GIIP in Washington Featuring Dana Priest

One of the largest GIIP Fundraising efforts to date was hosted on April 29th in this country’s headquarters of social activism, Washington DC. The event highlighted GIIP's contributions to social enterprise and how GIIP has affected the lives of those participating in it (as well as those who work with GIIP). Featured at the event was UCSC Alumna and two-time Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist, Dana Priest.

Dana Priest spoke about her experience and work as an investigative journalist for the Washington Post, and how new information communication technologies have changed what’s possible in her work. Her speech highlighted how the Internet and other ICT tools have dramatically altered the way research is done in her field, and what kinds of information is available. She described the challenges accompanying this technical revolution, but also the importance of these tools and the opportunities they present. She expressed that at the core of her work is a passionate belief in public access to information. She described how often it would take months or even years to find the relevant information for a single article, a process that requires technical know-how and patience. Her emphasis on higher education and social inclusion is part of why she supports GIIP in its campaign to use technology for the greater good, and teaching people how to obtain that vital information themselves.

Dana Priest's talk was followed by the testimony of three women who are current GIIP Fellows, Jessica Carsten, Rebecca Wage and Jyesha Wren. Carsten and Wage have both worked as interns at organizations in Washington DC with the UCDC program, and Wren spent last summer working with community organizations on reproductive health in Ethiopia. Wage, who is a Politics major, explained how inspiring it was to see just how far the major from UCSC had also taken Priest, and elaborated on Priest's work in uncovering information about the U.S. Military, especially in instances such as Priest's first big story, regarding Walter Reid Hospital. Wren described her unique situation as a transfer student in GIIP, and the importance of how GIIP provided an excellent outlet for her desire to work for social and gender equality both at home and abroad. She described it as “hands-on”, as GIIP creates an environment where students can create their own experiences and social change around the world. Carsten ended, stressing of the importance of research, and how GIIP provides a multitude of different educational experiences applicable to many different fields.

GIIP's Endowment Campaign is meant to invest in the future of GIIP, ultimately making the program sustainable, and prevent it from being cut like so many programs due to the recent budget crisis in California. The initial goal will be to implement a new professorship, ensuring the continuation of the program beyond its founders.