New Fellow Orientation 2014: Not All Fun and Games. Really.

New Fellow Orientation 2014, Cologne, Germany, March 6 - 9, 2014



Every year, we bring together the newest Fellows to join the Melton Foundation for their first in-person, face-to-face meeting. 

This year, 18 Fellows met, exchanged views, learned about Global Citizenship concepts and realities based on each other's life experiences, and in essence, underwent an extensive orientation program in the city of Köln (Cologne) in Germany.

The 2014 edition of the New Fellows Orientation started out with “What I bring from my country” – with each New Fellow sharing a souvenir from his/her country. The first day was peppered with various activities ranging from the official (discussion of Melton Foundation guidelines, programs and structure) to the relaxed (a painting workshop by May Garces) to the cultural (a trip to world of culture and communication with Barbara Nietzel as the guide). 

Some of the other important sessions were on Idea and Project Development, Project Teams, and Global Citizenship. Meeta Gangrade introduced the topic of idea and project development while Marleen Haupt and Mareike Dietz spoke in detail about the Project Teams – what does it mean to be a project team member?, how to join an existing team and how to create a new one, aspects of coordination and communication in a given project team, etc. Markus Lang and May Garces spoke about Global Citizenship and what it entails. They delineated ideas of privilege and marginalization, inviting the participants to reflect on the status of their own countries and then the world at large.

Finally, the New Fellows went on an adventure trip around Köln with a specific list of tasks like figuring out the history behind the name of the famous bridge with the thousand locks and understanding the significance of certain traditional practices in the city.

Check out the pictures to see what else they did - and whether it was indeed all fun and game! And see more on our Facebook page.