The following is a lightly edited speech delivered by Fanta Aw at the NAFSA 2025 Annual Conference & Expo on May 27, 2025, in San Diego.
Good morning, colleagues, friends, and fellow builders of a more equitable and interconnected world. Eleven years ago exactly, I walked the halls of the San Diego Convention Center as president and chair of the NAFSA Board of Directors—filled with hope, purpose, and a deep belief in the power of international education. I stand in this very place this time as CEO and executive director—a full-circle moment that humbles and energizes me.
What an extraordinary sight—to stand before more than 8,000 educators, dreamers, and change-makers from over 100 countries. Your presence here is not just a logistical achievement; it is a declaration of solidarity. Of courage. Of purpose.
Our theme—"Purpose, Place, and Partnership"—could not be more timely.
We are living through an era of profound paradox: We're more connected than ever, yet we're also increasingly divided. Technologies bring us closer, while ideologies push us apart. The value of higher education is being questioned. Academic freedom is under siege. And international students—our students—are too often seen as numbers or threats, rather than future leaders.
But I say this to you clearly and unapologetically: International education is not a luxury. It is a lifeline. It is not simply about mobility. It is about possibility.
Let me begin here: Higher education is not merely a mirror of society—education must be society's conscience. We are not bystanders. We are truth-tellers and truth-seekers. And truth without justice is incomplete. Truth without action is insufficient. Now is a time for moral clarity. And—let us be honest—it is also a time for change.
Higher education must be willing to evolve. To remain relevant, we must ask ourselves uncomfortable questions: Are we truly serving the public good? Are we inclusive in practice—not just in promise? Are we designing systems for today or clinging to those of yesterday?
This week, I invite you to do more than attend sessions. I invite you to engage deeply. To ask hard questions. To listen openly. To challenge assumptions. To learn from new voices. To lead with integrity. To partner with intention. And to leave here not just with contacts—but with a renewed sense of purpose and a commitment to innovate.
Because purpose without people is like a tree without roots. Place without meaning is a structure with no foundation. And partnership without equity is extraction.
So let us reclaim our purpose. Let us define place not just as geography, but as responsibility. And let us pursue partnerships not for prestige—but for shared progress. The global system we inherited wasn’t built for everyone. But the system we build can be. We can build a system in which students are not treated as statistics—but as storytellers and solution-finders. A system in which knowledge is not hoarded—but cocreated. In which impact is not measured solely in rankings—but in lives transformed.
This work is not just about me or you—it is about every student who dares to dream across borders, every educator who believes in the dignity of learning, and every institution that chooses courage over comfort, people over politics. We are the stewards of this work. And we must move from aspiration to action. From rhetoric to renewal. From tradition to transformation. Let us be bold. Let us be brave. Let us be builders of bridges when the world is busy building walls.
Let us remember that we are not just educators—we are architects of a shared future. And may that future be grounded in purpose, alive with place, and powered by partnerships worthy of our highest ideals. Thank you for all you do, for all you are, and for all we will build—together.
Let’s begin and be sure to walk forward—together—with boldness, with heart, and with the unshakable belief that what we do matters. And let us be reminded by the African proverb that “when the roots are deep, there is no reason to fear the wind.”
I wish you a week full of new insights, connections, purpose, and inspiration. Together we will listen, learn, lead, dare to change, and rise.