Blog
Origin Stories – Fall Professional Development
VA / NC – Origin Stories: Indigenous and First Africans Field Experience
December 6-9, 2024
The Legacy of Early African Americans & The Gullah-Geechee People
NEH Landmarks of American History & Culture Workshop
Session I: July 14-19, 2024
Session II: July 21-26, 2024
Power of Black Land – Fall Professional Development
Savannah, Ga & Sapelo Island: A Gullah-Geechee Field Experience
November 3-5, 2023
As Freedom Grows
National Endowment for the Humanities Landmarks of American History & Culture Workshop on the Legacy of Early African Americans & the Gullah-Geechee People. No cost for selected teachers.
July 10-16, 2022
July 31-Aug 6, 2022
Applications Due March 1, 2022
Anti-Racist Global History Think Tank
July 14 – 10am-4pm ET
July 21 – 2pm-2pm ET
July 18 – 2pm-4pm ET
The impact of teachers. Who stands out to you?
We each have one educator who made a profound impact on our life. Dr. Saundra Murray Nettles is one of these treasured people in my life. On a rare occasion, we former students have the opportunity to share our appreciation for the gifts our teachers have bestowed...
Called to this work
By Christen Higgins Clougherty, Ph.D., Executive Director, Nobis Project Four years ago, on the day after the election, I awoke very early to catch a flight from Savannah to New York City where I was to lead a workshop on Nobis Project’s Social Justice Framework for...
Looking For A Way To Make A Difference? We Have Two Recommendations
By Christen Higgins Clougherty, Nobis Project Founder & Executive Director - Like many people these days, I have a thunderstorm in my head and a flooding in my heart. So many elements of the world feel like they’re unraveling. We’re caught in a tidal wave, rushing...
Trinidad
July 2022
Ethical Global Engagement: Envisioning A New Approach to Travel
Moving Towards Action – Next Steps for Racial Justice
By Josiah “Jazz” Watts, Nobis Project facilitator - On February 23rd, 2020, an unarmed Black man was murdered while jogging in a neighborhood local to his home in Brunswick, GA. His name was Ahmaud Arbery and he was a Sapelo Island descendent, a son, a brother, a...
Conversations of Racial Injustice – Student Leaders Act at Brooklyn Friends School
By Emma Balsam, Nobis Project Intern - Earlier this year, 11th grade students at Brooklyn Friends School (BFS) in Brooklyn, NY embarked on a Nobis Project field experience titled “Race, Power, and the Preservation of African-American History & Gullah-Geechee...
Disruption As Opportunity: COVID-19 Creates A Call To Action
In times of uncertainty humans respond in different ways. Some people shut down out of fear, while others ignite and charge forward.
Diaper Mountain – For Parents Who Experience Homelessness
By Alexandra (Alex) Zinnes, MS, RYT, TEFL, Nobis Project Facilitator - Less than a tenth of a miles from our school is Our House http://www.ourhousega.org/, a childcare and support center serving families who experience homelessness. Everyday, over 80 kids...
Digital Media Summer Camp: The Voices of Our Youth Matter
Every summer we partner with rising 6th-12th graders and tell their stories. The Nobis Digital Media Summer Camp was built on the ideas that the voices of our youth matter and digital media is a fun and valuable skill. How to Shoot a Movie in 5 Days Being prepared is...
Nobis World – Dominican Republic: Day Eight July 20, 2016
By Jenni Arcieri Today the NOBIS World Dominican Republic team of 2016 said our goodbyes, many of us with a tear in our eyes. At breakfast we were joined by Patricia, Mariposa's director, who continued to share stories and plans about the girls at the center. It seems...
Nobis World – Dominican Republic: Day Seven July 19, 2016
By Rebecca Timus I can't believe this trip is almost over! This has been an amazing experience for me as an educator, person, and specifically as a woman. Today we went to visit the Mariposa center again to observe the teachers, spend time with the students and to...
Nobis World – Dominican Republic: Day Six July 18, 2016
By Krista Moody Today we started the day by heading to the Mariposa Center. We gathered for a bit and then went on a driving tour of a few schools in Cabarete and a walking tour of Callejón with Tricia. We were able to visit the private school in the...
