“My Dream Park” Art Exhibit Connects NYC & International Children

Sister City Program Treasurer and United Nations Consular Corps and Protocol Commissioner Marjorie Tiven joins student program
participants from St. John's Recreation Center

For the past eight months, 120 students from New York City Afterschool programs in seven City Computer Resource Centers have been communicating through the Internet with their peers in several international cities about creating the ideal park. On June 6, the Sister City Program celebrated their achievements by showcasing the New York students’ final projects and throwing a party for them at the Arsenal Gallery in Central Park.

The students from Parks & Recreation’s Computer Resource Centers met in person for the first time and saw the artistic visualizations of each other’s "dream parks," the theme of their web-based exchanges with students in Beijing, Budapest, Jerusalem, Madrid and Rome.

This program was developed by the Sister City Program of the City of New York, Inc. through its Internet-based Educational Exchange Program (IEEP) in partnership with Parks’ Computer Resource Centers. Sister Cities International recently recognized the work conducted by New York with the "2006 Sister Cities International Youth and Education Innovation Award." The award will be presented at the 50^th anniversary conference of Sister Cities International in Washington, DC in July.

"This is an example of how this Administration is using technology to bridge cultural divides," said Sister City Program Treasurer and United Nations Consular Corps and Protocol Commissioner Marjorie Tiven. "Students in New York posted messages on an online forum with other students around the world about each other’s urban parks. They learned about different cultures and lifestyles while becoming friends. It worked so well, we hope to expand the number of participating cities."

"It’s great that youth from the Parks Department Computer Resource Centers across the city who have met online can meet each other in person in Central Park," stated Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe. "They’ve learned about many things our parks can offer and are showing us some favorite features developed from parks around the world."

The projects were contributed by students ages 8 through 12, from St. John’s Recreation Center, Brownsville Recreation Center and Metropolitan Pool in Brooklyn, Pelham Fritz Recreation Center and Hansborough Recreation Center in Manhattan, Sorrentino Recreation Center in Queens and Hunts Point Recreation Center in the Bronx.

Through the Parks Department Computer Resource Centers, trained staff members encourage children’s natural affinity for technology and make learning and self-expression exciting. Through educational games, homework help, newsletter clubs, Internet scavenger hunts, and digital media projects, our Afterschool students gain a higher comfort level with technology while developing transferable academic, professional and social skills they need in life.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

 

"A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought.

There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor."

 

Victor Hugo

(1802 – 1885)

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