CIEE Conference: Diversity

by Niamh Sweeney, Marketing Communications Director

The Annual CIEE Conference, in Brooklyn, NY, kicked off with the theme of: Opening Doors to increase Diversity in Study Abroad. There was so much substantive discussion on a variety of areas that it’s hard to know where to begin, but from the variety of speakers, topics, sessions, workshops, and poster sessions, it’s clear that issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity are priorities for the field of international education.

1. Staff Training

As educators, we too need to educate ourselves on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion – What do these terms mean both conceptually and on a practical level? How do we become a truly inclusive organization? How does this translate in different locations?

2. Gradual Change

This is about changing your organization’s approach and your individual awareness through both practical steps and organizational ethos. We all can prioritize action steps and modify them over time.

3. Community Outreach

Although we are challenged by resources, the more individualized our outreach can be, the better our understanding will be of the needs of those students, which in turn will lead to us being able to provide better support to them both pre-departure and while in-country. Some examples were shared about how to find out if students have specific needs, mostly by communicating with them individually. If we can encourage them to share their authentic selves, we will be better placed to set them up for success on our programs; we must understand that everyone has different needs (equity) and that requires applying the rules differently (inclusion).  

4. Provide Scaffolding

We need to provide practical resources for students such as guides, facilities, housing, orientation discussions, and scholarships.

5. Keynotes 

Two keynote speakers:

• Ritu Bhasin, life coach, speaker and authenticity author. Ritu talked convincingly about how important and empowering it is to be your authentic self – everything from just having the confidence to speak your mind, to being true to yourself about your gender identity or socio-economic background.
• André Robert Lee, director, producer, keynote speaker, teacher.