• December – World Neighbors in Honduras by Carlos Vijil and Bill Bracket
  
• November – Ambassadorial Exchange in Romania by Vanessa Hayward
  
• October – Indigenous Cultures and Environmental Sustainability in the Peruvian Amazon by Maury Albertson and George Stetson
  
• September – Japan by Klaus Lorenz
  
• August – Egypt - Mother of Nations by Hatem Alhadainy
  
• July – New Zealand - A land of Beauty and Contrast by Bob Thilmont
  
• June – Lao: Land of a Million Elephants by Lynette McGowan
  
• May – Reforestation in Central America by Stuart Conway and Patrick Flynn
  
• April – Tragedy and Isolation of Armenia - An Old Nation Seeks to Become a New Democracy by Ed Jakubauskas
  
• February - English Countryside and North Wales Hidden Treasures by Joe Parker
  
• January - Getting to Know Ecuador by Michelle Finchum
  

December – World Neighbors in Honduras

Join Carlos Vijil and Bill Bracket for a presentation on the work of World Neighbors in Honduras.  Carlos Villas is the head of World Neighbor’s program in Honduras and Bill Bracket is the former head of World Neighbors and still an active volunteer.

World Neighbors was Founded in 1951 and rooted in the tradition of neighbor helping neighbor, World Neighbors is a nonprofit, non-sectarian, self-help organization supported by private donations.  World Neighbors helps communities solve their own problems of hunger, poverty and disease.  Programs first began in India and were eventually established in more than 50 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.  World Neighbors programs have served more than 25 million people and have become a model for grassroots community self-help organizations worldwide. More information on World Neighbors can be found at www.wn.org

November – Ambassadorial Exchange in Romania

Join Vanessa Hayward for a slideshow presentation of what makes Romania unique: its people, nature & traditions!  She will discuss the time she spent in Romania on a Rotary ambassadorial exchange to Romania in June 2004.  They spent four weeks creating strong bonds, partnerships & doing service projects with Romanian Rotarians.

Vanessa Hayward's passions include international and experiential education, student development, art, music and the outdoors.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and French from the University of Pittsburgh.  She is a Student Financial Services Counselor at Colorado State University; her professional background includes student service positions at various institutes of higher education.  Vanessa studied in Montpellier, France, worked in Edinburgh, Scotland and recently traveled through Southeast Asia from Vietnam to Indonesia.

October – Indigenous Cultures and Environmental Sustainability in the Peruvian Amazon

Join Maury Albertson and George Stetson of Village Earth to explore the work of Village Earth around the world and particularly with the indigenous Shipibo people in the Peruvian Amazon.  They will discuss the link between indigenous people and preserving biodiversity in one of the most biologically import regions of the world

Dr. Albertson is a professor emeritus at CSU in the Civil Engineering Department.  He is the president and founder of Village Earth.  As co-founder of the Peace Corps, he has served as a consultant to the World Bank, the UNDP, AID, UNESCO, the Peace Corps and other agencies.  He has worked on projects and programs dealing with environmental engineering, water and sanitation, water resource development, on-farm water management, appropriate technology, village development, small industry development, and research and education.

George Stetson is a Ph.D. candidate at CSU in political science and the Latin American Project Coordinator of Village Earth.  His areas of expertise include sustainable development and Latin American Politics.

September – Japan

Join Klaus Lorenz for an hour or 2 to learn more  Japan, the economic powerhouse of Asia, is generally seen only as the dominant force in electronics, automobiles and heavy industry . We know relatively little of its history, culture ,architecture and arts. Images of ancient temples and of the Buddha are often overshadowed by those of crowded cities and masses of people .
Of course, there is so much more of Japan-- it is alpine villages in mountain regions , pastoral scenes ,picturesque fishing villages and relics of an imperial and feudal past.

We will explore the many worlds of Japan from bustling cities like Tokyo and Kyoto , the temples of Nara and the feudal remains of the warrior Samurai in Kanazawa as well as look at the people and their customs of this island nation.
Klaus is well know to those of you who regularly attend INL. He has traveled to over 70 countries and shared many of these adventures with us at the Library Program.

August – Egypt - Mother of Nations

Please join us in August for a two-part presentation on Egypt.  The first part concerns the ancient history of Egypt and the second part deals with the modern history.  There will also be discussions about landmark sites and culture of Egypt.

Our speaker, Dr. Hatem Alhadainy is an Assistant Professor, Collage of Dentistry, University of Tanta, Egypt.  He is currently doing postdoctoral work at CSU grad Department of Environmental Health.

