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Announcement Date: October 1, 2020

This fall, ³ÉÈËÔ¼ÅÚÍøÕ¾ is hosting Critical Conversations, a webinar series designed to inspire community-wide dialogue on the most Critical Global Issues of our time—challenges that transcend borders and touch every human on the planet. ³ÉÈËÔ¼ÅÚÍøÕ¾ structures its and programs using this same framework, so that the next generation of leaders is equipped with the expertise and intercultural understanding to craft enduring and meaningful responses to these issues. 

The Critical Conversations events encompass faculty lectures drawing on perspectives from the Global South, open houses allowing attendees to tour ³ÉÈËÔ¼ÅÚÍøÕ¾ programs from the comfort of their own homes, as well as admissions webinars, alumni spotlights, and special topics sessions delving into matters impacting international education. 

To register for the series and view the full schedule of events, please visit the Critical Conversations webpage. All students, faculty, study abroad partners, alumni, staff, and global citizens are welcome to join any sessions that spark their interest. ³ÉÈËÔ¼ÅÚÍøÕ¾ encourages long-standing partners and alumni and those discovering ³ÉÈËÔ¼ÅÚÍøÕ¾ for the first time alike to join in the conversation. Links to recordings of most webinars will also be available on the Critical Conversations page shortly after each event.

In the coming weeks, participants will engage in conversation on global, interdisciplinary topics, including:  

• Identity & Human Resilience (September 28–October 2, 2020) 
• Peace & Justice (October 12–16, 2020)  
• Climate & Environment (October 19–23, 2020) 
• Geopolitics & Power (October 26–30, 2020) 
• Development & Inequality (November 9–13, 2020)
• Education & Social Change (November 16–20, 2020) 

The semester-long series officially kicked off the week of September 14, 2020, with ³ÉÈËÔ¼ÅÚÍøÕ¾ faculty, staff, and alumni around the world coming together virtually to discuss the topic of Global Health & Well-being. Participants attended a faculty lecture on public health, pandemics, and inequity, then traveled virtually to South Africa, analyzed the future of study abroad in a post-COVID context, and heard directly from ³ÉÈËÔ¼ÅÚÍøÕ¾ alumni about their program experience and its impact on their academic and professional careers. Event recordings will be posted on the Critical Conversations webpage. 

These issues cannot wait—please join us as the series continues, connect with the greater ³ÉÈËÔ¼ÅÚÍøÕ¾ community, and help us move these conversations forward.