Thursday, July 8

1:00 – 4:00 Pre-Conference Sessions

The Global Citizen Journey – An Interactive Experience

• Mark Gerzon, Founder and President, Mediators Foundation & Co-Chair of the Global Leadership Network

Join this three-hour interactive seminar for middle and high school educators that examines the four dimensions of global competence. It also introduces models, activities, and experiences. Participants will work in small groups as well as in whole group activities to reflect on their ideas about their own global experiences, examine cultural myths and misconceptions that become barriers to global understanding, build an educator’s toolbox with connecting skills to help relate with others who are different from themselves, and outline a cross-border collaborative project for a secondary classroom as a model to use for further curriculum development.

Learning World Languages Through Discovery and Exploration

• Chris Livaccari, Associate Director, Chinese Language Initiative Program, Asia Society

World languages can be a catalyst for opening the world for students, both through the study of the language and also through the study of the culture and history of a region. Join us for a three-hour hands-on session to explore models and strategies for weaving these elements together into a rich world language program that can serve as a connector and catalyst for global learning at a school. We will explore aspects of discovery- and inquiry-based learning, strategies for building connections to other academic content areas and to students’ lives, as well as for incorporating linguistics, history, literature, and the arts into your world language program. This session is not just for world language teachers, but for any educator or administrator who wants to learn more about how world languages can form an integral part of a globally focused education.

Ready for the World: Preparing Elementary Students for the Global Age

• Mary Ellen Bafumo, Practitioner, Author & Consultant, Asia Society

Asia Society’s new handbook, Ready for the World: Preparing Students for the Global Age, will be released at the conference. Join this three-hour, interactive session to preview the guide and explore how elementary education can begin a student’s journey as a global citizen and global learner. Participants will explore ways that curriculum can be enhanced through global learning, will have an opportunity to see how technology can support global student work and service, and will look at ways that learning about the world can support rich professional learning at a school. Be the first to join this exciting work around elementary global learning!

Expanding Horizons: Integrating Global Learning Into Out-of-School Time

• Alexis Menten, Assistant Director, Education, Asia Society

Global learning is most effective when it is not isolated but rather infused throughout every aspect of a student’s learning day and every aspect of their development. This pre-conference workshop will provide practical approaches and methods that will help integrate global learning into out-of-school time (OST), which includes before-school, afterschool, and summer programs. It is crucial that these opportunities are leveraged to help students not only acquire but also apply global knowledge and skills to their own lives, communities, and futures. The pre-conference workshop is targeted towards anyone who oversees, coordinates, or provides OST programs, whether school- or community-based.

6:00 – 9:00 Opening Dinner

Conference Opening Remarks

• Tony Jackson, Vice President, Asia Society

Global Competence Definition

• Veronica Boix-Mansilla, Principal Investigator, Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education
• Prize-Winning Student Video Namaste

Dinner

The Need for Global Competence

• Gillian Sorensen, Senior Advisory, The United Nations Foundation

Career Readiness and Global Competence Panel

• Facilitator: Tony Jackson, Vice President, Asia Society

Panelists:

• Edward Rust, Jr, Chairman of the Board and CEO, State Farm Insurance Companies
• Fernando Reimers, Ford Foundation Professor of International Education and International Education Policy, Harvard University
• Steven Paine, Superintendent of Schools, West VA
• Veronica Boix-Mansilla, Principal Investigator, Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education

The Obama administration has established developing a world-class education system that prepares all students for the global economy as its key education goal. But what does it mean to be globally competent and how does that translate into success? Hear experts sound off on the competencies they believe are required for workplace readiness in a global economy–and the role that schools, education policy and the business community play in the development of those competencies for all students.