By Jen Kulik, Ph.D., alumna of the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program, 2011-2012

Jennifer Kulik, Ph.D., alumna of the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program, founded Silver Kite Community Arts Consulting, LLC in 2013 after she returned from her Fulbright program in Singapore. Silver Kite is dedicated to developing arts-based, empathy-building programs and trainings for schools, NGOs and corporations. Silver Kite has a roster of 7 consultants, including Lavinia Draper, Ph.D. who participated in the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program in the fall of 2012. 

The inspiration for Silver Kite came during Jen’s Fulbright program in Singapore. While Jen was on her program, she created an intergenerational drama project which brought together young people from Victoria Junior College and seniors from TOUCH Senior Services. The project was designed to explore how drama can help foster empathy and facilitate understanding between two groups of people who would not normally interact with each other.

Data from the project showed that project participants broke down age-based stereotypes, re-examined their own familial relationships, and developed strong new relationships with members of their community. After returning to the United States, Jen decided to dedicate her professional work to creating these kinds of opportunities for communities throughout the world.

Since founding Silver Kite, Jen has worked with Colorado Academy, presented on her work at the IDEA (International Drama/Theatre Education Association) World Congress in Paris and at the SDEA (Singapore Drama Educators Association) international conference in Singapore, created and facilitated a leadership through the arts course at Republic Polytechnic in Singapore, and developed circus drama productions about nutrition for the USAID and MercyCorps funded PRIME project in Ethiopia. In recent months, Jen has also been a guest speaker at several schools and retirement communities and has offered community arts workshops to faculty and students.

Jen will be returning to Ethiopia in 2014 to continue her work as an educational theatre consultant for the PRIME project.  She will also return to Singapore at the end of 2014 to re-create the intergenerational drama program she developed during her Fulbright program. At the end of February, Jen will be returning to Colorado to work with fellow Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program alumna, Betsey Coleman, on an arts-integrated oral history and English curriculum they designed for Betsey’s home school, Colorado Academy.

For more information about Silver Kite Community Arts Consulting, LLC, visit: www.silverkiteconsulting.com.

The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and is administered by the Institute of International Education.

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Sponsored by Hilton Worldwide, the Hilton Teacher Treks Program is meant to bring people together and foster greater understanding between the U.S. and other countries.

This program allows U.S. primary and secondary level teachers to go abroad for 2-3 weeks to travel, explore and experience culture firsthand.

Teachers can apply online through February 26, 2014 at www.iie.org/en/Programs/Hilton-Teacher-Treks-Program/Apply-Now.

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The essays will be 10-16 pages long, with each page presenting a visual image as well as concise text (usually no more than 50 words) in the national language, the local language (if it differs from the national one), and English. Audio and video clips will supplement the text and visual images.  Each essay will introduce a single topic and its connections to the author’s life and culture, as well as to any other cultures where it is found; for example, an Indian author introducing the sari garment would explain that sari are worn throughout South Asia as well. The essays will be presented online as interactive e-books. 

This project seeks to diversify and personalize global education throughout the world, and help young people to realize that a single voice—even one as young as their own—can resonate and make a difference.

We’re looking for partners!  If you are interested in learning more about how you can get involved in this project, please contact Cyrus Konstantinakos at gvillage@bu.edu.

The Humphrey Program is a Fulbright exchange activity. Its primary funding is provided by the U.S. Congress through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State. Co-sponsors include other governmental agencies, multinational organizations, and private donors. The Institute of International Education (IIE) assists the U.S. Department of State in administering the Humphrey Fellowship Program.

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