Sunday, 15 March 2020 – 1:28pm
Learning first-hand what it’s like to live, learn and work in Student Affairs across the globe is a challenge for most of us – but hearing from our panellists from across the globe is easy!
The Association of College Union International (ACUI), ACPA – College Student Educators International and the International Association of Student Affairs and Services (IASAS) have joined to offer a series of international webinars to promote the global dimension of student development across the globe.
Hosting the international webinars has been very exciting and we hear from our participants that they have gained a lot from them. Like Andrew West, UK, about the recent webinar about mental health: “it was excellent – a really helpful resource. I am currently working with a students’ union on a project relating to student wellbeing/wellness and the webinar was so useful for all of us!”
Not only individual staff members have joined, but entire graduate classes are taking part. So far, since September last year, we had over 400 participants who either log into the webinar and join a live presentation and discussion, or watch the webinar on demand by downloading it for their classes and their enjoyment!
Each webinar features well known and experienced staff from university faculty, student affairs and services, higher education management and activists who make a difference in our students’ and institutions’ lives (https://www.myacpa.org/events/2019-2020-webinar-series-student-affairs-services-around-world). We’ve had panellists from Africa, Asia, Middle East, Europe and North America, and from a range of contexts and variety of institutions. This kind of diversity is making these webinars so rich, informative and fun!
We have hosted presentations on mental health, student affairs structures and functions, SDGs and sustainability and will feature other relevant issues including free speech, race and equality, gender, residences and community building and many more.
The webinars are on a monthly basis and you can join for free. Information about upcoming Webinars and registration information will be posted here. Recordings and materials of past webinars are available under Archived Webinars.
I have not only immensely enjoyed the content and hearing from peers and colleagues from across the globe, but I’ve also been impressed by the unique experience of sitting in my office, with colleagues and students and being part of such an extraordinary moment: this is a coming together of like-minded individuals who meet in cyberspace and yet feel so close and immediate! Each webinar was full of good questions, comments and contributions, not only from the panelists, but also the participants experience these truly global-international webinars together in real time.
The next webinars are on institutional responses to COVID-19, free speech, gender and equity and I find these issues are complex and challenging, not only for our university contexts but especially as they are socially and culturally embedded and our discussions reach beyond the university living and learning context.
For instance, among other issues, gender, equity and human rights is so fraught with challenges in many parts of the world. We know that the #metoo campaign didn’t take off in many parts of the world, one reason being that just the disclosure of ‘me too’ is so difficult in some cultures and societies where it is silenced by taboos. We will hear first-hand from our panellists on how the universities are dealing with such challenges of being culture sensitive but also breaking taboos where human rights need to be defended.
Such complex issues are addressed and I can’t wait for the next webinar. Come join and see how you can – for the webinar hour – be part of a global group of like-minded colleagues who share and reflect and who teach us about the diversity our world offers.
I want to thank Dr. Gudrun Nyunt from ACPA, Scarlett Winters from ACUI and Dr. Lisa Bardill Moscaritolo from IASAS – together our three organisations have promoted the global dimension of student development.
If you are interested in hosting or contributing to a future webinar please email Dr Lisa Bardill Moscaritolo or Dr Birgit Schreiber ([email protected]).
Bio of Birgit Schreiber
Dr. Birgit Schreiber (PhD) was the senior director Student Affairs, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. She has worked in Higher Education for the past 24 years, including South African and African Universities (SU, UCT, UWC and others) and across the African continent in a variety of leadership positions. She has also served and read at universities in Europe and the USA, including University of California, Berkeley, UK Leuven, and some others.
She serves on the executive of various national and international professional organizations including the Southern African Federation (SAFSAS) and the International Association of Student Affairs and Services (IASAS), for which she served as the Africa Chair and now as the Vice President. She is also a member of the International Board of the US based Association for Student Affairs (NASPA) and a member of the European Transatlantic Group (TAD) based in Luxemburg.
Birgit has published over 40 articles and chapters and has presented papers and key notes at national and international events. She was the founding member and is on the editorial executive of the Journal for Student Affairs in Africa (JSAA), on the board of the Journal for College Student Development (JCSD) and she is the column editor of the Journal for College and Character (JCC). She is the senior editor for a 2-volume reference book on Global Student Affairs for UNESCO, which she is very glad to have completed. Birgit consults to the Higher Education Leadership and Management division of the Universities South Africa (USAf) and chairs the secretariat for the International Network for Civic Universities.
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