs)
· Columbus, Ohio (New American Initiative)
· Chattanooga, Tennessee (HANDS Across Chattanooga)
· Skokie, Illinois (Immigrant Services)
· Los Angeles, California (Immigrant Integration Partnership)
· Boulder, Colo. (Immigrant Advisory Committee)
· Santa Clara Co./San Jose, Calif. (Immigrant Relations and Integration Services)
· Littleton, Colorado (Littleton Immigrant Integration Initiative)
· San Francisco, California (Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs)
· New York City, New York (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs)
· Washington, District of Columbia (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs)
· Princeton, New Jersey (The Princeton Community ID Card)
· Richmond, Virginia (Hispanic Liaison Office)
· Houston, Texas (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs)

“Immigrants strengthen our communities by bringing cultural and educational resources which help create economic opportunities. Local governments must provide necessary services to ensure a smooth transition for both the immigrants and the communities,” said Ricardo Gambetta (pictured), NLC’s manager for immigrant integration (and former Indianapolis resident). “Through this report, we hope that the 20 programs highlighted can be used as models for other successful integration programs.”

In addition to outlining these programs, the report also makes a number of suggestions for local, state and federal officials in how to better integrate the immigrant community. Examples of these suggestions include developing a nationwide strategy for immigrant integration; cooperating with municipal agencies; addressing local demographics, issues and challenges; establishing mayoral advisory boards and immigrant affairs offices; and recognizing immigrant contributions to the economy.

Compiled after several months of research, on-site visits, policy discussions and consultations with city officials, the programs featured in this report exemplify successful public-private partnerships, advisory initiatives and action-oriented programs to help immigrants successfully acclimate to their new homes.

As part of NLC’s Center for Research and Innovation, MAII promotes civic engagement and naturalization among immigrant communities. MAII is a resource for NLC members, fostering a knowledge-sharing network to help cities learn from the experiences of their counterparts across the country. The MAII project is supported by the Knight Foundation.

For more information on the Municipal Action for Immigrant Integration program, go online.

The National League of Cities is the nation’s oldest and largest organization devoted to strengthening and promoting cities as centers of opportunity, leadership and governance. NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans.

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Russian Orthodox Music Performed in Indy

The Indianapolis Symphonic Choir performs Sergei Rachmaninoff's Vespers on 6 and 7 November in two Indy churches.

Hear what has been called "the greatest musical achievement of the Russian Orthodox Church" performed at 8 p.m. Saturday in downtown Indianapolis at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, and at 2:30 p.m. the next afternoon in the newly-constructed Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Carmel.

Tickets are available online.

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Notre Dame's Native American Initiatives

Native American Initiatives at the University of Notre Dame notes several events scheduled for Native American Heritage Month in November.

Grammy Award-winning recording artist, performer, songwriter, and activist Bill Miller will discuss the present and future impact of Native Americans on American politics on campus at 3 p.m. 2 November, followed by a concert at 8 p.m.

Navajo filmmaker Norman Patrick Brown will visit the Indiana University South Bend campus between noon and 9 p.m. 9 November.

Grammy and Native American Music award winning artist Joanne Shenandoah performs at 5 p.m. in the Legends of Notre Dame, South Bend. She is a Wolf Clan member of the Iroquois Confederacy.

For more information, go online.

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Daniels Off to China and Japan

Governor Mitch Daniels will lead a delegation of Hoosier business leaders and elected officials on an economic development and jobs trip to China and Japan. This will be Daniels' second trip to China and fifth trip to Japan since 2005.

The governor will depart Indiana on 6 November, returning 17 November. He will travel in China from 7 to 13 November in Shanghai and Zhejiang (Indiana's Chinese sister-state), then go on to Japan from 14-17 November, where he will visit Nagoya and Tokyo.

(Photo of Hangzhou, China, courtesy of the governor's office -- from his 2009 trip)

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Negishi to Receive Japan's Order of Culture

Dr. Ei-ichi Negishi (pictured), the Herbert C. Brown Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Purdue University, will receive Japan's highest distinction, the Order of Culture, on 3 November from the country's emperor.

