Win a Trip with Nicholas Kristof
In his New York Times column, Nicholas Kristof recently announced that he is taking applications for his fourth annual 2010 “win-a-trip” contest. As he has done for the past three years, Kristof will once again be taking a student with him “on a reporting trip to Africa to cover issues of global poverty—and their solutions.” Rather than learn about the world’s problems in a classroom, Kristof believes in experiential learning. He writes: “This contest reflects my conviction that the best way to open minds and hearts to the world’s challenges is to see them, hear them, smell them.” Past win-a-trip journeys have been to Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and the Central African Republic; Rwanda, Congo and Burundi; and, most recently, to West Africa. As for the fourth win-a-trip contest, Kristof calls for applicants to reach out to him on Twitter, Facebook, and his blog, to tell him where he and the winner should go and what issues they should cover.
- Why does Kristof hold this contest? What reasons does he give for taking a student with him on a reporting trip to Africa?
- Why is it important to be aware of global issues?
- Not everyone can go on a trip to witness global poverty first-hand. Are there ways to “open minds and hearts to the world’s challenges” without actually seeing them, hearing them, or smelling them? Can students be engaged, global citizens, without traveling the globe?
- What is journalism? In what ways have social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, and blogs, changed the nature of journalism?
- Aside from wanting the general public to weigh in on where he should go and what issues he should cover on this trip, why else might Kristof be asking people to write to him on Twitter, Facebook, and his blog?
