This week during the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting, EARTH University president José Zaglul will announce the design of a progressive, multi-university Master’s program with a global vision that will integrate health and sustainable development in response to global gaps and needs. The feasibility study and planning of the program, which is being led by EARTH University in Costa Rica and the Faculty of Health Sciences at the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon, is being supported by The MasterCard Foundation.

“The concept was born out of a mutual recognition by EARTH and AUB that human health and wellbeing are intrinsically linked to the health and wellbeing of the planet, as well as to social justice and human rights. What makes this program different is not just that it intertwines the fields of global health and sustainable development, but it incorporates social entrepreneurship and transformative learning,” explained Dr. Zaglul, who will be participating in a session on Environmental and Sustainability Education on September 25 at the CGI Annual Meeting.

The feasibility and planning is expected to be completed by early 2015, and will be EARTH’s first foray into postgraduate studies and AUB’s first transdisciplinary collaborative Master’s degree program with another academic institution.

Iman Nuwayhid, dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at AUB explains that the proposed program of study will tackle the multiple layers of well-being and sustainable development, while addressing the root causes of inequities and war globally.

“Our proposed program will holistically combine health and well-being with sustainable development. It is one-of-a-kind both in terms of its academic premise as well as its proposed execution, which will give students interactions with real global issues as they relate to the health of populations and ecosystems in multiple regions,” explains Dr. Nuwayhid.

With the objective of creating transformative learning experiences, the program will cross geographic boundaries to provide students with lived experiences and embodied perspectives from various regions of the world, thus creating a space for global discourse amongst a diverse student and faculty body to create synergies, enhance critical understanding and promote action for change.

For more information about the program visit: www.earth.ac.cr/masters.

About EARTH University
Since 1990, EARTH University’s innovative educational approach has been preparing young people from Latin America, the Caribbean and other regions, including Africa and Asia, to contribute to the sustainable development of their countries and construct a prosperous and just society. EARTH offers a rigorous four-year undergraduate program in agricultural sciences and natural resources management and a prestigious, international faculty, providing a world-class education that emphasizes science and technology, values, ethical entrepreneurship and environmental and social commitment. Students graduate from EARTH with a licenciatura degree in the Agricultural Sciences, which is between a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree of science. For more information, visit www.earth.ac.cr.

About the Clinton Global Initiative
Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, convenes global leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 150 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media. To date CGI members have made more than 2,300 commitments, which are already improving the lives of more than 400 million people in over 180 countries. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will be valued at $73.5 billion.

CGI also convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States, and CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world, and, this year, CGI Latin America, which will bring together Latin American leaders to identify, harness, and strengthen ways to improve the livelihoods of people in Latin America and around the world. For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.

OLD DO NOT USE EARTH University

OLD DO NOT USE EARTH University

Since 1990, EARTH University’s innovative educational approach has been preparing young people from Latin America, the Caribbean and other regions, including Africa and Asia, to contribute to the sustainable development of their countries and construct a prosperous and just society. EARTH offers a rigorous four-year undergraduate program in agricultural sciences and natural resources management and a prestigious, international faculty, providing a world-class scientific and technological education that emphasizes values, ethical entrepreneurship and environmental and social commitment.

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