Laudato Si: Intertwining Education and Culture in Indigenous Ecologies
- Program focus: Indigenous peoples' ecologies, education, and culture
- When: January 8 - 16, 2027
- Program Fee: $2,600 (excluding flights)
- Additional costs*: Yellow Fever Vaccine (~ $500+), Tetanus Vaccine (~$200+), additional optional vaccines/medications
Inspired by Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ encyclical on the care of our common home, we will immerse ourselves in Quito, Ecuador, and the forestry in Yasuní National Park to explore the interconnection of Indigenous ecologies, education, and culture.
Together with the Pontifical University of Ecuador, the Yasuní Scientific Station community, and the Indigenous Waorani community, we will learn about critical perspectives on education as a factor of change, innovative ways of teaching children in Indigenous communities, and practices that protect our planet and its species.
Through participation in conferences, in-site visits, and hiking trails, we will have the opportunity to deeply reflect on how we are called to preserve our planet, and how different forms of education and culture can help to reach that mission.
* Please note that in order to participate in this immersion, participants must be vaccinated with the Yellow Fever (YF) vaccine and the Tetanus (Td or Tdap) vaccine. They are requirements to enter Yasuní National Park. These vaccines are not covered in the program fee. If you have already received the YF** or the Tetanus shot, and it is valid at the time of travel, you do not have to get a new one.
** The Td or Tdap vaccine is valid for 10 years (standard protection) and the YF vaccine is valid for life and becomes valid 10 days after vaccination.
For more information and support on how to acquire these vaccines, please visit Health Promotion Services on the UC 5th floor.