A Look Back at International Education Week 2019

in Global Matters
December 12th, 2019

Global Programs was thrilled to facilitate International Education Week (IEW) 2019 at Boston University for the eighth consecutive year. IEW is a joint initiative of the U.S. Departments of State and of Education, seeking to highlight the importance of international education. From November 18 – 22, more than 45 BU offices, student groups, schools, and colleges hosted nearly 40 events across the University’s campuses – including at many BU study abroad sites – to celebrate the University’s global identity and the exchange of ideas, customs, and cultures.

“We are proud to play a lead role in International Education Week for Boston University,” said Willis G. Wang, Vice President and Associate Provost for Global Programs. “This week shines a spotlight on – and is a terrific example of – the important and exciting work being done to create unique opportunities for global engagement at BU.”

This year, Global Programs’ marquee IEW panel event featured multi-disciplinary experts in environmental history, nutrition, global health, food and water, agricultural history, and geology to discuss the future of food and its global impact. More than 100 students, faculty, and staff attended the event to explore how we can more sustainably feed the world’s growing population in the face of climate change and the evolving geo-political landscape.

Room of people sitting around tables listening to presentation

The panel discussion featured Dr. Sarah Phillips (CAS) Associate Professor of History; Dr. Lindsey Locks (SPH & SAR) Assistant Professor in Health Science and Global Health; Dr. Benjamin Siegel (CAS) Assistant Professor of History; Dr. Magaly Koch (CAS) Geologist and Research Associate Professor; Dr. Richard Samuel Deese (Pardee & CGS) Senior Lecturer and Faculty Research Fellow at the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future; and Michael Leviton (MET) Chef, Instructor, and Co-founder of Craigie Burger.

Global Programs also hosted a global film series and faculty-led discussions after each showing. The series featured five different films from five different parts of the world: South Korean film “The Host;” Finish film “The Man Without a Past;” Iranian film “The Color of Paradise;” U.S. documentary “Clínica de Migrantes;” and Chinese film “Su Zhou He” (Suzhou River).

Two people with pan doing a cooking demonstration

Across the University, offices hosted receptions, lectures, open houses, and more to foster the exchange of ideas and make cultural connections. Metropolitan College (MET) celebrated IEW with a free Thanksgiving Dinner for students. MET also partnered with the Center for English Language & Orientation Programs (CELOP) to host a global cooking demonstration and discussion. Their standing-room-only event featured student teams who presented on food from their home country and culture, with a live cooking demonstration and tasting opportunities for the audience.

A Latin America “Lightning Talk” event presented by Global Programs highlighted the work of students and faculty across BU who have participated in short-term global service learning, education, and research projects in Latin America. Faculty and students talked about their work in short presentations and shared how they are making an impact in Colombia, Nicaragua, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and at the Mexican border.

Student Groups also hosted and attended events. BU’s Latinx dance team and Sabor Latino hosted “Por La Cultura / For the Culture” to unite diverse clubs through tabling and cultural group performances. Boston University Study Abroad was proud to sponsor the event.

At BU Madrid, students took part in Paella Night, an event that brought together Madrid students to reflect upon their experience abroad through meaningful pictures presented to the group. This year, alumni also participated in the event, as students spoke about their host families, friends, classes, trips around Spain, and the experiences they shared. Faculty and staff also joined the discussion, and everyone enjoyed paella. The below image was shared by Ryan Lane, who said the week that his family visited felt gratifying and eye opening. He was able to confidently show them around Madrid and Spain, and he realized how comfortable he had gotten over the semester and how much Madrid felt like a second home to him.

In Boston, many BU Study Abroad sites hosted events to bring together study abroad alumni and students who are interested in learning more about study abroad opportunities.

If you are interested in learning more about IEW 2019 or would like to discuss ideas for next year’s IEW, please contact us at global@bu.edu. Please consider sharing your IEW photos either on Instagram with the hashtag #BUIEW19 or with us directly.