JFK at the Union: The Impromptu Campaign Speech that Launched the Peace Corps
Well after midnight on October 14, 1960, presidential candidate John F. Kennedy arrived at the steps of the Michigan Union. Origin story: The Peace Corps begins here.
By James Tobin
Making Our Mark
President’s Letter: 2020 has been a year unlike any other. Now is a time to commit to building a legacy of inclusive peace.
By Glenn Blumhorst
What Guides Us?
Equality and justice. Empathy and compassion. Join National Peace Corps Association and support work guided by Peace Corps values.
From the editor: This Time
Peace Corps teaches us a new way to think about time. Pandemic does, too. So what do we do with this?
By Steven Boyd Saum
Eight town halls and a global ideas summit to reimagine the Peace Corps for a changed world. What are the big ideas for the agency, the National Peace Corps Association, and the Peace Corps community going forward?
Views from around the world — and from returned Volunteers across the country who have served over the decades. An overview of the summit and town halls. And answers to how we connect Peace Corps to the uncertain future we’re making.
Introduction by Glenn Blumhorst
Peace Corps in a Post-COVID World
The view from Nepal: Returned Volunteers can instill a sense of a more enlightened America as part of, not apart from, a more just, peaceful, and prosperous world. Remarks from a diplomat, public policy expert, peace advocate, and former Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF.
By Kul Chandra Gautam
A Time to Reflect
The view from Guatemala: Think both of privileges Volunteers have and the ties that bind us — in history and humanity. Remarks from a film director and producer whose work helps audiences better understand people on the margins.
By Luis Argueta
Empower People
The view from Kenya: We have learned from one another. And we need to learn to live with one another, respect one another, and work together. Remarks from a volunteer, philanthropist, humanitarian, and governor of the Red Cross in Kenya.
By Dr. Mohamud Sheikh Nurein Said
Peace Corps Today
Go back humble. And go back better. Address by the Director of the Peace Corps to the July 2020 global ideas summit: Peace Corps Connect to the Future
By Jody Olsen
From Ideas to Action: Reimagining a Peace Corps for the Future
A panel of evacuated Volunteers and one with half a century of experience in leadership examine what Peace Corps has meant to them — and what needs to change. The big question: How can we transform this moment?
Features
African Americans and the Future of the Peace Corps
Recruitment, support — and what next? It’s a conversation we’ve had again and again. Here are some ideas, insights, and hard truths. The Constituency for Africa convened a group of past, present, and future Peace Corps leaders.
The West is Burning
The fire season was horrific. A wildland firefighter recounts what it was like to be on the line — in this, his first year.
By Colin McLaren as told to Steven Boyd Saum
Hide Not Your Sorrow
A phone call and a lesson from Niger in the time of COVID
By William F.S. Miles
COVID-19: Putting a Face on the ‘Invisible Enemy’
From her lab in western Montana, Elizabeth Fischer tries to help people see what they’re up against with SARS-CoV-2. Fischer is one of the country’s leading electron microscopists.
Images by Elizabeth Fischer | Words by Markian Hawryluk
Departments
Mark Your Calendar: Peace Corps 60th Anniversary Celebrations
At 2 a.m. on October 14 the Peace Corps community kicked off 60th anniversary celebrations. Put these dates on your calendar for 2021, including Peace Corps Connect July 29–31 at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and online.
Peace Corps Viet Nam: Launching in 2022
The first cohort of Volunteers is set to arrive in Viet Nam in mid-2022.
First Volunteers return to service in January 2021
The Eastern Caribbean will be the first to welcome back Volunteers.
Design for Peace Corps Commemorative approved
U.S. Commission on Fine Arts gives the green light. The commemorative will symbolize Peace Corps ideals, and it will have a home near the National Mall and the U.S. Capitol.
A First for Puerto Rico
Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in San Juan has become the first Puerto Rican college to be part of the Peace Corps Prep program for undergraduate students.
Virtual Volunteering
Is it an idea whose time has come?
