Fall 2025
Shefali Razdan Dugga
Students had the opportunity to hear from NYU Steinhardt alumna Shefali Razdan Duggal, former U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands. She spoke about how her background in politics—combined with passion, hard work, and preparedness—led her to the ambassadorship. She emphasized that the role is not only about representing and sharing American culture but also about learning from the culture of the Netherlands. In addition to her work as a diplomat, Shefali is also a political and women’s rights advocate and served as the Western Regional Advisor for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. In her talk, Shefali focused on the importance of building personal relationships, finding commonality, and learning from those with different viewpoints and backgrounds in relation to cultural diplomacy.
Antonia Wulff
International Education students had the opportunity to hear from Antonia Wulff, Director of Research, Policy, and Advocacy at Education International. As the world’s largest teacher union, Education International represents 32 million teachers and education support personnel across 178 countries and is dedicated to advocating for the rights and needs of educators and students. In her International Education Speaker Series event, Antonia spoke about the Sustainable Development Goals, with a focus on SDG 4, which promotes inclusive and equitable education. She highlighted Education International’s efforts in securing free primary and secondary education and expanding access to higher education. A major focus of the talk was the global teacher shortage which now affects countries worldwide. Antonia emphasized that working conditions, low pay, and lack of professional support are causing many teachers to leave the profession, often within their first five years. She shared that a major success for Education International was the UN Panel on the Teaching Profession, which developed 59 recommendations that are now being used to advocate for better conditions for teachers. Key areas for change that Education International focuses on include improving job security, addressing excessive workloads and administration duties, ensuring access to quality teacher education, and creating safe, inclusive work environments that are free from violence.
Allan Goodman
Kicking off NYU’s International Education Week, students had the opportunity to hear from Allan Goodman, Director Emeritus of Institute of International Education (IIE). The event began with a spontaneous panel featuring Cherrie Short (Senior Fellow at NYU and a member of the IIE Rescue Fund Committee), Kate Campbell (Director, Office of the Secretary NYU), Liz Shchepetylynkova (Scholars at Risk), and Julianne Parayo (NYU OGS). They shared about their current work and their connections with IIE. Dean of NYU Steinhardt Jack Knott opened the event and shared his excitement in kicking-off NYU’s International Education Week. Professor Heddy Lahmann gave opening remarks and welcomed Allan Goodman to share more details about IIE’s Outlook 2030 and Open Doors Report, which highlights trends within study abroad and international student enrollment numbers. He discussed his hopes to double the number of international students in the US and the long history US higher education has of welcoming international students and scholars.
Manuel Virguez
NYU students had the opportunity to hear from Manuel Virguez, Director of Movimiento Vinotinto, and Saba Ismail, Advocacy Associate for Regional Coalitions at Scholars at Risk, as part of this year’s International Education Speaker Series. The event explored the importance of academic freedom and the global efforts to protect scholars, students, and activists who face threats for their work and ideas. The event began with Saba Ismail sharing how Scholars at Risk promotes a deeper understanding of academic freedom through its research, reports, and advocacy initiatives. She highlighted the organization’s Free to Think annual report, which documents attacks on higher education communities around the world. Saba also discussed how her work with regional coalitions builds connections between scholars and activists across the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Manuel Virguez spoke about the critical situation in Venezuela, where restrictions, censorship, and attacks against those addressing sensitive issues have led to widespread polarization and violence. He emphasized that those most at risk include human rights defenders, journalists, union leaders, and political activists. In response, Movimiento Vinotinto provides rapid-response support, offering both legal and psychological assistance to individuals at risk.
Carol Brandt and Eliot Borenstein
Carol Brandt and Eliot Borenstein shared their insights on the future of global education and study abroad. The panel discussion centered on the importance of global learning in today's interconnected world. They offered powerful reflections on the unique ways we can enhance and rethink the study abroad experience to make it more impactful and accessible to more students.
Spring 2025
Mario Novelli
Dr. Mario Novelli explored the decline of US-led Western hegemony and its impact on global education policies, tracing shifts from post-Cold War optimism to today's fractured and authoritarian-leaning world. Novelli discussed educational struggles, from book bans in Florida to imprisoned educators worldwide, and examined possibilities for reimagining education in a multi-polar global order.
The Elephants and the Grass
This film screening and conversation with directors Brandon Gulish and Beau Rosario explored the lives of 14-year-old Shamira and her mother as they flee tribal genocide. While they fight to escape South Sudan’s violent civil war, experts and defectors challenge those in power. Global pressure mounts as these profiteers of war claim to seek peace. With unprecedented access, the film examines how politicians weaponize people's trauma to pillage nations. Considered the most corrupt place on earth, can the world’s newest country overcome these issues and finally find peace?
Giuditta Fontana and Emily Dunlop
Dr. Giuditta Fontana and NYU IE alum Dr. Emily Dunlop discussed the complex role of education in conflict and peacebuilding, drawing on Dr. Fontana’s global research and Dr. Dunlop’s in-depth case study of Burundi. Their talk explored how education can act as a motivator for conflict and the different approaches to education reform in global peace agreements. It also examined the selective implementation of education reforms, and its impact on post-conflict settlements. By critically re-examining oversimplified narratives of the contribution of education to war-to-peace transitions, this talk offered insights into the opportunities and challenges to designing education policies that support sustainable peace.