The Center for International Understanding

Global Heat Map Gets National Attention

scaplan — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:22:39 +0000

Today’s launch of CIU’s Global North Carolina Heat Map is making national news. MarketWatch and several other news outlets have picked up the story.

To read the press release, CLICK HERE.

Global N.C. Heat Map is Live!

scaplan — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:55:54 +0000

Thanks to the more-than-100 North Carolina business, education and policy leaders who helped make today’s launch of the the Global N.C. Heat Map such a success! We are incredibly grateful to the team at SAS for hosting our launch event in Cary.

As reported by WRAL, this is a first-of-its kind statewide global heat map: “What’s unique is that we are putting all the data in one place, and we publish county by county,” said Adam Hartzell, executive director of CIU.
“When you connect the data, it actually starts to tell a story.”

With the click of a mouse, visitors to our website can find out what is global about each of North Carolina’s 100 counties. Our Heat Map provides demographic, education and economic data to help paint localized pictures of how connected North Carolina is to the rest of the world.

Moving forward we hope that the map will be used to spur strategic thinking about welcoming international economic development opportunities to our state.

As N.C. Public News Service reported this morning, development of the interactive map is part of CIU’s overall mission to help make North Carolina more global in its approach.

Without support from our Global Ambassadors — Local Government Federal Credit Union, SAS, Quintiles, and the Moise and Vera Khayrallah Fund — our global leaders work would not be possible.

To read our press release, CLICK HERE.
Find the Heat Map HERE.
To read WRAL coverage, CLICK HERE.
Find Public News Service coverage HERE.
Read us on MarketWatch HERE.

Preparing to Launch Global Heat Map

scaplan — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:09:47 +0000

We are getting ready to launch a first-of-its-kind interactive tool showing what’s global in each of North Carolina’s 100 counties. The Global North Carolina Heat Map, created in partnership with SAS, breaks down demographic, education and economic data by country. The tool is meant to encourage creation of global jobs in North Carolina. It was built in response to calls from policy and business leaders for specific, local information to help them “make the case” for global engagement.

The Heat Map will live on our website.

I think you’ll enjoy investigating our new tool! The county-by-county breakdown reveals some facts that may be surprising:

Foreign-owned companies provide 4,600 jobs in Iredell County
Rockingham county exports totaled $1.5 billion in 2011

It’s not just our most urban counties, Wake and Mecklenberg, that are increasingly global in their populations and economic development.

Let us know what you think!

MOU with Jiangsu Province Renewed

scaplan — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:52:28 +0000

We have formalized our international education relationship with Jiangsu Province for a fifth straight year. This will assure more N.C. K-12 students gain global skills to succeed in an increasingly interconnected world.

To read a press release, click here.

Post from Beijing

scaplan — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:53:53 +0000

Meeting with provincial leaders from across China provides great insights into the similarities between our countries and the challenges we face. As in North Carolina, the Chinese are working to close achievement gaps and they see global education as a top strategy to help future leaders have the skills they need to compete.

We were honored as CIU’s Confucius Classrooms and school-to-school partnerships with China were held up during this international conference as an example of a bright spot in Chinese-U.S. exchange efforts.

PHOTO CAPTION: CIU Executive Director Adam Hartzell (left) and Director of K-12 Education Programs Matt Friedrick (right) flank N.C. State Board of Education Chair Bill Harrison during the 3rd High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange in Beijing on May 4, 2012. North Carolina was one of six U.S. states represented in international discussions about increasing student exchanges between China and the U.S.

Learning about Denmark

scaplan — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:03:31 +0000

In preparation for this summer’s study program in Denmark, our award-winning teachers are learning about Danish history, culture and its education system. Our orientation workshop includes a panel discussion with a group of alumni who have traveled to Denmark with the Center for International Understanding and have used their experiences to bring the world to their North Carolina classrooms. We can’t wait to report on outcomes from the 2012 Educator Study Program to Denmark that focuses on technology!

It’s a full program — 33 Participants. To learn a bit about what our teachers will be exploring in Denmark, cick here.

Heading to American Embassy in Beijing

scaplan — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:54:41 +0000

This week a team from CIU and State Board of Education Chair Bill Harrison will be in China for an international education summit. We are honored to be hosted at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to co-chair the event called 3^rd High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange.

North Carolina is one of six states represented at the event to “enhance and strengthen ties between the citizens of the United State and China in the areas of culture, education, sports, science and technology, and women’s issues.”

We look forward to highlighting our great work with Confucius Classrooms, through which more than 2,500 North Carolina K-12 students are learning Chinese.

To read our press release, click here.

Latino Initiative featured in Chris Gergen Column

scaplan — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:50:42 +0000

Our Latino Initiative program was featured in columnist Chris Gergen’s piece on world leadership.

To read the full column as published in the News & Observer on April 29, 2012, click here.

UNC Making Friends in Asia

scaplan — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 20:10:35 +0000

UNC President Tom Ross is in Asia to strengthen international ties. One stop along the way was the University System of Taiwan to look for ways to increase global experiences for students and faculty. To read an international news account, click here.

Presentation to State Board of Education

scaplan — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:13:27 +0000

We had a great discussion with members of the State Board of Education today about ways to strengthen K-12 global education. We look forward to working with the board’s Global Education Committee to help school districts identify the “why,” “what” and “how” of making international education locally relevant.

The Center for International Understanding presented 16 immediate, short-term and long-term recommendations. You can check out our presentation by clicking here.