Ambassador Charles Stith visits Winchendon

On Thursday Ambassador Charles Stith brought his decades of experience of working with many African leaders to Winchendon. Ambassador Stith, who currently directs a program at Boston University bringing the works of African heads of state together, was at Winchendon as part of our Global Dynamics course.

Ambassador Charles Stith began his career as a minister in Boston and quickly migrated into first local civil rights issues and then international issues. In 1994, Ambassador Stith went to South Africa as an official observer for the landmark democratic elections in that country. This is an event that we have referenced several times this fall. Then in 1998, he was named Ambassador to Tanzania, and had the daunting responsibility of rebuilding both the recently bombed embassy and frayed relations between Tanzania and the U.S. Since completing his duties in Tanzania, Ambassador Stith has worked with many different heads of states in numerous African countries.

The Ambassador shared the story with us of how he had first developed his interest in and connection with Africa. As a young man, Stith had the opportunity to go to Africa on a mission to build churches. He was somewhat reluctant to leave the comforts of home, but his mother was relentless in her encouragement for him to go. She hounded him until he gave in! The Ambassador's recounting of this experience with his mother and his final decision to go to Africa to as much to get her off his back as for his own interest made me smile. He shared how the trip changed his life and has created many opportunities over the years. I am always pushing our students to take advantage of the many opportunities that they have to immerse themselves in other cultures but am often frustrated. Perhaps I just need to nag more?!!

The Ambassador's visit wound up being perfectly timed both because in Global Dynamics many of us been spending time looking at the impacts of the colonialism as well as looking for the positive trends and momentum. Stith shared his experiences in a number of countries and some of the very positive progress he sees in different areas. He ended his time with us by fielding a variety of questions from students that ranged from his challenges in his role as Ambassador to the impact of the upcoming World Cup on South Africa to whether current economic support from non-African countries represent a new form of colonialism. There were numerous questions, and I think that Ambassador Stith could have kept us captivated through the afternoon if he hadn't another commitment.

So again, I offer a big "Thank you" to Ambassador Stith for being with us, to the students for some great questions and to one of our parents whose support and connections made this wonderful morning possible. The general enthusiasm about the whole event has me looking forward to the next Global Dynamics event.