Cross-cultural immersion through robotics
Ten Ndlambe teens participated in the One Teams, Two Continents (1T2C) cross-cultural robotics initiative recently. They teamed up with a US-based crew in a robotics showcase event at Stenden SA’s auditorium on Saturday, October 8.
1T2C is a collaborative project between Global Leading Light Initiatives (GLLI) Agape Werks and the Chicago Knights Robotics Team, in partnership with the US Embassy in SA, Goldin Institute and Rhodes University.
In the project, teens learn and apply robotics skills to co-create a solution to one or more community challenges.
The cross-cultural immersion One Team, Two Continents Team Ambassador programme opened on October 4 with a welcoming ceremony at Stenden University.
GLLI US team members and mentors were warmly welcomed by the local Nemato team and their parents, Stenden SA staff, as well as local community members.
Programme coordinator, Fatima Momoti, said to promote social inclusion and pluralism, the team was taken on an exciting cultural exploration of the area at Bathurst, Nemato and Kenton-on-Sea.
“Alongside the cultural exploration, the team was busy with their robotics bootcamp preparing for the upcoming showcase,” she said.
The inaugural One Team, Two Continent Ambassador Programme took place at Stenden from October 4 to 9 in partnership with the US Embassy in SA, Agape Werks Inc (US) and Goldin Institute (US).
During the week-long programme, the 1T2C members from Port Alfred and the GLLI team hosted fellow team members, mentors and parents from Chicago, in the US, in an exciting cross-cultural exchange.
Momoti said the programme sought to develop youth leaders from around Port Alfred and Chicago to apply the values of pluralism and social inclusion in developing robotics-based solutions to real-world challenges. When the visiting Chicago crew was in Port Alfred, members from both countries participated in a series of hands-on robotics training, team bonding, and cultural immersion activities.
In the robotics showcase event, the teens used human-centred design principles and proposed a solution to a challenge as part of a project team.
As part of the deliverables of the bootcamp, they co-created a few prototype robots which were showcased on Saturday.
The second leg of the cross-cultural exchange will be held in Chicago, in March 2023.
This will see teenagers from Port Alfred traveling to Chicago for one week, during which they will collaborate with their US peers as one team to compete in a global design challenge issued by FIRST Robotics.
❝ The programme seeks to develop youth leaders from around Port Alfred and Chicago
❝ The programme seeks to develop youth leaders from around Port Alfred and Chicago, Illinois, in the US, to apply the values of pluralism and social inclusion in developing robotics-based solutions to real-world challenges