Undergraduate students in all colleges and majors are invited to learn about the Arkansas Global Changemakers study abroad program in Barcelona at 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, in the Student Success Center, CORD 215. 

At the information session, students can learn about Changemakers: Barcelona (INST 493V and BUSI 330V), which is a designated service learning course that explores global issues in Catalonia in the May 2024 intersession. The program co-founders — Laurence Hare, associate professor and chair of the Department of History, and Rogelio Garcia Contreras, clinical faculty in the Department of Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Venture Innovation — will be on hand to provide information about the program itinerary and available scholarships. 

Arkansas Global Changemakers is a multidisciplinary initiative at the U of A aimed at improving local solutions to global challenges by connecting communities in Arkansas with partners in cities around the world. The program shows how community organizations across sectors — including social businesses, public agencies and nonprofit entities — tackle global social and environmental challenges at the community level.

Students participating in Changemakers programs learn about global issues and social business models, develop intercultural competence skills and practice social innovation techniques. The programs deal with global issues critical to Arkansas communities, including food security, housing access, job skill development and urban sustainability. Studies include both domestic and international perspectives, and faculty and students work together to apply insights to enhance the work of partner organizations. 

The Changemakers initiative was founded in 2018 and has since offered a number of study abroad experiences for students across disciplines. 

As Hare explained, “We have had terrific experiences in Barcelona with students from a wide variety of programs, including business, chemistry, communication, economics, history, international and global studies, and sociology. Each has brought their own learning to the table and enriched our program. Now we are excited to take a new group of students to Spain and learn about these critical issues from a unique local perspective.”

Interested students, faculty and community members can also learn more about Arkansas Global Changemakers online and through their podcast, Points of Departure, which is produced by KUAF public radio and is available on their website.