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BUILD Mission Statement:
Building Understanding through International Learning and Development (BUILD) is an interdisciplinary student-led program of the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University. BUILD seeks to educate and immerse students in the theory and practice of sustainable development by partnering with rural communities in the developing world to research and implement sustainable initiatives for human, social, and economic development.
Program Pillars:
In an effort to realize the program mission, BUILD functions on a four-pillar model: Education, Action, Solidarity, and Leadership.
Education: BUILD strives to educate students on the concept of sustainable development, a term and process combining economics, anthropology, political science, and principles of social and environmental justice. Students involved in the program attend weekly pre-trip meetings to discuss various political, social, economic, and cultural issues of the partner community's host country. Also, program students engage in a semester-long course on sustainable development through the Ex-College the semester following the trip. The course will help frame and contextualize students' experience in an academic setting.
Action: As an actor in the sustainable development process, and in order to reach sustainable solutions in partner communities, BUILD fosters direct interaction between Tufts undergraduates and those living in developing communities in Latin America. BUILD students spend time working, interacting, and/or researching with community members in order to gain practical experience, deepen their knowledge of local needs and histories, and to cultivate ideas for further development collaborations with the partner community. As BUILD programs mature, students are intended to participate in the planning and implementation of community development projects based on research conducted and needs assessment.
Solidarity: Direct interaction and collaboration with the partner community produces a crucial sense of solidarity between Tufts students and those in the developing world. More than simple interactions, BUILD students spend time with families and youth, conduct personal, candid interviews with community members, and spend time assessing local needs on a person-by-person basis. The sense of solidarity cultivated during BUILD trips boosts the program's effectiveness and increases the likelihood of continued collaboration.
Leadership: The research and projects conducted through the program enable BUILD students to develop their leadership abilities in a context similar to that of a small development organization. Grant writing, literary reviews, logistical planning, and fundraising are all pre-trip responsibilities of BUILD students, and after the trip, students are required to put together research presentation and continue planning for community development projects with local and international NGOs. The practical experience gained through BUILD serves to enable a new generation of global citizens and leaders while at the same time provides tangible, innovative development solutions to BUILD partner communities.