Newswise — Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and civil rights icon Julian Bond will join a group of notable historians, activists, and global thought leaders to address some of today’s most critical issues as part of the Forum on Global Engagement, Semester at Sea’s dynamic four-day voyage examining international issues.
Joining O’Connor and Bond will be former Virginia Gov. Gerald Baliles and British education policy expert Sir Christopher Ball. Together with invited participants, these thought leaders will explore today’s most pressing global challenges including education, human rights, social justice, health and sustainability.
The forum’s theme is “Exploring Insights and Challenges in the New Decade”. The four-day event will take place aboard the MV Explorer, the state-of-the-art ship that serves as the floating campus for the Semester at Sea global study program. The University of Virginia is the program's academic sponsor.
The MV Explorer provides an ideal setting for discussing world issues. Each year, it circumnavigates the globe with hundreds of college students, exposing them to cultures, histories and politics of countries throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, South America, and the Caribbean.
The forum also will give participants first-hand experience with life aboard a floating university, complete with a library, computer center, common hall and nine classrooms.
“One of the core missions of the Semester at Sea program is to educate individuals with the global understanding necessary to address the challenges of our interdependent world,” said Les McCabe, president of the Institute for Shipboard Education and Semester at Sea. “The Forum on Global Engagement exemplifies this mission in an intensive and thought-provoking environment of concerned citizens.”
During the forum, which runs from June 10-14, participants will sail along the Atlantic coast from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Nova Scotia, Canada, and will have the rare opportunity for one-on-one discussions with these distinguished leaders. “In an era of globalization, is it enough to prepare students to be good citizens of our country or good citizens of the world?” Ball said. “This is a challenge we must consider: to think about educating not just good Americans, but good human beings. This forum and the program in general provides such an opportunity for exploration and that approach to education.”
Previous forums have hosted such luminaries as Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Jessica Jackley, a Semester at Sea alumna and co-founder of the micro-lending organization KIVA.
Media are invited to experience this special opportunity aboard the MV Explorer and to have interviews with the participants.
Learn more about the Forum on Global Engagement’s keynote speakers and program details at www.semesteratsea.org/FGE.
About Semester at Sea
Semester at Sea® is a premier global education abroad program based in the United States. Since it began in 1963, more than 55,000 college students and lifelong learners have participated in the program, which travels more than 60,000 nautical miles around the world each year. The University of Virginia serves as the program’s academic sponsor and provides transferable college credits. Over its 47-year history, Semester at Sea has made 101 voyages and has achieved a number of significant milestones, including groundbreaking visits to countries such as the former Soviet Union, China, Vietnam, Cuba, and Myanmar. Participants have met with prominent leaders including Fidel Castro, Anwar Sadat, Indira Gandhi, Mikhail Gorbachev, Corazon Aquino, Sidi Mohammed, Mother Teresa, Bishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela.
RSS