Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
As the world focuses on Ukraine’s offensive against Russia, as well as Israel’s struggle with Hamas and Hezbollah, the temptation is to believe that other crises have meanwhile eased. However, many additional people around the world also suffer from devastating conflicts. In Sudan, ongoing war between the army and paramilitary forces has shattered the country, killing some 20,000 and displacing over 10 million. In Venezuela, the suppression of human rights, rampant corruption, and economic collapse have displaced 7.7 million. And in Myanmar, where the Rohingya have faced decades of systemic persecution and targeted violence, a 2021 military coup inflicted widespread suffering, displacing 3.3 million. To name a few. How can the international community bring meaningful attention to these seemingly overlooked crises without merely substituting them for others now commanding our attention?
Featured:
Fanta Aw serves as the executive director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, having previously held its presidency from 2013 to 2016. NAFSA is the world’s largest and most comprehensive international education association, with more than 10,000 members at more than 4,000 institutions in 140+ countries. She often serves as a keynote speaker, sharing her expertise on various topics, including internationalization, geopolitics, public policy, and immigration.
Louis Goodman, professor and dean emeritus at the School of International Service of American University in Washington, DC, carries out research on social change and politics in Latin America and Asia. He has published widely on civil-military relations in Latin America, foreign investment in developing countries, and determinants of career success for blue-collar workers.
Anne Lonsdale, a British sinologist and higher education expert, served as the President of New Hall (now Murray Edwards College), University of Cambridge, from 1996 to 2008. Previously, she was the secretary-general of the Central European University and joined the team creating Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan, where she was appointed founding provost from 2010 to 2012, returning to that position in 2015. She is a long-standing member of the Council for At-Risk Academics.
Lord Jonny Oates has been a member of the House of Lords since 2015 and is the chief executive of United Against Malnutrition and Hunger, a global non-profit organization. He served as chief of staff to the deputy prime minister during the United Kingdom's coalition government from 2010 to 2015. Before that, he worked in the South African Parliament and taught in a rural secondary school in Zimbabwe. His memoir, “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden,” was published in October 2020.
Michael Scott (moderator) is senior dean, fellow of Blackfriars Hall, Oxford, college adviser for postgraduate students, and a member of the Las Casas Institute. He also serves as senior adviser to the president of Georgetown University. Scott previously was the pro-vice-chancellor at De Montfort University and founding vice-chancellor of Wrexham Glyndwr University.
Sanford J. Ungar (moderator), president emeritus of Goucher College, is director of the Free Speech Project at Georgetown University, which documents challenges to free expression in American education, government, and civil society. Director of the Voice of America under President Bill Clinton, he was also dean of the American University School of Communication and is a former co-host of "All Things Considered" on NPR.
As the world focuses on Ukraine’s offensive against Russia, as well as Israel’s struggle with Hamas and Hezbollah, the temptation is to believe that other crises have meanwhile eased. However, many additional people around the world also suffer from devastating conflicts. In Sudan, ongoing war between the army and paramilitary forces has shattered the country, killing some 20,000 and displacing over 10 million. In Venezuela, the suppression of human rights, rampant corruption, and economic collapse have displaced 7.7 million. And in Myanmar, where the Rohingya have faced decades of systemic persecution and targeted violence, a 2021 military coup inflicted widespread suffering, displacing 3.3 million. To name a few. How can the international community bring meaningful attention to these seemingly overlooked crises without merely substituting them for others now commanding our attention?
Featured:
Fanta Aw serves as the executive director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, having previously held its presidency from 2013 to 2016. NAFSA is the world’s largest and most comprehensive international education association, with more than 10,000 members at more than 4,000 institutions in 140+ countries. She often serves as a keynote speaker, sharing her expertise on various topics, including internationalization, geopolitics, public policy, and immigration.
Louis Goodman, professor and dean emeritus at the School of International Service of American University in Washington, DC, carries out research on social change and politics in Latin America and Asia. He has published widely on civil-military relations in Latin America, foreign investment in developing countries, and determinants of career success for blue-collar workers.
Anne Lonsdale, a British sinologist and higher education expert, served as the President of New Hall (now Murray Edwards College), University of Cambridge, from 1996 to 2008. Previously, she was the secretary-general of the Central European University and joined the team creating Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan, where she was appointed founding provost from 2010 to 2012, returning to that position in 2015. She is a long-standing member of the Council for At-Risk Academics.
Lord Jonny Oates has been a member of the House of Lords since 2015 and is the chief executive of United Against Malnutrition and Hunger, a global non-profit organization. He served as chief of staff to the deputy prime minister during the United Kingdom's coalition government from 2010 to 2015. Before that, he worked in the South African Parliament and taught in a rural secondary school in Zimbabwe. His memoir, “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden,” was published in October 2020.
Michael Scott (moderator) is senior dean, fellow of Blackfriars Hall, Oxford, college adviser for postgraduate students, and a member of the Las Casas Institute. He also serves as senior adviser to the president of Georgetown University. Scott previously was the pro-vice-chancellor at De Montfort University and founding vice-chancellor of Wrexham Glyndwr University.
Sanford J. Ungar (moderator), president emeritus of Goucher College, is director of the Free Speech Project at Georgetown University, which documents challenges to free expression in American education, government, and civil society. Director of the Voice of America under President Bill Clinton, he was also dean of the American University School of Communication and is a former co-host of "All Things Considered" on NPR.
