International Education Week is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Education to “promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the United States.”

The World Affairs Council Education Program observes International Education Week through International Career Mentor Night which will be held on November 18th (see earlier post).  Another way to celebrate International Education Week is by participating in the online Global Education Conference.

Next week, the Global Education Collaborative, a social networking site for global education, will be hosting the Global Education Conference. The conference, November 15 through 19, will be held entirely over the internet and will be free for participants. The conference will provide an opportunity to hear from students and teachers from around the world.

The Collaborative has also very conveniently grouped the different sessions you can virtually attend into different tracks, sorted by interest. For example, if you are a student hoping to learn more about global student opportunities and projects, you can tune into the sessions featured in the student track. Other tracks include: Teacher, Curricular, Policy and Leadership, Global Issues, and Learning 2.0!

There is no need to register for the conference, but you must configure your computer in order to join in the sessions. To learn more about sessions, how to get involved, or the conference itself, visit the Global Education Conference site.