Outreach: Afghanistan in the Classroom

Upstate New York has welcomed a significant number of Afghan families in recent years. This virtual workshop provides approaches and tools for elementary school educators to introduce Afghanistan into their curriculum and provide a nuanced view of the people and culture.

Participating educators will receive:

• an overview of Afghanistan’s history and current political situation
• activity ideas and materials exploring cultural themes like holidays, letters and numbers, language, food, clothing, etc.
• age-appropriate songs and stories addressing more complex issues like education, gender, politics, and religion

The workshop is facilitated by Akbar Quraishi and Amy Friers, alumni of Syracuse University’s public administration and international affairs program, who both have extensive experience in Afghanistan. Together, they founded an international relations-focused university in Kabul, in addition to working with the previous Afghan government and NGOs in Afghanistan.

This workshop is supported by the federally funded Cornell-Syracuse South Asia National Resource Center Consortium.

“Afghanistan in the Classroom” is specifically designed for elementary grades, though educators of all ages and subject areas are welcome to attend. There is no registration fee for this event.