AfricaWrites: Heroes, Rituals & Legends

This AfricaWrites website takes viewers on a journey across the deepest interiors of the African continent to rediscover the mysteries, legends and wonder of the African world. Visit this site to learn about traditons including:

Tartit, a folkloric traditional event practiced by the Tuareg people involving swordsmanship, music, and stroytelling.

The Baa Botolon, a rite of passage ritual for boys who undergo circumcision.

http://www.africawrites.com/

Okinawan Dancers

This is a traditional fan dance performed for the royal court of Okinawa, Japan during the 17th and 18th centuries. Filmed by Ethnic Arts & Facts owner, Aaron Pedroni.

GlobalTribe Series- PBS

The GlobalTribe Series from PBS brings issues of poverty, health, environment, education, and culture to your television. Check your local PBS network listing for show times. The GlobalTribe website provides lessson plans and other resources that supplement the series and can also be used as stand-alone resources. Currently the website offers full lesson plans geared for high school students in PDF on Mexico, the Philippines, and South Africa.

http://www.pbs.org/kcet/globaltribe/classroom/index.html

Flying the Sankofa Bird

A webquest designed for high school students to learn about pre-colonial Africa. Through this project, students work in teams to determine how life and society has changed for the descendants of Africa.

http://webinstituteforteachers.org/~bdavis/webquest.html

Learn About the Abacus

A 600 year old counting device, the abacus is still used today in some Asian countries.

http://qi-journal.com/culture.asp?-token.SearchID=Abacus

Chinese and Japanese Abacus

http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/mathline/concepts/asia/activity1.shtm

Sacred Land Film Project

The Sacred Land Film Project's goal is to raise awareness about sacred places, indigenous cultures and environmental justice through a variety of media and educational materials. The project is seeking stories about sacred places around the world to include in a documentary film.

Multicultural Lesson Plans

This site provides lesson plans created by students of Gallaudet University (Washington DC) on the the following countries: Botswana, Costa Rica, Dominican republic, Philippines, Russia and Vietnam. Click here to get to this site.

AlROS Native Radio Network

Description from website:

AIROS - providing you with authentic Native American music, news, entertainment, interviews and discussions of the current issues in Indian Country and the world. AIROS is an international distributor of Native American programming through the Public Radio Satellite System.

Learn How To Write in Mandarin!

I needed a quick way to translate English words into Chinese - both phonetically and in written form. I searched online and came across the Mandarin Tools website. What an easy site to use. I was able to get the characters I wanted and learn the meaning behind the writing style as well. Some of the cool things this site provides include:
-Chinese Flashcards
-Chinese/English Dictionary (Pinyin, Cantonese, Mandarin)
-Reference Tools for Chinese Measurement, Chinese Chess, Abacus, and more!

Volunteering Overseas

A friend of mine used to work at this organization, Cross-Cultural Solutions. It is a non-profit organization that organizes 1-12 week trips to 10 countries around the world in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. The travellers commit to volunteer work with local people on important community-initiatives such as orphanages and childcare centers, schools, health clinics and hospitals, homes for the elderly, centers for people with disabilities, and more.

So, if you are planning to travel and want to do something to help others around the workd- check our Cross-Cultural Solutions.

The Official Kwanzaa Website

This is the official Kwanzaa website maintained by Kwanzaa founder, Dr. Maulana Karenga . Kwanzaa is an African American cultural holiday celebrated from December 26-January 1. Each day during this time focuses on Nguzo Saba - the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Based on the celebrations of the first harvest practiced in various African cultures, Kwanzaa celebrates African cultural identity and connectedness. The site covers the historical roots behind Kwanzaa, seven principles of Kwanzaa, symbols, celebrations, and more.