Pictured above: Carolyn Rehn (left) and Tara Hofmann (right) speak during a session on the Innovation Stage at the AFS Global Conference 2019 in Montreal, QC.
October 14, 2019—AFS-USA President & CEO Tara Hofmann and several key members of the organization’s leadership attended the AFS Global Conference 2019 last week, where they served as featured speakers, panelists and workshop leaders.
The conference was organized by AFS Intercultural Programs, a nonprofit organization with a focus on developing active global citizens through intercultural learning opportunities. AFS has a network of more than 50 partner organizations worldwide, of which AFS-USA is the oldest and largest member. This year, AFS International and AFS Canada presented the network’s annual conference on October 9-11, 2019 in Montreal, QC, Canada, with a theme of “Active Global Citizenship—And How to Educate for It.”
The conference attracted representatives from several spheres in education, including K-12, higher education, and study abroad. During its three days, speakers presented panels and workshops on intercultural learning best practices, trends and challenges. Topics included media literacy, global readiness in school curriculums, setting a worldwide agenda on global competence education, and much more.
“AFS has been active for more than 70 years, and continues to be an active participant in the conversation on global competency. The annual conference enables us to convene educators and organization leaders who are as passionate about global education as we are,” said Hofmann. “I think we all appreciate the opportunity to share ideas and address our common challenges together because it strengthens the impact of the work we do.”
In addition to Ms. Hofmann, the AFS-USA delegation included Keri Dooley (Chief Government Relations and Sponsored Programs Officer) Melvin Harmon (Chief Officer of Marketing, Customer Experience, and Strategic Advancement), Wendy Kuran (Board of Directors member), Krishen Mehta (Board of Directors member), Carolyn Rehn (Director of Intercultural Learning), and Jill Woerner (Director of Education and School Outreach).
The sessions that featured one or more of AFS-USA’s representatives are as listed below:
- Melvin Harmon appeared as a panelist in the “Creating Welcoming and Supporting Intercultural Communities for LGBTQ Teens and Adults” session on Thursday, October 10, 11:00am – 12:00pm.
- Krishen Mehta appeared as an Innovation Stage speaker on Thursday, October 10, 1:00 – 1:15pm.
- Jill Woerner appeared as a panelist in the “From Virtual Exchange to Experiential Engagement – Connecting iEARN Virtual Exchange and AFS Project:Change Experiences” session on Thursday, October 10, 1:30pm – 2:30pm.
- Tara Hofmann and Carolyn Rehn appeared as Innovation Stage speakers on Thursday, October 10, 4:00pm – 4:15pm.
- Wendy Kuran appeared as a panelist in the “Putting Global Competence into Practice: Lessons for K-12 Educators from Global Universities” session on Friday, October 11, 11:00am – 12:00pm.
For the full agenda and details about the AFS Global Conference 2019, visit: https://conference.afs.org/