Founded in 2003, the Soliya Connect Program is an international exchange program which initially connected students in the United States with their counterparts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to provide a platform for youth from these disparate parts of the world in the hopes of initiating a dialogue on critical cultural and political issues confronting these areas. From its initial beginnings, Soliya has continued to expand and now includes students from North America, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia allowing students to communicate, via voice and image interface, with their student colleagues wherever they are in the world via specialized communication software developed by Soliya called the Exchange Platform.

Students from each participating institution are put into groups of approximately eight students with approximately half of each group composed of students from the Middle East and North Africa. Students participate in two-hour weekly discussion sessions addressing various cultural and political issues of the day. Readings on the various issues are provided, and the cross-cultural dialogue is structured to facilitate an honest exchange of views of students. The software utilized enables each group member to visually see and communicate with all other group members simultaneously. Facilitators, who are Soliya alumni, provide direction to group discussions, but it is the students who are key to the dynamics of the Connect Program.

Combining the Latin word for sun, "sol", with the ancient Arabic word for light, "iya", the name reflects the program's aim "to bridge divides and shed light on cultural differences that too often seem inevitable and intractable."

As one BSC student recounts her initial experience in the Soliya Connect Program:

For one of my classes this semester, we were required to participate in this Soliya program. I had heard of this program in previous semesters but never had to participate in it so I wasn't quite sure how it would go. Prior to the first meeting face to face via webcam, we were asked to do an assignment to introduce ourselves, talk about positive and negative feedback and differences between a debate and dialogue. It was interesting to see where people were from and how they viewed dialogue and all that.

The first week of seeing everyone face to face was interesting and a little uneasy at first, especially popping into the meeting room when there was not any one in there yet. However, we all went around and introduced ourselves, where we went to school/ what we were going for and where we were from. My group had people from here (United States), Jordan, Pakistan and Columbia. Our facilitators were from Canada and one lived in California but originally from Egypt. I think it was pretty cool to see such a diverse group to conversate with.

Throughout the weeks of this program, we talked about different issues such as gender stereotypes, Isis, Trump ban against Middle Easterns, problems in our communities versus problems in other communities that may be similar or differ, etc. It was interesting to see how some countries were more alike than others and how the other countries were more strict or lenient depending upon the issue we discussed.

Associate Professor of Political Science, Dr. Colin S. Cavell, who teaches the Social Sciences seminar at BSC believes the Soliya Connect Program both widens students' perspectives of their world by introducing them to their student counterparts in other regions of the globe while simultaneously deepening their understanding of how others perceive and address contemporary global issues. "Not only does the program sharpen their critical thinking skills," notes Cavell, "but, as well, the Soliya Connect Program provides our BSC students with an international cross-cultural exchange opportunity which is oftentimes too costly for our students to participate in. With Soliya, a student does not have to be wealthy in order to interact with and learn aspects of various world cultures. This is a program that is ideally suited for students in southern West Virginia. And, most importantly, the students very much appreciate it."

Utilizing what it calls Civil Media, Soliya seeks to empower the emerging community of young adults from around the world to amplify voices from civil society so as to catalyze constructive and respectful discourse across divisions about important sociopolitical issues. Soliya is a partner of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, a project of the UN Secretary-General that aims "to reduce tensions across cultural divides that threaten to inflame existing political conflicts or trigger new ones."

Through its programs of international communication, Soliya hopes to replace the usual method of confrontation and coercion in international relations to a process of cooperation and compassion. By providing student participants with a forum to articulate and share their perspectives on world events, and by recruiting past participants as group facilitators, and by sponsoring conferences and venues for sustained communication and collaboration, Soliya offers the benefits normally associated with international study and travel to a broad array of college students without having to physically leave their campus and/or spend thousands of dollars. Student participants obtain the benefit of meeting their peer-group colleagues in other parts of the world while sharing views on cultural and political ongoing developments. Not only does Soliya internationalize the curriculum by students sharing the ideas they have encountered in their group conversations, but, as well, new and exciting vistas are opened up for students who are now connected to a much wider world than many of them ever imagined.

In line with West Virginia's HEPC Director of International Programs, Dr. Clark Egnor, as well as BSC's Coordinator of International Initiatives, Professor Sudhakar Jamkhandi, Soliya believes that it should become the norm in the 21st century for students to have a profound cross-cultural experience as part of their education, whether it is in person or online. It has thus partnered with a number of organizations, educational institutions, and other key partners to make this collaborative vision a reality.

News From Bluefield State College

For additional information, contact Jim Nelson, Director of Institutional & Media Relations, (304) 327-4103, jnelson@bluefieldstate.edu

BSC Senior Capstone Course Cultivates Students' Participation in Global "Street Corner" Conversations

August 2018

Bluefield, WV.--This spring, a group of students at Bluefield State College will gather once a week at a "street corner" to exchange ideas with other students about culture, society, politics, environment, and other topics of the day. Other students engaged in the "street corner" conversation do so from their home campuses in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North Africa.

These virtual "street corner" conversations are a centerpiece for the dynamic Soliya Connect Program, an international program that provides a platform for students from disparate parts of the world to consider cultural and political issues through a thoughtful and open videoconference exchange of ideas and perspectives. Soliya Connect is a pillar of BSC's "Seminar in Social Sciences" course, a capstone course for the College's senior students in the Social Sciences of Psychology, Sociology, History, and Political Science. During 2017, Soliya Connect brought together more than 1300 students representing 72 nationalities from 52 institutions in 13 countries, including students from 13 states in the U.S.

"In addition to their in-class assignments and discussions, our students in the class meet once each week by way of specialized communication software to exchange ideas and perspectives with their student colleagues from around the world," explained Dr. Colin Cavell, Associate Professor of Political Science at BSC. Students work in groups of eight and engage in conversation, led by a student facilitator (and a former Soliya Connect student) and, through the process, develop a deeper understanding of what the social sciences are, Cavell added.

"Social Sciences require students to engage in a culture of free inquiry and skepticism where participants can ask questions that challenge existing truths, engaging in a democratic exchange with other students and faculty," he said. "There is a give-and-take dynamic where students learn from each other and the professor learns from students."

Through the course and involvement in Soliya Connect, Dr. Cavell seeks to lay some scientific foundation into students' epistemological (theory of knowledge) perspectives. "Students will gain insight into what is involved in the search for evidence, what constitutes evidence, what constitutes agreement on truth, and what the facts are," he stated.