July – New Zealand - A land of Beauty and Contrast

Join Bob Thilmont for an hour or 2 in July to learn more New Zealand, an island country in the South Pacific.  
Bob Thilmont has traveled to New Zealand extensively over the last few years as part of his business Mountain Global Inc., and his previous work with Cummins and Woodward Governor Company.  His international experience has provided a deep understanding for positioning and pricing products and services in global markets.

June – Lao - Land of a Million Elephants

Join Lynette McGowan for an hour or 2 to learn more about the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), a small landlocked country in the heart of Southeast Asia.  Take a journey along the mighty Mekong River - the 'Mother River'.  Become more aware of the lasting legacy of the war and the unexploded ordinance.  Years of obscurity have ended and Lao is slowly liberalizing its economy and improving ties with the non-communist world.  A breeze of change - nothing so strong as a wind disturbs the gentle Lao - is blowing through the Land of a Million Elephants.

Lynette worked in Lao as a Community Development Project Advisor, with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), which is a Quaker organization committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service.  Following on that experience, she worked with HelpAge International in Thailand, at their Asia-Pacific Regional Development Center in advocacy and development with poor older people and their communities.  Most recently she worked as a short-term consultant with various international non-governmental organizations in Uzbekistan and Central Asia.

Currently, she resides in Masonville with her husband and they have plans to build an adobe home.  She continues to work in service and advocacy with older adults and their families through the Larimer County Office on Aging as the Caregiver Support Coordinator.

Please note this month the presentation will be on the 3rd Tuesday 6/21 at the Main Library and the 47th Thursday 6/23 at the Harmony Library.

May – Reforestation in Central America

Join Stuart Conway and Patrick Flynn of Trees Water & People (TWP) this month as they discuss their grassroots work of reforestation with community groups and life-saving improved stoves that TWP is currently undertaking in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua.  TWP and our partners have planted more than 1 million trees and built more than 11,000 improved stoves over the last six years.

Stuart is the co-founder and International Director of TWP; a non-profit based in Fort Collins.  He received an E-chievement award in 2001 from E-town, a nationally renowned PBS radio program, for his tree planting and forest conservation efforts in Central America.

Mr. Flynn earned his BS from the Natural Resource College of Colorado State University in 1999.  Patrick eventually fulfilled his dream of living and working in Latin American when TWP offered him a new internship with their International Programs.  For over two years he lived in and worked with rural communities in both El Salvador and Guatemala on TWP stove and reforestation projects.

Trees, Water and People is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving people's lives by helping communities protect, conserve, and manage the natural resources upon which their long-term well-being depends.  TWP implements projects of tree planting, watershed protection, and fuel-efficient stoves in cooperation with local non-profit organizations in Central America.

April – Tragedy and Isolation of Armenia - An Old Nation Seeks to Become a New Democracy

Come join Ed Jakubauskas in April to discuss the effect of Armenia's breaking away from the Soviet Union, the historical effect of genocide, and its prospects for the future.  Get an up to date picture of changing developments in Armenia in the 21st century.
Ed has worked as an Executive Volunteer with the International Executive Corps on three occasions over the last few years in Armenia.  This has included consulting work with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) throughout the country.  Prior to retiring Dr Jakubauskas taught economics and public administration around the world.  He has worked as a consultant in numerous countries including Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Brazil, and Armenia.

Currently he resides in Colorado with his wife Ruth.  They have four children and six grandsons, and in 2005 are awaiting the arrival of three granddaughters.  Leisure time is devoted to the family and in traveling worldwide.

February - English Countryside and North Wales Hidden Treasures

Most visitors to the U.K. never discover the interesting sites, sounds and tastes of the English countryside.  This slide show presentation takes you through London and some beautiful English countryside and villages.
Joe Parker visits England on a regular basis leading tours.  His love of travel on the continent has lead him to open his own touring company that organizes trips around Europe and England.

Most visitors to the U.K. never discover the beauty of Wales.  This slide show presentation takes you off the tourist track and into the villages and forests of North Wale's Snowdonia region.

Laurence Budd visits North Wales and England on a regular basis, thanks to a trip as a Rotary GSE ambassador.  A former professional photographer,  He now resides in Fort Collins working in irrigation and water conservation.

January - Getting to Know Ecuador

Michelle lived in Galapagos, Ecuador as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  Working with the Charles Darwin Research Station in San Cristobal Island, she managed an environmental education center for the local community.  She was also able to travel throughout Ecuador during her 2.5 years there.  

You cannot summarize Ecuador in one word – it’s a varied country that includes tropical Amazon, high Andes Mountains, cloud forests, coastal areas and the Galapagos Islands.  Join Michelle Finchum on a virtual tour of this fascinating and diverse country while she shares her experiences of living and traveling there.  Special emphasis will be on the communities living on the Galapagos Islands.