Think globally. Act locally.

Students at Kent State can do both as they listen to, learn and discuss global issues facing humanity via satellite.

“In order to survive, to be stable, we have to communicate across borders. We live in a small world,” said Elena Chernikova, an international exchange graduate student from Moscow, and one of the on-site coordinators of the Global Issues Seminar Series.

Sponsored and organized by the World Bank from its headquarters in Washington, the series connects Kent State students and faculty with universities throughout the world in a monthly teleconference in White Hall, she said.

The World Bank is an international non-profit organization that focuses on issues affecting third-world countries, Chernikova said.

Because the teleconference occurs simultaneously in all participating countries, the series provides opportunities for instantaneous interaction.

“This person from South Africa is talking to you in the same real moment, thousands of miles away. It’s just amazing,” she said.

Other participating universities are located in the Netherlands, Africa, Bulgaria and England.

Some of the subjects discussed include environmental, educational, governmental and economic issues, such as international trade and debt relief.

According to the overview provided by World Bank, the series is designed to promote better understanding of global issues through discussions of current situations “and what more needs to be done.”

Global poverty, communicable diseases, climate change and access to water all are on the table.

At each session, experts on the subject being discussed present information, then they open the floor to questions and discussion. The camera covers each site in turn, offering an opportunity for open debate.

Kent State’s status with the World Bank as a participant in future Global Issues Seminar Series is endangered because of the waning number of participants, Chernikova said.

The next session is scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Wednesday in room 210 of White Hall, but this may change depending on enrollment, Chernikova said.

Please contact Chernikova at [email protected] for more information regarding this and upcoming series in the seminar.

More information regarding the series can be found at http://web.worldbank.org.

Contact College and Graduate School of Education reporter Theresa Montgomery at [email protected].