Nobis World – Dominican Republic: Day Five July 17, 2016
By Jessica Lynch On Day 5 we went on a beautiful boat trip to the Rio Boca river area. The river was named the Yessica River. Prior to getting on the boat, we checked out some of the local trees, plants, and animals. Particularly memorable, the crocodile!! After...
Nobis World – Dominican Republic: Day Four July 16, 2016
By Tricia Crowley Today was our day to travel to the country to see Freddie's family cocoa farm. We left the Hummingbird Hotel after breakfast and took the gua-gua to his farm in Rio San Juan - about an hour outside of Cabarete. On the bus with us was a group from the...
Nobis World – Dominican Republic: Day Three July 15, 2016
By Meghan Wiemer We woke up and headed down to a homemade breakfast- it was delicious! We began our morning at the Hummingbird Inn, discussing the ins and outs of service learning projects and also discussing class, power, and privilege. After this, we departed the...
Nobis World – Dominican Republic: Day Two July 14, 2016
By Meredith Woodruff The eight of us started our day at the Hummingbird Inn with a fabulous homemade breakfast of fresh fruits, yogurt and granola, eggs and toast, and of course, Dominican coffee. After breakfast, we traveled to the center and were given a tour. ...
Nobis World – Dominican Republic: Day One July 13, 2016
By Casey Maguire Today is filled with planes, shuttles, and introductions. Meg, Jess, and I left for the Newark airport around 6:00am, got right through customs and awaited for our plane. We spent our time eating, talking to family members, and looking around the...
At the Heart of Every Lesson – by Alex Zinnes
7th-8th Grade World Studies Teacher Friends School of Atlanta There was this lovely moment in early February the day before Grandparents and Special Friends Day. I had been teaching my students about global trade through the life-cycle of the t-shirt. I really enjoyed...
Nobis Teacher Spotlight: Vanessa Ehler
Our teacher spotlight this week is Vanessa Ehler. Vanessa teaches Upper School Spanish, Yoga, and is the 9th grade Dean at Brooklyn Friends School in Brooklyn, NY. Tell us why did you choose to attend the Nobis World program? At the time I was on a committee...
Nobis Teacher Spotlight: Will Nisbet
We are excited to share our first in a new Nobis Teacher Spotlight series. In these posts we will share interviews of teachers involved with Nobis Project. Learn about what drew them to participate and how their experience with Nobis Project shapes their work in the...
Nobis World – Dominican Republic: Day Eight – Thursday, July 30, 2015
By Andrew Goodman Today marks the end of the "in-country" chapter of our Nobis World experience. All of us are leaving The Kite Beach Inn and most of us are leaving Cabarete and the Dominican Republic ...at least for now. (The exceptions are LaVona, whose...
Nobis World – Dominican Republic: Day Seven – Wednesday, July 29, 2015
By LaVona Decembly Carpenter, K-4 Spanish Teacher, Hathaway Brown School, Shaker Heights, OH Today was bittersweet. I awoke with a great sense of anticipation and eagerness for what the day would bring. Each day had brought with it a new set of experiences that seemed...
Nobis World – Dominican Republic: Day Six – Tuesday, July 28, 2015
By Andria R. Quintero, Director of Elementary, The Caedmon School Imagine your morning consists of roosters crowing, waves crashing, and breakfast from the land that surrounds you. The Nobis 11 is getting the opportunity to explore such experiences in The Dominican...
Nobis World – Dominican Republic: Day Five – Monday, July 27, 2015
By Laura Bishop Today marked the beginning of our service project for the Mariposa Foundation. Tricia the founder of Mariposa, and a true visionary, outlined the foundation's most prescient needs. Prior to this meeting we'd received just a brief outline from Amanda...
Nobis World – Dominican Republic: Day Four – Sunday, July 26, 2015
By Bonnie Jackson After an eventful Saturday evening with multicultural conversation that continued into the night, we woke up excited to venture into un campo local para un almuerzo delicioso y local (a delicious, local lunch) from Freddy, Dominican native and...
Nobis World – Dominican Republic: Day Three – Saturday, July 25, 2015
By Will Nisbet and Connie Pinkerton Today presented the opportunity to venture into the mountainous interior of the DR to visit the museum and childhood home of the Mirabal sisters. The sisters are an emblem of hope, change, and sacrifice for the country due to their...
