International Education Week to be held Feb. 9-12
Over 30 events, including a film screening, a community meal and a dance, are scheduled to take place on campus between Feb. 9-12 for International Education Week (IEW). Returning for its 27th year, IEW features a variety of presentations and activities focusing on the international community on campus. The events are free and open to the public.
Professor Alison Holmes, who has been involved with IEW for the past 15 years, describes its special relationship with Cal Poly Humboldt.
“Lots of campuses will do an event,” Holmes said. “They’ll have a speaker, they’ll do one kind of study-abroad fair or something. Whereas we’ve always done, as long as I’ve been here, a whole week of activity.”
The week kicks off with a march starting at the white Peace Pole located on the lawn in front of the Student Health Center and ending in the main quad. Attendees will be handed a “passport” that will get stamped for every event they attend.
Heather Hyde, student and organizer for IEW, designed the passport and said that IEW is all about peace, interaction and community. A theme of peace fills the entire week as students, Peace Corps veterans and people from across the globe share their experiences with campus.
“That’s why the opening is [at] the Peace Pole,” Holmes said. “The theme of the event is, we are all instruments of peace.”
Halfway through the week is Webinar Wednesday, where more speakers will be able to share their message from other California State Universities. Webinar Wednesday is a new development for IEW and it pushes the borders of the event even further. Professor Gabi Kirk is hosting an event where two Palestinian academics will be speaking from Oakland about oral history and placemaking.
Kirk believes that history “can still teach us broader themes about living through historical moments right now.” The final event is a community meal provided by El Centro Académico Cultural de Humboldt. Leti Phillips Armenta is the food coordinator representing El Centro at IEW and is planning on serving mole and speaking about food sovereignty for students. Phillips Armenta explained that food sovereignty is about having the ability to have a say in what you eat on top of having access to food.
The participants of IEW believe that maintaining an international scope, especially now, is more important than ever. Holmes hopes this opportunity continues to ignite a spark for the next generations.
“Why we did it before was to try and reinforce our global connections,” Holmes said. “Why I do it now is because somebody needs to keep the light burning for global engagement.”
For details about all the events, times and locations visit humboldt.edu/iew.
