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Internationalization: Essential Building Block to Quality Education in the 21st Century

The Americas Partner with the World

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Ottawa, March 17, 2010: The Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE), the Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration (CONAHEC) and the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education (IOHE) are working together to launch the first-ever hemisphere-wide meeting of minds in the field of internationalization of education.

To do this, they have banded together with Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the Alberta Ministry of Advanced Education, an array of educational institutions and associations, and a who’s who of thought-leaders in international education across the Americas.

“A few years ago there was a strong focus on NAFTA and academic connections among Mexico, the United States and Canada,” said Karen McBride, President of CBIE. “Now we aim to stretch our alliances across the region and find ways to reach out, as individual countries and as partners, to the global education community.”

Dr. David Marshall, President of CONAHEC, and President and CEO of Mount Royal University in Calgary, said, “This is a timely conference. 2010 marks the 20^th year of Canada’s membership in the Organization of American States. The education sectors in our countries are more and more connected. It is time to expand the discussion from student and faculty exchanges to broader cooperation, not to mention deepening inter-American research linkages.”

The raison d’être for the Conference is to establish a space or meeting place for people engaged in international relationship building at institutions across the hemisphere and the global community. They will be invited to consider the theme of Internationalization: Essential Building Block to Quality in 21st Century Education.

A second major focus is to engage institutional presidents and other senior officials in discussions and workshops that inform their work, provide solutions to shared challenges, and help them cope with the thorny issues of funding, attracting and retaining academic talent, and responding to local community needs while engaging with the world.

CBIE, CONAHEC and IOHE have signed an agreement to work together to establish the Conference of the Americas, but they do not intend to ‘go it alone’ for long. In fact, they will be drawing in like-minded organizations with a view to identifying other partners and hosts for upcoming Conferences.

“We wish to see this become an annual event held in a different locale each year,” said Patricia Gudiño, Executive Director of IOHE. “Our membership of 300 institutions is Americas-wide. Calgary will set the stage, hosting the inaugural conference from October 20 to 23, 2010. We hope that the next Conference of the Americas will be in the South. At the same time, we want to be clear that this Conference not only involves the Americas but is essentially our invitation to the world to come to meet with us.”

The Conference’s expert advisory committee includes Peggy Blumenthal, Executive Vice President, Institute of International Education (IIE); Eva Egron-Polak, Secretary-General, International Association of Universities (IAU); Jocelyne Gacel-Ávila, Coordinadora General de Cooperación e Internacionalización, Universidad de Guadalajara; and Suzana Queiroz de Melo Monteiro, Coordenadora de Cooperação Internacional, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco y Presidente do Fórum das Assessorias das Universidades Brasileiras para Assuntos Internacionais (FAUBAI).

Plenary sessions will include a debate between teams of prominent individual and interviews with well-known diplomats. Concurrent sessions will provide for an optimal amount of discussion. Open sessions will feature “hot topics” in internationalization.

The Conference of the Americas on International Education (CAIE) is targeted to professionals who plan, design, develop and deliver partnership activities. These are: presidents, vice-presidents and associate vice-presidents responsible for international relations; directors of international education, international liaison officers, international student advisers, exchange directors; and professors and teachers engaged in collaborative activities or in research in the realm of internationalization. They may be attached to colleges, universities, school boards and schools, national and regional organizations, or government ministries. The Conference of the Americas encourages participation from the global community for the purpose of enhancing relationships between the western hemisphere and other countries and regions.

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The Canadian Bureau for International Education is a national, bilingual, not-for-profit, membership organization dedicated to the promotion of Canada’s international relations through international education: the free movement of ideas and learners across national boundaries. CBIE’s membership comprises nearly 200 school boards, colleges, universities and associates. It is based in Ottawa.

The Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration is a membership-based network of higher education institutions interested in establishing or strengthening their academic collaborative programs in the North American region. CONAHEC is based at the University of Arizona and has 63 Mexican, 37 US and 16 Canadian member institutions as well as 15 Affiliate members from Latin America, Europe and Asia.

The Inter-American Organization for Higher Education is currently the only university organization that spans the American continent. A non-profit association pursuing essentially educational goals through cooperation activities with universities of the Americas, it is made up of about 300 university institutions and national university associations, which represent over 5 million students, 500,000 professors and 600,000 support staff members. The IOHE’s General Secretariat is located in Quebec City.

CAIE is organized with the support of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT).

For more information www.caie-caei.org and look for CAIE exhibits at these major international conferences:

• APAIE, Queensland, Australia (April 14-16)
• CONAHEC, Houston, Texas (April 21-23)
• NAFSA: Association of International Educators, Kansas City, Missouri (May 30-June 4)

Contact Jennifer Humphries, Vice President, Membership and Scholarships, CBIE

Telephone: 613-237-4820 ext. 246 – jhumphries@cbie.ca