Dear Colleagues,
As November unfolds, we are entering a season of reflection and gratitude. This has been a year of significant change—on our campuses, in our communities, and across the global landscape of international education. And through it all, NAFSA has been right alongside you: advocating on behalf of our students and scholars; addressing visa processing barriers and policy uncertainties; and lifting up the critical role of international education in fostering understanding and building more just and peaceful societies.
This month, we have a special opportunity to affirm that the work we do together matters. International Education Week (November 17–21) is an occasion to pause, recognize, and uplift the contributions, values, and impacts of international education. This year is especially meaningful as we mark the 25th anniversary of an annual tradition that NAFSA, U.S. Secretaries of State and Education, and our colleagues across the field helped found in 2000.
In a letter to NAFSA on our 70th anniversary, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright captured the enduring spirit of this work:
“When we open our doors, our academic institutions, and our minds to different cultures and ideas, we learn to recognize commonalities where once there were only differences, and we establish respect where once there was only fear. This mutual understanding is what makes international education an effective incubator for creating long-lasting global alliances.”
These words ring just as true today—perhaps even more so. At a time when the world feels fractured and fast-changing, international education calls us back to what binds us: human connection, shared responsibility, and the belief that learning across difference is both possible and necessary.
This year, we invite our colleagues around the world to join us in telling the story of international education. Share your partnership stories. Share your student and scholar journeys. Share your moments of discovery, of challenge, of joy.
Whether your campus or program is in Boston, Bogotá, Bamako, Bangalore, Brisbane, or beyond—your story is part of a larger tapestry of global engagement that has shaped generations.
Let us make this International Education Week a celebration of:
- the students who dream across borders;
- the educators and advisers who guide and accompany them;
- the institutions that choose openness over isolation; and
- the communities that are strengthened by cultural exchange.
The world may be changing rapidly—but what remains steadfast is our shared understanding that international education advances mutual understanding, empathy, collaboration, and peace.
So, as we continue to move through this month, I invite each of us to take a moment to reconnect with why we do this work. To remember the students who inspired us. The mentors who supported us. The global communities that shaped us. And the belief that we are, together, helping to build a more interconnected and compassionate world.
Let us always show up for one another—across cultures, histories, and experiences, knowing that the work of building understanding, one relationship at a time, is vitally important.
Thank you for your commitment, your leadership, and your trust.
Thank you for standing with us, and with one another.
Thank you for being part of this global community.
We look forward to seeing your celebrations and affirmations on social media. Be sure to tag NAFSA and #IEW2025 in your posts, and we will amplify. Happy International Education Week and best wishes for an enjoyable Thanksgiving season.
With hope and solidarity,
Fanta Aw, PhD