It honors his contributions to Japan's cultural development through his work to create a method to build complex organic molecules necessary for numerous purposes, from pharmaceutical manufacturing to electronics. Negishi is a Japanese national and first moved to the United States in 1960.

Prof. Negishi was announced as a winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry on 6 October. The Order of Culture was established in 1937.

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Being Good in Life

"About Family, of the Virgin Marshmallow and about Being Good in Life" is the provocative title of a lecture reflecting on anti-Semitism and anti-Islamism in contemporary German discourse from the literary perspective. This presentation by Esther Dischereit will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 1 November in Room 238 of the Campus Center at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. It's sponsored by the Max Kade German-American Center and the IUPUI German Program.

Dischereit, who is the Max Kade writer-in-residence at Oberlin College, will unfold thoughts on what it is like to be foreign or to be mainstream, challenging certainties about our personal origins. She counters desires to renew demarcations against the outsider, like the immigrant Muslim baker from Turkey with her shop in Berlin-Moabit. Her presentation ponders the ongoing debate about the relative higher or lower value of race, religion, genetics or other "targets".

Dischereit is a prolific and versatile Jewish-German writer. Her work challenges the repression that she feels characterizes German memory of the National Socialist past, bearing witness not to the Holocaust itself but to how it is both remembered and forgotten in twenty-first-century Germany. Her work addresses intergenerational discussions, themes of alienation and "otherness" in German society that include questions on minority and gender.

Her work covers a wide spectrum of genres: novels, stories and essays; poetry, plays, including radio plays; opera libretti and sound installations. She collaborates with composers and jazz musicians and founded the avant-garde project “WordMusicSpace/Sound-Concepts. A union activist and advocate for women, and later for art and culture with the German Trade Unions, she has played an increasingly prominent literary and cultural role in Germany since the 1980's.

Her fiction has earned her international acclaim and translation of several of her novels into English and Spanish. She was a fellow at the Moses Mendelssohn Centre for European and Jewish Studies and has lectured widely in the United States, Canada, Columbia and Israel. Esther Dischereit has won stipends from the Hessian Ministry for Science and Art, the Stiftung Preussische Seehandlung in Berlin, the Berlin Senate and the Erwin-Strassmann-Stiftung. A symposium about Esther Dischereit's work was held at the University of Wales, Swansea, in 2003, and she was writer-in-residence at Deutsches Haus, New York University, in 2004. In 2009 Esther won the Erich Fried Prize, the most prestigious literary prize awarded by Austria.

For more information, contact Claudia Grossmann, 317:274-3943. Visitor parking is available in the IUPUI Vermont Street Parking Garage.

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Purdue Investigates Causes of Haiti Quake

Researchers at Purdue University have found that a previously unmapped fault was responsible for the devastating earthquake on 12 January in Haiti, and that the originally blamed fault remains ready to produce a large earthquake.

The team determined the earthquake's origin is a previously unmapped fault, which they named the Léogâne fault. The newly discovered fault runs almost parallel to the Enriquillo fault, which was originally thought to be the source of the earthquake.

The team analyzed data they recorded before the earthquake and new measurements taken after the event. Their work is detailed in a paper that will be published in the November issue of Nature Geosciences.

What's Next in Global Fashion?

David Wolfe (pictured), global trend forecaster, will present a free, open-to-the-public lecture from 7-9 p.m. 2 November in the Frangipani Room of the Indiana Memorial Union on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington.

The event is sponsored by the 250-member Retail Studies Organization, a student group in IU's Department of Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design. Wolfe is creative director of The Doneger Group in New York City.

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CTS Expanding Asian Facility

Elkhart-based CTS Corporation says it plans to nearly double the capacity of a manufacturing site in Thailand, reports Inside INdiana Business. The company says the expansion of the facility near Bangkok should be completed by mid-2011.

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Science and Society in the 21st Century

"Science and Society in the 21st Century" is the topic for a presentation by Sir Harry Kroto (pictured), who shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1996.

