Fullbright recipient from NY visited SL

On April 3, 2009, Eric Lopez a Fullbright recipient from New York currently working in Budapest, Hungary, visited Sorrento Lingue. He gave a lecture/presentation on his research for a group of University students and faculty from Alfred State College and Hofstra Univ. He described his work in various parts of Hungary where he observed several Roma (popularly known as Gypsy) schools that have been influenced by Buddhism. One theory about the historical roots of the Roma people is that they originally migrated from India, the birth place of Buddhism. Because Buddhism directly connects the Roma people to their ancestral beginnings in India, it has played a critical role in the pedagogical philosophy of these schools. The educational challenges faced by Roma students are being addressed by several important European Union initiatives including the Decade of Roma Inclusion.

Eric grew up in the South Bronx and experienced firsthand the challenges of obtaining access to quality education. He has visited Sorrento Lingue several times before - first as an undergraduate student in the European Odyssey Program at Hofstra University and two years later as a peer teacher for that program.
Eric worked as paralegal and advocate at the Neighborhood Defender Service, a non-profit law firm representing indigent clients in the Harlem community. Eric's life and work embody the spirit that education is the gateway between ignorance and liberation.

Cristiana Panicco
SL Director