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MIDDLEBURY, Vt. This summer the Davis United World College Scholars Program is funding two Projects for Peace proposals submitted by Middlebury College undergraduates, one project in Vietnam and one inGhana.

The Projects for Peace initiative, now in its 16th year, seeks to fulfill the vision of Kathryn Wasserman Davis, the late philanthropist and scholar who pledged $1 million per year to work toward lasting peace in the world. She challenged college students to bring about a mindset of preparing for peace instead of preparing for war through innovative projects that promote love, kindness, and globalunderstanding.

The students 2022 projects are and Bridging the Gap: Rural Education in Vietnam. Kevin Ntoni 24, an economics major, organized a two-week accelerated boot camp that will take place in Augustcalled that aims to give high school students in Accra, Ghanas capital, a chance to work in the tech world. In his proposal, he cited an increase in unemployment among Ghaniain youth as one of the motivations for theproject.

Unemployed youth can, out of sheer frustration, resort to unethical sources of income, creating chaos, said Ntoni. The few who know about computer science are bombarded with lots of myths, including that tech is for an elite few, the stability of tech jobs is very low, or that you need very sophisticated high-cost tools if you want to delve into that area. These myths eventually discourage the youth from giving it atry.

Ntonis goal is to contribute to peace and sustainable development by providing participants with digital skills in the form of training, mentorship, and information on ways to subsequently leverage their new skills for economic gains. The program includes an introduction to the programming language Python, UI/UX design, budgeting and management, and access to mentors acrossindustries.

Ntoni is working on the project with two other studentsRupert Tawiah-Quarshie, a computer science and mathematics major at Hampshire College, and Nathaniel Wullar, a computer science and electrical and computer engineering major at DukeUniversity.

Nhi Dang 23, who is majoring in computer science, is working to address educational inequality with her project, Bridging the GapRural Education in Vietnam. She is based in Cn Giuc in the countrys rural Mekong Delta region, where she is providing junior high and high school students with the resources they need to mitigate the devastating impact the pandemic has had on their education. Students have access to computer equipment and supplemental instruction in math and literature through free virtual tutoring with localteachers.

Dang is from Ho Chi Minh City but Cn Giuc is the hometown of Dangs mother. Dang said that while schools were shut due to COVID-19, students in this area had to take classes remotely by receiving materials in the mail and watching teachers on TV, since many rural schools lack the resourcesincluding Internet access, running water, and adequate fundingavailable to those in urbancenters.

As a first-gen student, I believe that education is the key to global understanding and peace, said Dang. With equal access to a quality education, students in Cn Giuc can be exposed to and challenged by a multitude of topics andviewpoints.

Middlebury students have undertaken 25 Projects for Peace since the program was launched in 2007. They have operated an English language immersion summer academy in Bulgaria, run a training camp in entrepreneurship and conflict resolution in Burundi, helped low-income women in Turkey to promote their handcrafted jewelry to international markets, and challenged racism through oral histories in North Carolina. Other projects directed by Middlebury students have taken place in Senegal, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Israel, Guatemala, Thailand, Afghanistan, andUganda.

Information about submitting a proposal to Projects for Peace is available online. Middlebury College students interested in applying should contact Ben Yamron, creativity and innovation associate at the Innovation Hub, at byamron@middlebury.edu.

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Projects for Peace Grants to Fund Education Initiative in Vietnam and Tech Boot Camp in Ghana - Middlebury College News and Events