$120 Million for Historically Black Colleges and Universities
“This is the time to do something bigger.” Netflix Founder and RPCV Reed Hastings and wife Patty Quillin announced this summer that they were giving $120 million to Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
10,000 Meals: World Central Kitchen and Hurricane Laura
All in a dayy’s work for returned Volunteers Daniella DeLaRue and Ackeem Evans. A snapshot from Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura, helping feed refugees and first responders.
Three Partnerships to Bolster Voting, Democracy, and Service
At a time of great turmoil in our nation, NPCA has been working with with nonpartisan groups to foster free and fair elections, to encourage discussion and understanding across political divides, and to underscore the importance of national service.
Story Slammers Wanted
In its ninth season, the story slam hosted by the New York City Peace Corps Association goes virtual. On deck for November 19: “Global Reentry: Evacuation Stories.”
Peace Corps News: Q&A with Senior Advisor Darlene Grant
Each Generation Must Do Its Part
Veteran social worker, scholar, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, and Peace Corps Country Director: Darlene Grant on her task to help shape “a more just and equitable Peace Corps.”
NPCA News: Leaders in Humanitarian Work and Community Service
Announcing the 2020 Winner of the Sargent Shriver Award for Distinguished Humanitarian Service: Matthew Paneitz
For nearly two decades he has partnered with Guatemalans to address injustices against indigenous peoples.
Meet the 2020 winners of the Loret Miller Ruppe Award: Friends of Korea and Friends of Tonga
Recognizing contributions to community service by two groups founded by Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
Advocacy: Virtual District Meetings
Working for a Peace Corps to Which I Can Return
When I was evacuated from serving with Peace Corps Mongolia, I didn't expect to wind up organizing meetings with my members of Congress. But this is our time.
By Daniel Lang
NPCA Affiliate Groups
Gratitude to the groups and individuals who have supported evacuated Volunteers and their communities around the world during this time of crisis
You have sustained connections and hope in an unprecedented time.
In Memoriam
Man of Peace
A Remembrance of John Lewis
By Jonathan Pearson
Joseph Blatchford
Third director of the Peace Corps, he led the agency through tumultuous times.
By Steven Boyd Saum
Sorrow and Gratitude
A Portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg — including through the eyes of her nephew Daniel Stiepleman, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer and author of the screenplay “On the Basis of Sex.”
By Steven Boyd Saum
Walter C. Carrington
Early Country Director for Peace Corps, diplomat, and lifelong champion for civil rights
By Jonathan Pearson
Letters Fall 2020: WorldView Readers Write
Unprecedented Times
We set aside the standard magazine playbook for our summer edition so we could capture dozens of stories from the global evacuation of Peace Corps Volunteers in March. We’re happy to bring back your comments — to continue the conversation. Letters welcome here: worldview@peacecorpsconnect.org.
One more thing.
Where we’re going.
We’ve got some learning and some work to do. That’s true for the Peace Corps community. For this nation. For this planet. Support Volunteers back in the states and in their ongoing work around the globe.
About WorldView
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Current edition: Fall 2020
Previous edition: Summer 2020. Read it here.
Submission Guidelines
We welcome pitches and, on rare occasions, completed pieces. What are we looking for? Stories that speak to the Peace Corps community. That might be focused on work connected to Peace Corps, returned Volunteers, communities and countries where Volunteers have served, connections to experiences and work in the U.S. and globally. We’re interested in ideas and impact and stories that connect with readers on a human level.
About the Editor
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What Our Readers Are Saying
“I would like to thank you for all of the amazing work you put into WorldView magazine. Reading it gives me a great feeling of solidarity with other Volunteers and RPCVs around the world and always serves to remind me that I’m part of something very special, and something that is much bigger than I am.”
— Anna Waterfield (Tanzania 2012-2014)
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“I have read WorldView for years now and it was FABULOUS to get at post. It’s important to know someone, somewhere out there is doing what you are doing, with a twist, and that’s what keeps volunteers serving and communities asking for more….this publication really does make a difference.”
— Rachael Miller (Benin 2006-2008)
