The following is a lightly edited version of Fanta Aw's acceptance speech upon being presented an honorary doctorate from Universidad Señor de Sipán on May 13, 2025.

It is an immense honor to stand before you today as the recipient of this honorary doctorate from Universidad Señor de Sipán. I am grateful to the university's leadership, faculty, students, and distinguished guests in attendance. I'd like to also acknowledge the university’s commitment to knowledge, inclusion, and innovation. Know that I accept this recognition with humility—and with renewed commitment to the values that unite us across borders.

I am the product of international education. I crossed oceans with questions, hope, and belief in the promise that education could transform lives. I know first-hand the transformational power of being welcomed into another country, being challenged by different perspectives, and finding belonging in new contexts. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the mentors, communities, and global friendships that shaped my journey.

Today, our world is facing polarization, inequality, climate crisis, and political upheaval. Internationalization is at a crossroads: Will it be transactional, or transformational? We must return to the deeper purpose of international education: not just movement across borders, but a deeper movement toward understanding, empathy, and justice.

I want to take this opportunity to highlight Latin America’s rich traditions of multiculturalism, resistance, and resilience. Latin America is not only a region—it is a teacher. Within this region, Peru stands out as the home to ancient wisdom of the Andean and Amazonian peoples. It has sparked a legacy of artists, thinkers, and educators committed to liberation and community. I applaud your regional leadership in environmental stewardship, community-based learning models, and cross-border cooperation in research and justice.

Three Pathways to Human-Centered Internationalization
  1. Curricula Rooted in the Humanities. Humanities cultivate moral imagination, cultural literacy, and critical thought. In a time of AI and automation, we need wisdom—not just knowledge. This demands a curricula that include indigenous perspectives. Challenge colonial frameworks. Embrace multiple ways of knowing. Paulo Freire, José Carlos Mariátegui, Gabriela Mistral exemplify that. To re-center humanity is to teach our students not just to answer questions, but to ask better ones.
  2. Ethical Leadership and Vision-Driven Institutions. Leadership today must be grounded in purpose, integrity, and courage. I urge higher education leaders to defend academic freedom and inclusion. Prioritize the public good over market logic. Inspire civic engagement and global responsibility. Ethical leadership creates institutions that reflect the world we hope to build.
  3. Transformative Partnerships Rooted in Reciprocity. This means partnerships must be equitable, long-term, and co-created. We must move away from extractive collaborations to shared innovation and mutual respect. North–South and South–South exchanges should be encouraged. Latin America is poised to lead in building knowledge networks anchored in justice, language diversity, and local-global solutions.

Re-centering humanity is not just a philosophy—it is a mandate. We must imagine a future where:

  • Students from all backgrounds have access to global learning.
  • Universities serve as sanctuaries for truth, dialogue, and healing.
  • Partnerships build not only capacity—but community.

Let us lead with empathy. Let us educate for justice. Let us internationalize with integrity. 

Thank you again to Unversidad Señor de Sipán and all in attendance for this special honor. This moment reaffirms that we are bound together not only by scholarship—but by shared purpose and shared humanity.