He'll be speaking from 5:30-7 p.m. 10 November in Room CE450, Campus Center, Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. Registration is online.

Kroto, who is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and holds an emeritus professorship at the University of Sussex in Brighton, United Kingdom, will discuss a necessary condition for creativity in the science and the arts -- a liberal/democratic sociopolitical environment.

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Localizando Food

"Localizando Food", an innovative documentary and a stop-motion animation film, both created by local youth, explore the social implications of insufficient food choices.

Part of "Spirit & Place", the films showcase local projects challenging the status quo and changing the way Indianapolis eats. Dialogue with local filmmakers and residents, facilitated by youth, will follow the screening, set for 1 p.m. 7 November in the Indianapolis Art Center, 820 East 67th Street, Indianapolis.

It's presented by the Latino/a Youth Collective, Indianapolis Art Center, Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianap-olis Center for Urban and Multicultural Education, IUPUI Common Theme Project, IUPUI Multicultural Center, and the IUPUI Office of International Affairs.

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New ISO Music Director from Poland

Conductor Krzysztof Urbański (pictured) becomes the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s seventh Music Director effective 1 September 2011, according to an announcement today by the ISO. At age 28, he is the youngest music director among major orchestras in the United States. Urbański will return to Indianapolis to conduct in concerts on 20 and 21 May, and will lead the ISO in its Opening Night Gala in September 2011.

In April of 2010, Urbański made his U.S. debut with the Indianapolis Symphony and returned for a second visit during Marsh Symphony on the Prairie in June. In September, the ISO’s search committee unanimously voted to appoint Mr. Urbański to the post, and the ISO musicians overwhelmingly supported the recommendation.

Urbański graduated from the Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw in 2007, and in the same year, was the unanimous First Prize Winner of the Prague Spring International Conducting Competition. He works regularly with all the major Polish orchestras, including Sinfonia Varsovia, the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra and served as Assistant Conductor to the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra from 2007-2009.

Urbański, who was born in Pabianice, Poland, and his wife Joanna currently reside just outside Warsaw. He will become an Adjunct Professor of Music (Orchestral Conducting) at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music when his tenure with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra begins in 2011.

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Lilly to Close Singapore Center

Eli Lilly and Company is closing a facility in Singapore, impacting approximately 130 employees, reports Inside INdiana Business The pharmaceutical manufacturer says some of the projects and capabilities will be shifted to Indianapolis.

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Sagamore's Indiana-Africa Connections Project

Senator Richard G. Lugar (R.-Ind.) will speak at the Sagamore Institute on 21 October as part of the Indianapolis-based think tank's unveiling of its Indiana-Africa Connections Project. This database lists more than 250 Indiana individuals and organizations who regularly engage with sub-Saharan Africa. The event will be from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

Senator Lugar's experience as Ranking Member and former Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and advocate for improving Africa's economy and health care makes him an ideal partner with Sagamore in showcasing Indiana's role as an important global citizen.

Through leadership on crucial legislation such as the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, PEPFAR, the African Growth and Opportunity Act and Tropical Rain Forest Conservation Act, and a heavy interest in energy and hunger security, Senator Lugar has shown time and again the need for a strong and healthy relationship between the United States and countries throughout the African continent.

Sagamore worked with University of Indianapolis graduate students to compile the database, which includes entries such as the Bryantsville Hunger Relief Project, a farm that sends corn to South African countries, and The Institute for Affordable Transportation, an Indianapolis-based group that manufactures and distributes low-cost utility vehicles to individuals in developing countries. (NOTE: such groups also are listed on the Nationalities Council's international links pages.)

Sagamore Institute is an Indianapolis-based nonpartisan research group that brings policymakers and practitioners together to turn ideas into action.

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Heartland Film Festival Runs Through 23 October

Heartland, the annual 10-day celebration of international film, includes movies from Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan (and the United States).

For more information, including a schedule, go online.

