Are you an international educator? Do you seek to teach or study abroad to strengthen both your skills and your knowledge on how to be a more efficient and effective international educator? The NAFSA (Association of International Educators) 2010 Annual Conference & Expo, in Kansas City, Missouri, is the place for you to explore the changing landscape of global higher education. The conference looks to host some 7,5000 international educators from across the globe,to share their views on the globalization of higher education and establish good practices for mainstreaming international education on campuses worldwide.
Photo: NAFSA
The conference boast such renowned speakers as author Salman Rushdie, activist and Times columnist Nicolas Kristof and Nathaniel Kwabo. While Rushdie and Kristof often need no introduction, the speaker that had me excited the most was, Nathaniel Kwabo. Kwabo is a respected voice for peaceful conflict resolution and the defense of human rights in Liberia. From 2007-2010, he served as executive secretary of the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which provided a forum for victims and perpetrators of atrocities committed over nearly 25 years of civil strife to voice their experiences and contribute to national peace-building efforts. Kwabo is also the founder of Liberia Democracy Watch, and his impact to children’s rights was heavily felt during his role as as special assistant to Liberia’s minister of labor. Over a decade he worked tirelessly to repeal labor laws inconsistent with international labor conventions, as well as the ratification of the convention on the elimination of child labor.
The conference is a great opportunity not only for educators, but those who advocate for gender equality and peace building, as education is the cornerstone for our global advancement and peace.
NAFSA also publishes a bi-monthly magazine, International Educator, see this weeks cover story, Feeding Mouths and Minds.