Using Online Exchange to Promote Cultural Understanding and Global Health: The Syrian Crisis as a Case Study

Innovation Showcase
Diana Maddah,  Nael Alami  

In global health, collaborative efforts between local and international responders are not always without problems. The crisis in Syria provides an especially powerful case in point. International responders cannot work effectively without deep understanding and awareness of local cultures and contexts, while local responders typically lack the resources necessary to manage large-scale humanitarian interventions. To help address this need, the Modern University for Business and Science (MUBS), in collaboration with partners in the United States and Europe, is pioneering the design and implementation of a online educational exchange program addressing global health issues, in alignment with the UN agenda 2030. The program aims to boost the sense of humanity and mutual responsibility among both Lebanese and European students, using advanced yet affordable technologies, including videoconferencing, chat applications, shared documents, and online reality, designed around a challenging problem-based learning curriculum developed in close cooperation with partners at Stanford University in the U.S. and Cardiff Metropolitan University in the UK. Bridging geographical and cultural distances, professors share with the students their experiences in global emergency response, with the crisis in Syria serving as a case study. Students collaborated to produce assessments of a refugee site in the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon, benefiting from the use of Virtual Reality technologies to provide an immersive learning environment. Nowadays, values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination must be infused into the educational curriculum. Boosting exchange throughout international cooperation among higher education institutions is proving to be an innovative and efficient step towards peace and capacity building.