From sacred cows along the streets of Delhi, to the sophisticated new International Convention Centre near Delhi airport.
APAIE was in full force last week as over 2,500 delegates from 1,100 institutions and 70 countries came together to share insights, meet to discuss partnerships and network via a range of receptions.
However, due to traffic chaos between the hotels and conference venue, several meetings were undertaken in cabs and busses to make use of the short time available.
This year’s conference theme was Cultivating Global Citizens for the future. The Opening Plenary jumped straight to the topic, highlighting five factors driving Global Citizenship:
- Democratising knowledge & providing access.
- Recognise the other’s point of view.
- Recognise the need to speak truth to power.
- Recognise the importance of promoting ideas. Solve big issues such as climate change, geopolitics, viruses.
- Recognise the role of complexity and feel empowered to create solutions.
Prof. C Raj Kumar, the Vice-Chancellor of the host University, O. P. Jindal Global University, highlighted India’s population has now reached 1.5 billion people and that 1 billion are aged under 34. Compared to an ageing western and Chinese population, India will remain younger for a longer time and will be play a large role in influencing Global Citizenship.
Furthermore, (Incredible) India has a rich history of learning from ancient institutions until now. We’re witnessing the rise in the number of ranked Indian institutions.
Delegates were encouraged to understand that “No idea is so big it can be stolen. Go forth & collaborate.”
Which delegates did and as the conference came to a close, the Global Dialogue focussed on:
- Encouraging immersing in other cultures physically as virtual alone is not enough
- Demand ethical use of AI tools
- Continue to demonstrate the benefits of an international education experience not just for individuals but also for their local communities back home.
Now we turn our attention to building on the presentations and discussions from last week to further Global Citizenship.