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Lilly to Unveil Several Studies in Canada

According to Inside INdiana Business, Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Company will present 14 studies involving its osteoporosis medications at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research annual meeting, which begins today in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The drugmaker will share data about Forteo and Evista.

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Oscar Arias to Speak at DePauw

Oscar Arias (pictured), a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and two-time president of Costa Rica, will visit the campus of DePauw University in Greencastle on 8 December. Arias, who stepped down as president five months ago and is known as a crusader for peace, will discuss "Moral Leadership in Today's World."

The program begins at 7:30 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium, located in DePauw's Green Center for the Performing Arts (605 South College Avenue, Greencastle). The speech is presented free of admission charge and the public is invited.

Dr. Arias served two terms as Costa Rica's president, first leading the country from 1986 to 1990 and then returning to the presidency from 2006 until his term ended86174 in May of this year. In 1987, he authored what came to be known as the Arias Peace Plan, an initiative that led to the end of military conflicts in five Central American countries. His efforts led to his being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on 10 December 1987.

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McRobbie Becomes U.S. Citizen

Indiana University President Michael McRobbie has been sworn in as a U.S. citizen, reports Inside INdiana Business. The Australian has been in the U.S. for more than a decade and was named IU president in 2007. His three college-age children, who were born in Australia, also took the oath of citizenship.

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Native American Frybread Cook-Off

The Native American Frybread Cook-Off and Round Dance is set for 1-3 p.m. 7 November at Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, 500 West Washington Street, Indianapolis.

Learn about the history of frybread and the many variations that exist within Native American cultures while you watch participants battle it out for the Golden Frybread Award. Sample frybread and cast your vote for the People's Choice Award. Guest judge, Chef Nephi Craig (White Mountain Apache/Navajo) will select the Judges Choice award.

Following the competition, join Tony Showa (Navajo) in a round dance to celebrate community.

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Electric Vehicles Confab

Members of the United Kingdom’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders will meet with American electric vehicle manufacturers next week to discuss potential investment opportunities. Representatives will be in Indiana from 10-12 October.

The UK summit, sponsored by Ice Miller, Indianapolis Power and Light and Purdue University, will allow representatives from UK-based electric vehicle developers and manufacturers to meet with Indiana-based manufacturers in the industry to share information and discuss potential partnerships in areas including powertrain technology, battery management, infrastructure engineering and testing.

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Purdue Teams with Russian Universities

Purdue University and three other U.S. universities have announced a multiyear partnership aimed at strengthening efforts by Russian National Research Universities to commercialize their research and foster campus entrepreneurship, according to the Purdue News Bureau.

In launching the Enhancing University Research and Entrepreneurial Capacity, or EURECA, program, Purdue will collaborate with the University of California-Los Angeles, University of Maryland and the University of Washington and a consortium of program operators, led and financed by the U.S. Russia Foundation for Economic Advancement and the Rule of Law.

The initiative, officially announced on 30 September, will be administered by a consortium of non-governmental organizations: the Russian-based New Eurasia Foundation and two U.S.-based non-governmental organizations, the American Councils for International Education and the National Council for East European and Eurasian Research.

A Russian delegation will visit Purdue from Sunday through Tuesday (10-12 October) to tour the university's research facilities, technology transfer offices and business incubators. Meetings also are planned with researchers, graduate students and faculty members to discuss potential collaborations.

University representatives from Purdue, UCLA, Maryland and Washington joined five Russian research universities today at an event to formally launch EURECA in Washington, D.C.

The participating Russian universities are Lobachevsky State University, St. Petersburg Institute of Information Technology along with the National University of Science and Technology, National Research Nuclear University and Bauman Moscow State Technical University.

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Purdue Prof Shares Nobel Prize in Chemistry

This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki for the development of palladium-catalyzed cross coupling.

Ei-ichi Negishi (pictured) is a Japanese citizen who was born in 1935 in Changchun, China (then ruled by Japan). He received his Ph.D. in 1963 from University of Pennsylvania. He is the Herbert C. Brown Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Purdue University, West Lafayette.