Nobis World – Dominican Republic: Day Two – Friday, July 24, 2015
By Christine Varoutsos, Spanish Teacher at Potomac School It's our first full day in the Dominican Republic, and we woke up feeling refreshed and excited to finally visit the Mariposa Center for Girls that we had read and heard so much about. After a short walk down...
Nobis World – Dominican Republic: Day One – Thursday, July 23, 2015
By Sarah Coste, The Potomac School, McLean, VA At last... July 23rd is here! Eleven teachers representing eight different schools joining Nobis World for a week-long service learning adventure in Cabarete, Dominican Republic. While we had informally "met each...
Reflections on Facilitating Uncomfortable Conversations Around Race
By Christen Clougherty, Ph.D. One of the goals of Nobis World programs is to engage in the deep work of reflecting on our personal perspectives of power, privilege and systems of oppression. A participant asked me recently why I, a white, middle class woman chooses to...
Culture verus Wildlife: Gullah Descendants of Harris Neck, Georgia Seek Claim to their Land
Over 70 years ago the Gullah residents of Harris Neck, Georgia were abruptly ordered to leave their coastal property so that the U.S. military could use their land for training. Residents were given a promise that they could return after WWI ended, but instead the...
What to do (and what not to do) on a service learning project
Vanessa, a teacher from Brooklyn Friends School, shares about her experience with global service learning projects. She reflects on her experience with Nobis World in the Dominican Republic on the Wandering Educators blog. She shares that on the Nobis World program:...
Why global? (part two)
by Christen Clougherty How do you bring the global into the classroom in a way that engages the students in meaningful global work that feels relevant to their experience? It was this challenge that prompted me to develop what is now the Nobis Global Action Model....
Why global? (part one)
By Christen Clougherty When I begin a global service-learning project in my classroom there is usually one student who questions why we are working with an international community when there is so much need here at home. They usually call up the phrase, "think global,...
Connecting Kids to Their Lives in a More Considered and Considerate Way
By Alex Zinnes, Friends School of Atlanta I teach 7th and 8th grade World Studies at the Friends School of Atlanta. This past summer, I co-facilitated Nobis World's trip to the Dominican Republic. A major highlight for me was visiting a small, family-owned...
Moving From Awe and Frustration to Transformation: One Educator Shares Her Experience
Emine, a teacher from Detriot, shares about her experience with Nobis World in the Dominican Republic on the Teaching Traveling Blog. This heartfelt sharing of her experience captures the passion that educators bring to their work and their commitment for making a...
Consider Joining a Nobis World Program Next Summer
"For me, the most meaningful part of the Nobis World experience was connecting and sharing with other educators around deepening the global and social justice orientation into our classrooms." - Nobis World 2014 participant Learn more about Nobis World and our summer...
Making Service-Learning Beneficial for the Giver and Receiver
By Francoise Heyden, Middle School Spanish Teacher at Carolina Friends School in Durham, North Carolina What a gift this Nobis World service-learning trip to the Dominican Republic was! And on so many levels! This intense and powerful week immersed in...
When You Start To See Home Differently
By Christen Clougherty Nobis World teachers at the King-Tisdell Cottage Nobis Project is based in Savannah, Georgia because that's where I call home. After college I wanted to live near the ocean, not too far from home (Durham, NC), in a smaller town were I could be...
Where the heck is this school?
Reflections by Jon DeGraff from Brooklyn Friends School Jon attended the Nobis World - Dominican Republic program this summer where we worked with the Mariposa DR Foundation in a small Caribbean village situated on the rural, hilly north coast of the Dominican...
Nobis World – Creating a Safe Place for Educators to Share Stories and Discuss Difficult Issues
by Debbie Bandy, English Teacher, Charleston, S.C....
Seeing the World for the First Time
“In a way we are always traveling. It's only that as the scenery becomes familiar we cease to give it the attention and gaping awe that was once bestowed upon it in heaping armfuls. We travel so that when we return "home" we can see ourselves in a new light, with new...
The Unheard Side
UNHCR Goodwill Envoys Visit Camps for Darfur Refugees Company: UNHCR Age Range: Middle school to high school Does NOT Include Teaching Materials Topic: Racism and Human Rights Subject Areas: Human rights, Nationalism, Racism, Immigration, Persecution and War,...
