WASHINGTON, DC (Aug. 21, 2007) -- A special report, released in Glimpse Quarterly's Fall 2007 issue, evaluates the global state of race relations in the 21st century, as understood by American study abroad students.

The report offers anecdotes from study abroad students that relate experiences and observations on wide-ranging issues--from Kosovoan immigrants in Switzerland, to gypsies in Chile, to indigenous populations in Bolivia, to Dega hilltribes in Viet Nam.

As part of the report, the Glimpse Foundation also surveyed 50 American students of color who had lived abroad, with compelling results. While 58 percent agreed or strongly agreed that their host country's treatment of racial issues was markedly different from that in the United States, 68 percent encountered less or the same amount of racism abroad than they do in the United States.

In some countries, students say, race relations are a taboo subject, whereas in other countries, the topic is discussed openly with less concern for "political correctness" than one typically encounters in the United States. Says Brown University student Grace Sur, "in the United Kingdom any mention of racial tension or reference to racial issues is avoided. Most people have never talked about race before." On the other end of the spectrum, Georgia State University Austin Branion says, "People in Jordan are very much inclined to identify people, even those they don't know, by the color of their skin."

Despite this range of experiences, the report reveals three common phenomena that have impacted race relations worldwide: colonization, slavery and immigration. "We in the United States typically think about racism only in the context of our own melting pot history," says Glimpse Quarterly's Editor in Chief, Kerala Goodkin. "It's instructive to take a step back and look at how other countries have dealt with, and are dealing with, changing demographics."

In addition to this exclusive report, the Fall 2007 issue of Glimpse Quarterly features a special spotlight section on Thailand, as well as the results of Glimpse's Spring 2007 photo contest, "Market Day."

Glimpse Quarterly is published by the 501(c)3 Glimpse Foundation, which works in partnership with National Geographic to foster cross-cultural understanding and exchange, particularly between the United States and the rest of the world, by providing forums for sharing the experiences of young adults living and studying abroad. Primarily distributed through colleges and universities across the country, the magazine has a current circulation of 10,000 with a projected readership of 15,000. It is also available in bookstores nationwide.

Click here for a PDF version of the report.

Review copies of Glimpse Quarterly Fall 2007 available upon request.

For more information, please contact:
Kerala Goodkin
Editor in Chief
editor@glimpsefoundation.org
Tel: (800) 549-4802 ext. 703