Cuba, an island nation 90 miles south of the United States, has dominated political discussion and national headlines in the past decade, as the communist nation begins to open its doors to the U.S. after nearly 50 years of isolation. Although most people associate Cuba with cigars and beautiful beaches, beyond the surface, Cuban culture is diverse and its history enmeshed with political and social turmoil. It is our responsibility as global citizens to recognize the different political, cultural, social, and economic facets that characterize Cuba, so we can identify with the similarities and challenge ourselves to learn from the differences.

 

We crafted the 2017 curriculum, The Cuba Project, with the end product becoming a result of our diverse backgrounds, majors, and experiences. This summer, we came together as four strangers with different educations and viewpoints on global issues. Together, we vowed to keep an open mind and use our wide range of interests from language to science to economics in order to create a curriculum that truly reflects the importance of Cuban culture and history. We read books, researched articles, interviewed scholars and became friends on our mission to promote education against indifference. Through the completion of this project, we found that the most valuable source of our research regarding Cuba was from our interviewees. We feel privileged to have had the opportunity to listen to these different perspectives and have them shape our view of Cuba. We encourage you to read and listen to these accounts as they go beyond the facts and information, bringing our curriculum to life.

We also encourage you to view our curriculum online for access to videos and more interactive resources.

 

Sincerely,

 

The 2016 Echo Foundation Student Interns

 

Anza Abbas, Graduate, UNC Chapel Hill

Austin Acks, Freshman, Washington University in St. Louis

Jospeh Obeid, Sophomore, UNC Charlotte

Rachel Dyl, Junior, Denison University

 

Special Thanks

 

It is with gratitude that The Echo Foundation acknowledges the steadfast commitment and support by the following professionals for their invaluable contributions to:

 

The Cuba Project

 

Dr. Jorge Duany, Director of the Cuban Research Institute, Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Global & Sociocultural Studies, Florida International University

 

Dr. Julio Ramirez, R. Stuart Dickson Professor of Psychology Department, Department Chair, Davidson College

 

Fabio Hurtado, Academic Dean at Cannon School

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Mr. Felix Sabates, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist