Arabic teacher, Adly Mirza, with students
In 2010, PAAC in partnership with OneWorld Now! (OWN) (a non-profit organization based out of Seattle, Washington), offered the first high school level Arabic language and leadership program in the state of Hawai’i. This program, OneWorld Now!-Hawai’i, is replicated after OWN!’s innovative model of language acquisition, leadership development, and study abroad opportunities in public high schools. It has provided a unique opportunity for Campbell High School students to develop their skills in this critical and rapidly growing language while concurrently cultivating their leadership abilities.
Students in this program dedicated two afternoons a week for language training with Professor Adly Mirza, who teaches Arabic at Hawai’i Pacific University (HPU) and University of Hawai’i at Manoa. They also met once a week with PAAC High School Director Natasha Schultz for leadership training. In April of 2011, the entire class traveled to Seattle, Washington and participated in OWN!’s Get Global student conference. Two students were also afforded the opportunity to travel to Doha, Qatar.
The program continued in the fall of 2011 at Campbell High School and a level II Arabic language class was added.
Campbell High School has been enthusiastic and supportive of this endeavor, which compliments their efforts as an International Baccalaureate School. OneWorld Now!-Hawai’i, is made possible by generous support from OWN! and Qatar Foundation International. For more information, please call 808-944-7759.
