Coffee Culture: Connecting Intercultural Competence and Environmental Sustainability in the U.S. and Costa Rica

Widener University, Pennsylvania, United States
Strategic Partner: Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, Costa Rica

Coffee Culture: Connecting Intercultural Competence and Environmental Sustainability in the U.S. and Costa Rica

Widener University (Widener) and Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica (UNA), who first developed their focus on coffee production independently, will combine their efforts to create a collaborative, cross-cultural partnership that takes an experiential, service-learning approach to exploring how the agricultural and sociocultural aspects of coffee affect sustainability. The partnering institutions seek to build a sustainable academic exchange program to enhance students’ global awareness, environmental awareness, intercultural competence, consciousness and sense of social responsibility. While in the respective host country, students will attend lectures and participate in service-learning projects with coffee producers, NGOs, and cooperatives.