Global Engage

Some of the most inspirational and educational moments of the IB community's global engagement come at the Annual Regional Conferences. For those who attend, keynote speakers capture the imagination and provide personal points of contact in the our common mission to make a better and more peaceful world. For those who aren't able to participate in the conference, though, it's still possible to learn what's going on and ‘meet' these outstanding social entrepreneurs and their world class organizations.

The 2011 IB Conference of the Americas, held last month in San Antonio, was no exception. This year's theme, "Service in Action" featured many outstanding speakers and workshop sessions that bore witness to the IB's commitment to engaging with the great challenges facing the world today.

Do you Khaled Housseini's work that's even more impressive than his best-selling novels? Visit the website of his foundation and learn about Student Outreach for Shelters (SOS). It's a great service learning project for schools and individuals to engage the critical issue of providing shelter for the most vulnerable children and families in Afghanistan. You can watch Khaled's presentation at the conference's blog site.

Have you heard of Craig Kielburger? You should know about Me to We and Free the Children, two of the most successful, high-quality student engagement movements on the world stage. Both of these portals provide opportunities for young people to be involved with globally-significant challenges in meaningful ways.

And what about María Nieves Tapia, founder of the Centro Latinoamericano de Aprendizaje y Servicio Solidario, CLAYSS?Her work in Argentina is a treasure trove for speakers of Spanish, and many of its resources are available in multiple languages.

Good projects and effective, inspiring people are at work around the world! Perhaps you know of others whose commitment to making a better and more peaceful might offer students and teachers a point of entry into meaningful exchanges of service, deeper understanding, and powerful advocacy that celebrates our common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet.

We hope you'll use the IB Global Engage site to share your contacts and build an ever-more creative network of information and support.