Opening Sessions Theme

This year's Opening Sessions theme, "Educating for Global Citizenship," presents a timely opportunity for faculty and staff to share and explore how the college has responded and will continue to respond to the opportunities and challenges posed by its international communities both at LaGuardia and beyond.

Today's program provides a forum on global citizenship. According to the international organization Oxfam, a "global citizen is someone who: is aware of the wider world and has a sense of their own role as a world citizen; respects and values diversity; is willing to act to make the world a more equitable and sustainable place; takes responsibility for their actions."

The forum addresses the following questions: How can the college foster an environment in which students, faculty, and staff have a better understanding of their role in a global society? What are our rights and responsibilities in an increasingly interdependent world? Inherent in our discussion is the recognition that our local community represents an inescapable link in the chain of communities that make up the world. In particular, we wish to facilitate a dialogue among faculty and staff about what we at LaGuardia can do to better educate our students and ourselves to be informed and responsible "global citizens."

The program includes twenty-four workshops offered in two concurrent sessions. In addition, there will be a keynote speaker in the morning and a keynote speaker in the afternoon.

We hope that the rich perspectives and insights that are shared today will guide us in the coming academic year and beyond, as we explore the changes that are reshaping and transforming our life at the college.

We are delighted that the luncheon for returning faculty and staff is being hosted by the Alliance for Women's Equality (AWE). Representatives of AWE, including its Founder and President Erin Michelson, will make a brief presentation during the luncheon that will describe their joint civic engagement and education partnership with LaGuardia Community College, which will contribute to the college's mission to educate students for global citizenship. AWE advocates for gender equality and helps build sustainable organizations that protect and promote the rights of women and girls. As part of its public advocacy efforts, it is launching a civic education and engagement campaign called "Get REAL!" (registration, education, activism, leadership).