This year was my first time attending the annual NAFSA conference. NAFSA is the Association of International Educators, a non-profit professional organization. I had always been told that it was the biggest event in international education, but even that didn’t prepare me for how huge the conference was; how many of our partners, sponsors and colleagues were there (over 9,000 people attended in total); and what a huge spread of information that conference sessions covered. And because so many countries have their own pavilions (and international snacks, and cultural events), the whole thing felt a little like Epcot Center at Disney World.
A photo of my colleague Bassim Abassi that I took at IIE's annual conference reception, held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in LA.
Because I am IIE’s Digital Communications Lead and worked as part of the team that created our new branding, most of my time was spent at our NAFSA booth. It was incredibly exciting to see all of our new branding come to life. In a conference hall the size of five airplane hangars, our new logo stood out in a great way. We got tons of questions about our Open Doors Report, Generation Study Abroad, our work with Syrian Students, and careers at IIE. Many of our most amazing partners from all over the world, who we usually only get to speak to on conference calls, swung by to chat, take photos, talk about ways we can collaborate, and do mini-interviews about why they believe in the “Power of International Education.” I was proud to see so many fellow team members present on their work and share their expertise as session panelists, poster presenters and as NAFSA Leaders who work as part of interest groups that focus on goals like diversifying international education.
A huge theme of the conference, and something that was clearly on many attendees minds, was international education in the current global environment. Every attendee got a button upon entry that had #YouAreWelcomeHere on it – a button that every single IIE team member I saw wore with great pride. It felt great to be in a space with thousands of other people who believe that international exchange makes the world a better place. IIE’s Research Team in particular was a central part of almost every panel and conversation that touched on current events. It was comforting to know that, as a field, we were strategizing on how to keep students moving across borders and that IIE is a thought leader in helping universities figure out how to do just that.
The conference was a great way to get a bird’s eye view of our entire field at once, something hard to do from a desk in a cubicle. I appreciate having had the opportunity to attend and represent IIE.