UW-Madison and University of Cape Town students find vision and friendship at first cross-cultural LeaderShape

For three weeks in January 2008, 30 University of Wisconsin-Madison engineering students explored the city and met the people of Cape Town, South Africa. And during the 2008 LeaderShape Institute, held on the University of Cape Town (UCT) campus, they learned to change the world one goal at a time.

The Wisconsin students were paired with 22 UCT students and stayed on the UCT campus. Though UW-Madison has hosted LeaderShape for more than a decade, this is the first time the program has been held in Africa, and it’s the first time American students have gone overseas to participate.

I wrote the following articles while in Cape Town, sending them to my editors whenever I could find an Internet cafe. For an article that provides an overview of the entire trip, click here.

View selected photos from the trip here. 

• Post 1—
  UW-Madison engineering students
  arrive in Africa.
  Posted Jan. 3, 2008.
• Post 2—
  From the mountain to the sea,
  LeaderShape is off to a busy start.
  Posted Jan. 8, 2008.
• Post 3—
  Table Mountain:
  A physically challenging,
  naturally rewarding climb
  Posted Jan. 11, 2008.
• Post 4—
  Haggles and history:
  in downtown Cape Town
  Posted Jan. 11, 2008.
• Post 5—
  Up close and personal
  with African wildlife
  on the Cape Peninsula
  Posted Jan. 14, 2008.
• Post 6—
  Early days of LeaderShape
  are about similarity
  more than difference
  Posted Jan. 18, 2008.
• Post 7—
  Cape Town session will help
  LeaderShape program expand
  Posted Jan. 18, 2008.
• Post 8—
  Vision meets reality
  at Cape Town leadership panel
  Posted Jan. 18, 2008.
• Post 9—
  LeaderShape travelers
  labor and learn
  in Cape Town communities
  Posted Jan. 23, 2008.