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This summer, 20 students from the Boston College School of Social Work and the聽聽(UC) convened in Santiago, Chile for a novel course on community development.

Community Development for Innovation: The Chilean Contextfocused on deepening its students鈥� understandings of the tools and strategies needed to effectively launch innovative practices within various aspects of program development. And by doing this work against the backdrop of the current social innovation environment in Chile, students also learned to implement culturally relevant contextual analysis into the task of mobilizing community members to innovate.

鈥淭he trip to Chile exceeded expectations,鈥� said聽Stephanie Berzin, Co-Director for the Center for Social Innovation at BCSSW, and the lead professor on the course. 鈥淥ur students shined as they connected to the culture, collaborated with the PUC students, and worked to help change the lives of youth in the city through field work and consultation with local agencies.鈥�

鈥淭his course is really about integrating two cultures and their differing points of view towards finding a solution to a complex problem,鈥� added Chabeli Nadal, Assistant Director of the International Doctoral Program, who co-taught the course. 鈥淚t鈥檚 designed to push the students to explore their own beliefs, biases, and culture in order to better understand new communities. The hope is that, in the end, this will help to build budding social workers who are better equipped to serve our increasingly diverse societies.鈥�

The specific project taken on by the team from BCSSW and UC centered around the growing population of聽NiNis聽in Chile鈥檚 capital city, a term that refers to young Chileans in Santiago who are neither pursuing opportunities in higher education, nor at work (ni estudia, ni trabaja聽in Spanish). Local agencies worked directly with the BC and UC cohort, including: the Fundaci贸n San Carlos de Maipo, Liceo 110 Jos茅 Mar铆a Caro, Centro Yunus, Crea Equidad, and Corporaci贸n Moviliza. The group was tasked with three major assignments: to learn who the听狈颈狈颈蝉听are, figure out ways to locate them, and then develop potential interventions to help them to make positive decisions about their futures. The group is in the process of filing a final report with recommendations. A couple of the recommendations that will be addressed in more detail include:

• Vis-脿-vis learning who the聽NiNis聽are and locating them: Hire community organizers to enter prisons, plazas, and skateparks to build relationships with聽NiNis.
• With regards to intervention: Change the support system for teachers and administrators, to better engage youth and gain their participation in the聽, through more focused intervention.

While the project itself was eye-opening, students from both Santiago and Boston said that perhaps the most enlightening moments during class took place through conversations with their colleagues from the other side of the Equator.

鈥淥ne of the most enriching aspects of the course was that we were able to learn how social work functions in Chile, within the midst of an existing organization,鈥� said rising 2nd聽year Boston College MSW student Bridget Miller. 鈥淚t was eye-opening to see how the field aligns with, and differs from, what we experience here in the United States.鈥�

鈥淚 believe the experience of working with the BC students was profoundly enriching for me, it helped me to see things from a different perspective,鈥� added UC student Danae Fuenes Calderon. 鈥淚 believe that in contrast to Chileans, they were able to focus on finding solutions when we see ourselves as being overwhelmed by the problem.

鈥淚 believe the most important lesson from this experience is that we should always look farther than the barriers which we make for ourselves, there are always solutions, there is always hope, we only need to open our eyes a little.鈥