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First, Japan; Next, Germany

The Indiana State Fair will spotlight Germany in the International Pavilion at next year's state fair. German heritage throughout the Hoosier state will be highlighted. It's estimated that at least 1/4 of all Hoosiers claim some German heritage.

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Taiwnese Group Visits Indiana This Week

On Tuesday (5 October), a delegation from Taiwanese DDGS (dried distillers grains – a co-product of the ethanol industry) and grain buyers will be visiting the farm of David and Mary Howell of Middletown. In addition to the morning farm visit, the Indiana Corn Marketing Council (ICMC) is hosting a welcome reception for the group and local leaders in Muncie that evening.

The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) is sponsoring the Taiwanese delegation on a tour of Ohio and Indiana prior to the USGC-Export Exchange Conference in Chicago. David Howell serves as chairman of the Asia Advisory Team of U.S. Grains Council, as well as a farmer-director of the Indiana Corn Marketing Council. The group will also be touring the POET ethanol facility in Alexandria and Rydman & Fox, a farm fertilizer service and grain elevator in Anderson.

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It's Almost International Festival Time in Indy!

Plans are well underway for the next International Festival. It's set for 18-21 November in the West Pavilion of the Indiana State Fairgrounds, 1202 East 38th Street, Indianapolis.

Hours for school groups and other student tours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. both 18 and 19 November. The festival's open to the public from 2 to 9 p.m. 19 November, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 20 November and noon to 6 p.m. 21 November.

Come see the world without leaving home (and bring your appetite: there'll be authentic, traditional cuisine from around the globe).

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Indy’s Ethnic Heritage

"Indy’s Ethnic Heritage", the 15th annual genealogy conference, will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 13 November in the Indianapolis Senior Center, 708 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis. It's sponsored by the Genealogical Society of Marion County.

Cost (which can be paid at the door) is $30. To register, send an email to GSMC-Indiana@Comcast.net.

Among the topics are Native Americans in Indy, German-American Landmarks of Indianapolis, Scottish and Scots-Irish in Indiana, Ethnic Populations of Indy and the Roman Catholic heritage of Indianapolis.

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International Violin Competition Announces Winners

The laureates for the 2010 International Violin Competition hail from three continents. They are:

Gold medalist: Clara-Jumi Kang (pictured, near right), Germany/South Korea
Silver medalist: Soyoung Yoon (pictured, far right), South Korea
Bronze medalist: Benjamin Beilman, United States
4th Place Laureate: Haoming Xie, China
5th Place Laureate: Antal Szalai, Hungary
6th Place Laureate: Andrey Baranov, Russia

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Indiana Looks to Grow India Connection

Some Indiana business and community leaders say enhancing economic ties with India could mean big business for the state, reports Inside INdiana Business. Thursday (23 September), Indianapolis law firm Barnes & Thornburgh LLP convened a meeting with more than two dozen Indian executives and Hoosier business leaders representing technology, energy, education and manufacturing. The goal is to help increase business between Indiana and the Asian nation.

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Valpo Joins Internationalization Project

Valparaiso University has been asked to join a national organization focused on internationalization efforts, reports Inside INdiana Business.

The school is one of eight institutions invited to be a part of the American Council on Education's 2010-2011 Internationalization Laboratory Cohort. Valparaiso will help develop strategies for campus internationalization by forming campus leadership teams to work on strategic planning and student outcomes. It will also attend three community meetings in Washington, D.C. and conduct site visits and peer reviews.

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PowWow This Weekend

The 15th Annual Gathering of the People (Native American) PowWow opens at 10 a.m. tomorrow and Sunday on the VCCC Club Grounds, 10382 Grotto Road, Terre Haute.

It's sponsored by Vigo County Conservation Club.

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10th Celebration of Indy's Diversity

The Indianapolis Mayor’s Office is accepting applications for the 10th Annual Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity Awards. The awards will be presented on 21 January to businesses and organizations throughout Marion County that embrace, celebrate, and apply holistic inclusion and participation of a diverse people, making the workplace a better environment in which to work and the community a better place in which to live, work and raise a family.

