Call for proposals- 2017 Study abroad conferences in US (NAFSA, Forum and Diversity Abroad)

Please forward this information to your Study Abroad office.

Specific information about each conference is included below. If you are interested in co-presenting a session with the British Council, please contact Jenna Hartsell at jenna.hartsell@britishcouncil.org.

NAFSA 2017 Annual Conference & Expo, 28 May- 2 June 2017
Los Angeles, CA

The conference comprises hundreds of posters, sessions, and workshops, unlimited networking opportunities, and a world-class expo hall. Conference sessions should adhere to the conference theme, which is Expanding Community, Strengthening Connections. The event will be held in Los Angeles, California from 28 May- 2 June 2017.

The 2017 Annual Conference Committee (ACC) is seeking proposals that reflect the best thinking in the field, informed by theory, research, and practice and cognizant of issues of diversity and inclusion.

Highlighted topics may include:
o How economic and political events around the world impact student mobility
o Innovative ways to support student welfare and well being
o Worldwide trends in higher education and internationalization
o Cultural and human diversity in international education
o Uses of technology and how it is facilitating global networks and partnerships
o Management issues in international education

NAFSA: Association of International Educators is the world's largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education and exchange. NAFSA's 10,000 members are located at more than 3,500 institutions worldwide, in over 150 countries.

Forum on Education Abroad’s 13th Annual Conference, 29-31 March 2017
Seattle, Washington

The Forum’s Thirteenth Annual Conference focuses on the student’s education abroad experience. Conference sessions should adhere to the conference theme, which is Creating and Sustaining the Education Abroad Continuum. The event will be held in Seattle, Washington from 29-31 March 2017.

Preference will be given to proposals showcasing diverse voices and perspectives crossing multiple institutions, organizations, and programs.

Topics and areas of interest include:
Connecting the International and Domestic: the Global-Local Continuum
• What are the boundaries of the education abroad experience?
• How far is far? What connections can be made between education abroad and students’ local communities in the U.S.?
• How do students understand the cultures in which they study as their own local communities?
• How is, for example, service learning at home understood in a global context? How is service abroad understood in terms of local community needs?

Ethics, Awareness, and Responsibility
• Access: what tactics can lower barriers to access, whether financial, curricular, or other?
• Equity: how can we meet the varying needs of individual students?
• Inclusive Excellence: how can we link diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to academic excellence abroad?
• Stewardship: how do programs responsibly allocate resources at home and abroad?
• Reciprocity: how do students engage with hosts in respectful and mutually beneficial ways?
• Sustainability: how do we ensure that programs are responsibly sustainable?

Building the Continuum through Collaborations:
• Informing, engaging and involving collaborators across campuses or organizations in all stages of program development.
• Creating continuity in collaborations with partners, affiliates, and host sites.

Quality Assessment, Improvement, and Assurance
• How do the Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad inform the creation of the education abroad continuum?
• Strategies for continuous assessment and improvement of education abroad.

Continuity from the Student Perspective
• Making education abroad as affordable as possible for students.
• Integrating education abroad coursework into the home curriculum.
• Career Development.
• Intercultural awareness, sensitivity, and competence.

Internationalizing the Campus
• Engaging returnees as ambassadors.
• Creating links between education abroad participants and the campus international student community before, during, and after the education abroad experience.

The Technology Continuum
• Managing the constant connection to home via technology.
• Leveraging available technology to construct connections to the host community before, during, and after the education abroad experience.

The Forum on Education Abroad is a membership association recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission as the Standards Development Organization (SDO) for the field of education abroad.

2017 Diversity Abroad Conference, 19-22 March 2017
Minneapolis, Minnesota

The 2017 Diversity Abroad Conference will take place on March 19 - 22, 2017, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The program will consist primarily of presentations selected through this open call for submissions. In addition, there will be invited speakers and symposia, think tank sessions, and panel discussions. Conference sessions should adhere to the conference theme, which is Embracing the Future of Global Education.

Current proposal tracks include:
• Student Support & Advising
Access has long been a topic of discussion in international education as professionals determine how to attract more diverse student populations to international opportunities. While this is important, it is increasingly critical to develop inclusive practices in advising, serving, and supporting students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds as their participation in international activities increases.

• Program & Funding Models
Both funding and program development are important to consider as we identify best practices for increasing access and inclusion in global education. Funding is often cited as one of the key challenges students of all backgrounds face to participating in study abroad programming. Furthermore, programs with curricular and co-curricular activities of relevance to students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds will be more attractive to students from these backgrounds. What innovative approaches to funding can be employed to provide greater access to global education opportunities? How can we re-imagine program development to encourage students from a broad range of backgrounds to participate?

• Strategic Leadership and Collaboration
Education abroad offices and organizations benefit from formalizing current diversity and inclusion efforts into a cohesive plan to broaden access and engender inclusion in international education. This track will examine the process and components of engaging multiple institutional stakeholders to develop a diversity and inclusion strategy. How do we develop a comprehensive strategy that includes diversity and inclusion goals?

• Outreach, Marketing, & Recruitment
When recruiting, marketing, and conducting outreach to students in various forms, it is important to consider how these methods relate to students of diverse backgrounds. These students may sometimes have interests/concerns that are not clearly satisfied through existing efforts.

• International Student Programming
In recent years, we’ve seen the number of international students rise on many college campuses around the country. Many college campuses, however, have been criticized for their lack of support in creating a welcoming climate for these students. Furthermore, many international students may spend years in this country without interacting with or developing an understanding of the many diverse communities that exist in the United States. How do we better support this cohort and recognize and address their specific concerns?

• High School Students
As we consider systemic approaches to ensure access and support for diverse and underrepresented student populations in education abroad, it is necessary to include conversations around global education as early as possible in a student’s academic career. With this in mind, how can educators ensure that students are exposed to global education opportunities throughout the K-12 “pipeline”?

• Open
Diversity Abroad welcomes submissions that address a wide range of topics related to the conference theme. While some sessions that do not specifically pertain to the tracks will be incorporated into the program, submissions that directly address these themes are highly encouraged.

Please note: The terms "diversity" and "underrepresentation" are defined broadly to include students from a broad range of backgrounds, including -- but not limited to -- the following student populations: Ethnically/Racially Diverse, First Generation College, High Financial Need, LGBTQI+, Religious Diversity, Students with Disabilities, Men, Athletes, and STEM students.

Diversity Abroad is the leading international organization which connects diverse students, recent graduates and young professionals with international study, intern, teach, volunteer, degree and job opportunities.

NAFSA

Deadline for submission (sessions and workshops): 8 August 2016
Deadline for submission (posters):12 December 2016

For more information, and for a proposal guide, visit:
http://www.nafsa.org/Attend_Events/Annual_Conference/Call_For_Proposals…

To submit a NAFSA session, visit http://www.nafsa.org/Attend_Events/Annual_Conference/Call_For_Proposals/

Forum on Education Abroad

Deadline for submission: Friday. 19 August 2016

For more information, and session proposal tips and suggestions, visit https://forumea.org/training-events/annual-conference/call-for-proposal…

To submit a Forum proposal, visit https://forumea.org/session-and-workshop-proposals-2/

Diversity Abroad

Deadline for submission: Friday, 26 August 26 2016 at 11:59 PM PST

For more information and session guidelines, visit http://conference.diversitynetwork.org/call-for-proposals/