newsDetail

myTrent

Showcase


newsDetail

Bookmark and Share

Recent Trent Grad Celebrated for “Acting Up” in International Cooperation

Alumna Sara Korosi Awarded with Ontario Council for International Cooperation (OCIC) “Youth Acting UP!” Award

Recent Trent Grad Celebrated for “ActingThe Ontario Council for International Cooperation (OCIC) has awarded Trent alumnus Sara Korosi with the Youth Acting UP! award in conjunction with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) during International Development Week 2010.

The “Youth Acting UP!” award recognizes the work of exceptional young people across Ontario who are making global social justice one of their everyday priorities and acting up for global change.

Ms. Korosi graduated from Trent with an undergraduate degree in International Development and Cultural Anthropology in 2004. Inspired by her experiences in Bolivia during a five-month trip with Canadian Crossroads International in 2008, she became a volunteer with Toronto Bolivian Solidarity. She took a few members of the group and returned to Bolivia in November of 2009 with a film crew, “To bring the voices of Bolivians back to Canada.”

The film documents the presidential election and focuses on the process of decolonization currently underway in the former Spanish colony of Bolivia. Funded by the Ontario Secondary School Federation, the film will be shown with support materials to politics students across Ontario, demonstrating how to become involved in political situations.

With her official status as an International Observer in Bolivia, Ms. Korosi could monitor polling stations during the election while speaking with government officials and members of the opposition party. She also spoke with women’s rights groups and local people who were eager to share their stories and experiences with others in the world.

“The focus of the film was on decolonization because it provides an alternative for looking forward to the future,” explains Ms. Korosi in her online video resulting from the Youth Acting Up! award, “and to stand up about the things you believe in,” she adds.

Videos of the winners of the Youth Acting UP! award were filmed and posted on YouTube. Posters including photos and biographies of the winners will also be displayed prominently in public places across Ontario.

“I was ecstatic,” recounts Ms. Korosi on hearing that she had won the award. “Over the years I have made many difficult decisions that have brought me to this point in my life. I have no regrets, but it hasn’t always been easy. Winning this award reaffirmed to me that there are others who are dedicated to creating a better tomorrow and this has motivated me further.”

Solid Grounding in the Trent Community

“I am proud to say I am a Trent graduate,” Ms. Korosi says of her time at Trent. “Through International Development Studies I learned theoretical approaches that have been utilized in an attempt to alleviate global poverty and injustice. My cultural anthropology classes provided me with the tools I need to apply these theories in a culturally sensitive manner. I also participated in several co-op opportunities that gave me invaluable practical experience.”

“I firmly believe I could not have made a better choice than Trent,” she says. “Trent provided me with the solid grounding I needed.”

Sara Korosi currently works as a public engagement coordinator for the Canadian Executive Service Organization (CESO / SACO), a non-governmental organization dedicated to national and international development. Her role is to communicate with the public and to motivate them to get involved and take action on global issues.

Posted on Monday, March 1, 2010.

Read More News »