International educators in the U.S.A. - it's not the time to disengage

An interesting question has been raised about where international educators representing the U.S.A. are willing to go to engage with educators in the Americas. Hans de Wit reports having been one of a handful of U.S. educators who attended the 2019 Conference of the Americas. By contrast, almost 1,000 participants joined from Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada, Europe, China, and New Zealand. AIEA responded that de Wit had misrepresented their engagement in Latin America. Nevertheless, it is important to consider de Wit's critique and what it means for U.S. educators

With a theme of "Hubs of Knowledge and Innovation: Synergies for Development," one would think that U.S. associations and international education leaders would be eager to participate. De Wit mused if it was arrogance that the Americas will come to the U.S. so why bother going south? Was it continued over-reliance on traditional European partners? Was it bad timing or a sense of hopelessness as internationalization takes a hit with the decline of international students' interest in the U.S.A.?

Whatever the cause, de Wit comments that it's not the time to isolate. International educators need to engage more fully now than ever before if they hope to sustain gains in numbers and visibility over the last decade.