Kent State University and its leaders continue to influence the conversation surrounding peace education on the global stage. Kent State's Amanda Johnson, Ph.D., was among the speakers invited to present at the Virtua Educa Cumbre Nuevas Fronteras Educación 360 (New Frontiers Education 360) Summit, hosted by Kent State's university partner, Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo (UEES) in Guayaquil, Ecuador, in October.
Johnson's presentation was titled "The Place for Peace in Internationalization: Peace Education in International Higher Education." Johnson is the director of Kent State's Gerald R. Read Center for International and Intercultural Education. As director, her professional experience has led to the collaboration between the center and Kent State's School of Peace and Conflict Studies to host Peace Education in an Era of Crisis: State of the Art Issues, Strategies and Perspectives, a conference held in Kigali, Rwanda, in July, as well as a successful exchange program with Toyo University in Japan. Additionally, through Johnson’s leadership, the center has facilitated the participation of more than 150 international students and scholars in Kent State coursework, research and other initiatives.
Ecuador's then-President, Guillermo Lasso, spoke at the Summit
The summit in Ecuador featured more than 90 presentations events and a hackathon. Attendees included Guillermo Lasso, the President of Ecuador at the time (a new president has since been elected), and Sophia, a humanoid robot from Hanson Robotics, who interacted with speakers at the conference.
Sophie the robot on stage at the New Frontiers Education 360 Summit
The Gerald H. Read Center for International and Intercultural Education in Kent State's College of Education, Health and Human Services was created in 1987 through an endowment established by Emeritus Professor Gerald H. Read.
Consistent with KSU’s strategic commitment to global cooperation, the Gerald H. Read Center was designed to examine curricular issues related to international and intercultural education, facilitate international student and scholar programming, and support exchange and research projects with an international and intercultural focus, as well as faculty led education abroad in the college. Finally, the center establishes links with stakeholders across the Kent State Campus and abroad to extend its impact and promote university internationalization.
All photos courtesy of Amanda Johnson, director of the Gerald H. Read Center for International and Intercultural Education