(The Nationalities Council of Indiana received its diversity award from Mayor Bart Peterson in 2003.)

Recognition will be given for outstanding performance, in one or all of the following four categories: Community Relations - Activities that encourage and support diversity in the community; Development - Opportunities for diversity strategies within the organization; Leadership – Vision develops and supports
diversity strategies throughout the organization; Workforce Diversity – Diversity representation in the workplace.

Also, the top award given is the special Sam H. Jones Award, named in honor of the first president of the Indianapolis Urban League, who was a tireless advocate for peace, justice and racial understanding. It recognizes a business or organization with exemplary performance in all four categories, the “Best of the Best”.

Nomination forms are available online or by calling 317:327-5091. Nominations may be submitted online or postmarked by 4 p.m. 21 October.

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Today is Fiesta Time in Indy

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Arzberg, Germany, visits its Sister City in Indiana

South Bend Mayor Steve Luecke, Common Council Members, and community representatives met with a delegation from South Bend's Sister City today in the Mayor's Office, reports Inside INdiana Business.

South Bend formed a Sister City relationship with Arzberg in 2005. This year's delegation includes new Mayor Stephan Gocking, former Mayor Winfried Geppert and his wife Anne-Marie.

Other members of the delegation include Arzberg City Council Member Baroness Silvia von Waldenfels, City Council Member Roland Koffmane and Christa Koffmane, Adam Seyferth, former mayor of neighboring Thiersheim and Dagmar Seyferth, Thomas Zeitler, member of the city administration, Ingrid Eisenkolb and son Dr. Alexander Eisenkolb, Karl-Heintz Freina and Heide Freina and daughter Kathrin, Horst Gebhardt, trip organizer Jurgen Stowasser, and from North Carolina, Oscar and Ingrid Dobereiner. The delegation will be in South Bend through Sunday.

The connection between South Bend and Arzberg is more than 150 years old, the mayor notes. Throughout South Bend, there are reminders of that heritage, from the former Muessel Brewery to the local Zion Church, Muessel School and Elbel Golf Course.

Gabrielle Robinson, former Director of International Programs at Indiana University South Bend has been the driving force in establishing this relationship, and organizing the activities and exchanges that have happened to date. She is also the author of German Settlers of South Bend, and worked with the Center for History and other sources to develop a comprehensive history of the South Bend German immigrants.

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Kinder Lernen Deutsch

German classes will be offered again this academic year to first-grade children at Valparaiso University's Kade-Duesenberg German House and Cultural Center.

Beginning 27 September and ending on 25 April, Valpo's "Kinder lernen Deutsch" classes emphasize learning German through fun activities, games and songs, and are taught by undergraduate students of German.

The weekly classes meet for one hour, beginning at 4 p.m., for a total of 19 sessions.

Jennifer Bjornstad, associate professor of foreign languages and literatures and director of the German House, supervises the program and said approximately 300 children have enrolled in "Kinder lernen Deutsch" over the past decade.

Children who begin taking German in the first-grade program can continue for two additional years in "Kinder lernen Deutsch." In fourth and fifth grades, children then have the option of continuing their German or starting a new language in the "Bridges to World Languages" program, a separate after-school program offered by Valparaiso Community Schools in partnership with Valparaiso University.

Registration will continue until the class is full. To register a child, call 219:548-1569 on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The registration fee for the full year is $60 and is due on the first day of class.

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Ugandan Healthcare

Bill Flavin (center in photo), an undergraduate student in biochemistry at University of Notre Dame, South Bend, was given the opportunity to conduct research in Uganda this summer.

His three-week research project was funded and organized in partnership with the Ford Family Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity as part of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies.

After spending the past three summers researching in the Digestive Diseases Research Core Center at the University of Chicago Medical Center, Flavin decided to focus his research in Uganda on enteric and diarrheal diseases caused by impure water, as a consequence of extreme systematic poverty and grassroots economic growth and development. In addition to researching the healthcare system, Flavin also spent time working with local businesses and schools to address the issues.

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