South Africa – Alive with Possibilities!
A Business and Cultural Exploration
2010 Exploration Seminar in South Africa

Program Director: Emer Dooley and Tod Bergstrom ~ Business
Dates of Instruction: August 24 - September 20, 2010

See the current Agenda for Company and Cultural Visits in South Africa

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This Exploration Seminar will be traveling to South Africa and Swaziland, depending on availability of business visits.  South Africa will surprise students with its modern cities and beautiful coastlines, while observing its miles upon miles of poor communities located right next door. Students will have the opportunity to get to know this wonderful and friendly country and understand its challenges and opportunities on the world economic and cultural stage.  

South Africa is a country that is “alive with possibilities” and a place where you can “see all the world in one country”. This is a unique opportunity to learn about such a diverse country. South Africa is:

1. A nation transforming itself after the years of apartheid into a “multi-racial democracy”.
2. Experiencing the challenges of severe differences in income (13% are living in “first world conditions” while almost 50% live in “third world conditions”).
3. Facing the opportunities and challenges of the globalization forces at work.
4. Where English is a dominate language creating opportunities for students to “mingle” with the locals.

This Seminar will focus on three areas:

1. South Africa a business location with a special emphasis on entrepreneurship.
2. Understanding the cultural issues of a country recovering from years of apartheid.
3. The business and social issues facing emerging nations, which will allow students to experience the issues first hand and allow them to relate their experiences to the issues facing other developing nations.

The 2010 Africa Seminar will provide the students with a variety of experiences including:

1. Interactive discussions and tours with 12 different businesses or organizations. A high emphasis will be placed on creating opportunities for students to interact with others to gain a personal understanding of the culture, business practices, challenges and opportunities.
2. A service-learning project to build community and contribute to this beautiful country.
3. Several stays within the Black Townships such as Soweto.
4. An exploration of Africa’s rich wildlife with a multiple day trip to a world renowned National park where students will have an opportunity to see the “Big 5” in the wild – elephants, lions, buffalo, leopards and rhinos.
5. Multiple free days where students can explore areas on their own including other wildlife adventures, shopping, exploring and interacting with the people of this beautiful country.

We will be visiting 3-4 locations during our 20-day stay – Johannesburg/Pretoria, Cape Town and Swaziland.  We will have several days of classroom time before departing so that we have a common understanding of the country, business concepts and cultural expectations.

Our Exploration Seminar will seek to:

• Provide a rich cultural experience so that students are better prepared to understand the forces shaping the world that they will live and work in over their careers and lives.
• Acquire an understanding of the challenges and opportunities of global business.
• Serve as vehicle for developing an understanding of the business climate in Africa and to extrapolate the learning to better understand the issues facing developing countries.
• Learn about Corporate Social Responsibility.
• Learn about global culture and business etiquette.
• Inspire intellectual curiosity regarding developing countries and globalization issues.

This exploration Seminar is open to all undergraduate students at the University of Washington’s various campuses.  It should be of particular interest to students interested in business, international studies and various social science areas. Please contact Emer Dooley at emer@uw.edu or Tod Bergstrom at tod2@u.washington.edu , both faculty members in the UW Foster School of Business.

Participants will receive 5 credits in Business (BA 300 or MGMT 490). Participants should check with their academic advisors to determine how these credits may apply to major requirements.