Dear friends, colleagues, collaborators, and fellow global educators,
It has been just over a week since we concluded an extraordinary NAFSA annual conference in Orlando, Florida.
And before anything else, I simply want to say thank you.
Thank you to the Annual Conference Committee, the NAFSA Board of Directors, our dedicated staff team, and the nearly 1,000 volunteer leaders, presenters, exhibitors, sponsors, and global partners who collectively made this conference possible.
It truly took a village.
NAFSA is community strong. This year’s annual conference continues to reflect the fortitude of our association and the global diversity of our field, drawing participants from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., U.S. territories, and more than 100 countries. The conference also demonstrated strong engagement from NAFSA’s 10,000+ members as well as significant participation from nonmembers.
Most importantly, thank you to every person who joined us.
You traveled from every corner of the globe—from Fiji to South Africa, Ecuador to Poland, Barbados to New Zealand, Saudi Arabia to Türkiye, China to Costa Rica, and countless places in between. Many of you crossed oceans, navigating long journeys, complex logistics, and uncertain circumstances to be present.
We do not take that lightly.
Your presence was more than attendance. It was an act of commitment. An act of solidarity. An act of hope. And for that, we are profoundly grateful.
But today, I also want to speak directly to those who were not able to be with us.
To the colleagues whose positions were eliminated. To those facing financial constraints. To those whose visas were delayed or denied. To those navigating institutional uncertainty, budget cuts, family obligations, health challenges, or circumstances beyond their control.
Please know this: You were missed. You are part of this community. And your absence was felt.
The barriers that kept many from Orlando are the very challenges that remind us why our work matters. They remind us that access, mobility, and opportunity remain unevenly distributed across our world. They remind us that talent is universal, but opportunity is not.
And that remains one of the great design challenges of our time.
This year's theme—"Global by Design”—was never intended to merely be a conference theme.
It was, and remains, an invitation.
An invitation to imagine differently. To lead differently. To build differently. To stop accepting systems that no longer serve the realities of our interconnected world and instead intentionally create pathways toward a more inclusive future.
Because the truth is that we find ourselves living through a period of profound complexity. Around the world, we witness conflict, displacement, polarization, growing distrust, restrictions on mobility, and widening inequities. And yet, amid all this uncertainty, we continue to see something extraordinary: humanity.
We see it in a student checking on another student who is far from home. In faculty who continue teaching despite immense challenges. In institutions opening their doors to displaced scholars. In professionals who choose compassion when fear would be easier. In colleagues who continue showing up every day because they believe education can still change lives.
These moments may seem small. But they are not. They are evidence that even in fractured times, humanity persists. International educators understand something that the world desperately needs to remember: That our futures are interconnected.
When fear encourages isolation, we build bridges. When division deepens, we create opportunities for dialogue. When societies retreat inward, we remind people that learning from one another remains one of the most powerful forces for peace, understanding, and shared prosperity.
This is not peripheral work. This is society-shaping work. This is humanity-shaping work. And perhaps now more than ever, international education must recenter humanity. Not simply mobility. Not simply recruitment. Not simply rankings.
Humanity.
Because at its best, this work has always been about people.
Stories.
Dignity.
Possibility.
This work is about helping students discover their place in the world and their responsibility to it. It is about creating opportunities where none previously existed. It is about fostering empathy, curiosity, courage, and understanding across differences. It is about preparing not only skilled professionals, but ethical leaders and engaged global citizens.
The question before us is no longer simply how we internationalize. The deeper question is: What kind of world are we helping to create through internationalization?
Are we expanding opportunity? Are we strengthening human connection? Are we preparing individuals to navigate complexity with wisdom and compassion? Are we designing systems that rebuild lives rather than deprive them?
Those are the questions that will define our future. And meeting this moment will require courage.
The courage to defend academic freedom. The courage to stand against narratives that dehumanize migrants, refugees, international students, and vulnerable communities. The courage to insist that diversity strengthens excellence. The courage to remain hopeful when cynicism appears easier.
Because hope is not naïve.
Hope is discipline. Hope is action. Hope is choosing to continue building even when the future feels uncertain.
As I reflect on Orlando, what remains with me most is not simply the sessions, meetings, or conversations. It is the collective spirit of this community.
A community that continues to believe in possibility. A community that continues to choose collaboration over isolation. A community that continues to choose curiosity over fear. A community that continues to choose humanity. For that, I remain deeply grateful and hopeful.
Friends, we cannot control every force shaping the world around us. But we can choose the values that shape us. We can choose dignity over dehumanization. Partnership over transaction. Shared responsibility over indifference.
And we can continue designing a future worthy of the students, scholars, and communities we serve. Because the future is not something we inherit. It is something we create. Together.
Through the choices we make. The partnerships we build. The opportunities we expand. And the humanity we refuse to abandon.
Thank you for your commitment to this work of heart, hand, and head.
In the months ahead, I invite you to share your stories—stories of progress, courage, imagination, resilience, and hope. Share the ways you are building bridges, expanding opportunities, and reimagining what is possible.
Because together, those stories will help illuminate the future we are designing. A future that is Global by Design. Together.
We look forward to you joining us throughout the course of the next year—for our virtual learning communities, as well as in person at the NAFSA regional conferences this fall, the Global Summit in Buenos Aires (February 1–5, 2027), and the NAFSA 2027 Annual Conference & Expo (June 1–4, 2027).
Thank you for all you do and are.
In solidarity,
Fanta Aw