“In Plain Sight”
In Plain Sight Company: WITNESS and Amnesty International USA Age Range: High School Includes Teaching Materials Topic: Human Rights Film Synopsis: Seeks to bring human rights issues and global stories into the classroom through hands-on activities and learning;...
Nation at War with Itself
Surviving Darfur Company: UNHCR Age Range: All Ages Does NOT Include Teaching Materials Topic: Racism and Human Rights Subject Areas: Human rights, Nationalism, Racism, Immigration, Persecution and War, Government, Social Studies, History, Freedom Film Synopsis:...
The Out-Crowd
To Be a Refugee Company: UNHCR Age Range: All Ages Does NOT Include Teaching Materials Topic: Racism and Human Rights Subject Areas: Human rights, Nationalism, Racism, Immigration, Persecution and War, Government, Social Studies, History, Freedom Film Synopsis: Movie...
Helping Refugees One Country at a Time
Film Title: Working with Refugees Company: UNHCR Age Range: High School Does NOT Include Teaching Materials Topic: Racism and Human Rights Subject Areas: Human rights, Nationalism, Racism, Immigration, Persecution and War, Government, Social Studies,...
They Are People Too
Film Title: “New Home, New Life” Company: UNHCR—The UN Refugee Agency Age Range: High School Does not include Teaching Materials Topic: Racism and Human Rights Subject Areas: Human rights, Nationalism, Racism, Immigration, Persecution and War,...
Modern Day Safe Haven
Film Title: Utica, NY: The Town that Loves Refugees Company: UNHCR—The UN Refugee Agency Age Range: High School Does not include Teaching Materials Topic: Refugees starting over Subject Areas: Human rights, Nationalism, Racism,...
Try Being Friendly
Film Title: Carly Company: UNHCR—The UN Refugee Agency Age Range: Elementary School and Middle School Does not include Teaching Materials Topic: Racism and Human Rights Subject Areas: Human rights, Nationalism, Racism, Immigration, Persecution and War, Government,...
The Children of War
Film Title: Refugee Children: Escape from Persecution and WarCompany: UNHCR—The UN Refugee AgencyAge Range: Middle and High SchoolsDoes not include teaching materialsTopic: Racism and Human RightsSubject Areas: Human rights,...
The Benefits of an Education
Film Title: Learning is Their Future Company: UNHCR—The UN Refugee Agency Age Range: High School Does not include teaching materials Topic: Human Rights and Education Subject Areas: Human rights, Nationalism, Racism, Immigration, Persecution and War, Government,...
The Women of War
Film Title: Don’t Look Back Company: UNHCR—The UN Refugee Agency Age Range: High School Does not include teaching materials Topic: Human rights, War Subject Areas: Human rights, Nationalism, Racism, Immigration, Persecution and War,...
One World, Countless Victims
Film Title: Global View 2009 Company: The UN Refugee Agency Age Range: High school Does not include teaching materials Topic: War, Human Rights, Volunteer Work Subject Areas: Human rights, Nationalism, Racism, Immigration, Persecution and...
A Vote for Democracy
Film Title: Vote Democracy Company: Independent Lens Age Range: High school Includes Teaching Materials Topic: Government Subject Areas: Government, Political Science, Social Studies, Current Events, Language Arts, Debate, Ethnic Studies,...
Inspiring Women
Film Title: Woman’s Empowerment Company: Independent Lens Age Range: High school Includes Teaching Materials Topic: Women’s Empowerment Subject Areas: Social Studies, Global Studies, Civics, Economics, Government, Political Science, Sociology, World History, Language...
Forced to Leave
Company: Independent Lens (PBS) Age Range: High School and College Includes Teaching Materials Topic: Immigration Subject Areas: Social Studies, Current Events, Language Arts, Debate, Sociology, Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement, Ethics, Psychology Film Synopsis:...
Pennies for Thought
Film Title: Pennies a Day Company: izzit.org Age Range: Grade 4-12 Includes Teaching Materials Topic: Poverty, Microcredit, Women in Society, Entrepreneurship Subject Areas: Business, Civics, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Geography, Global Issues, Government,...
Welcome to Alex’s Blog!
Hi, my name is Alex Shimalla and I’m currently a high school sophomore in Savannah, GA working with the Nobis Project. Considering you were able to find this website, you probably already know that the Nobis Project is an educational non-profit organization that...