IAIE international conference:

"Exploring Diversity Issues in Education:  International Perspectives"

Verona, Italy, April 20 - 23, 2005

Conference URL:  IAIE Conference

The IAIE organized an international conference in Verona in collaboration with the University of Verona. Other sponsors included the City of Verona and the US-based National Association for Multicultural Education. The conference featured a series of keynote speeches, workshops, panel discussions, and paper presentations around the general theme of diversity in education.  One of the main aims of the conference is to familiarize US and European educators with each other's work and to promote cross-Atlantic collaboration on the many pressing issues that confront educators in multi-cultural societies.
The Verona Conference provided a unique opportunity for teachers and educators from Europe, the United States and elsewhere, facing issues of pluralism, diversity and multiculturalism, to meet and share research findings and practical classroom experiences.

Keynote speakers included the following:
Jagdish Gundara University of London, GB; Winfried Böhm University of Würzburg, Germany; Rachel Lotan University of Stanford, USA; Barry Van Driel Secretary General IAIE – Atlanta, USA; Sigrid Luchtenberg University of Bielefeld, Germany; Hristo Kyuchikov University of Shumen, Bulgaria; Inge Thorning Intercultural Centre of Aarhus, Denmark; Erik de Vreede University of Groningen, Netherlands; Cristina Alemann Ghionda University of Köln, Germany; Agostino Portera University of Verona, Italy; Giuseppe Bertagna University of Bergamo, Italy, Mario Comoglio Pontificial Salesian University of Rome

Our conference presentation,  "Cultivating Respect for Diversity: a Case Study," is noted below:

Sheryl Dowlin (MSU Department of Speech-Communication) and Suzanne Bunkers (MSU Department of English) completed work on their "Moving Towards Respect" project and its follow-up assessment. A $15,000 "Learning that Lasts" grant from MnSCU's Center for Teaching and Learning, as well as funding from other educational organizations, funded the research and curriculum project.  Drs. Dowlin and Bunkers presented "Cultivating Respect for Diversity: a Case Study," a paper about their work, at the conference of the International Association for Intercultural Education in Verona, Italy.  The paper, translated by Dr. Hamid Bashiriyeh, will be published in "Report on Dialogue," the journal of the International Centre for Dialogue among Civilizations in Tehran, Iran.  URL:  http://www.icdac.com