Ted Meinhover

I’ll bet you didn’t know that 2006 is the official “year of study abroad,” as declared by the congress of the United States of America. well, it’s true! this is a commentary that I was asked to write by the University of Minnesota.

In 2005, the US Senate unanimously passed a resolution declaring 2006 the Year of Study Abroad. The resolution’s realization that “broader global awareness among America’s future leaders will… lead to more effective U.S. foreign policy, greater security from terrorism and economic resilience in the increasingly competitive world of trade” is undeniably a step in the right direction; I fear, however, that it has come too late.

A study abroad participant and advocate myself, I wanted to write a happy, feel good article about how studying abroad is a fantastic, self-actualizing experience; it is. I thought I could relate how it challenges the spirit, the taste buds, and one’s tolerance of the uncomfortable and the unknown; it does. However, from this sweaty, smoky internet café in Jakarta, Indonesia – even as the lilting Adzan from the mosque, the call to prayer, rings out telling Muslims to break their fast during this holy month of Ramadan – my thoughts and words are indeed more urgent.

In the context of our globalizing reality, understanding and experiencing the complex web that ties together all cultures and countries is not a luxury, but a necessity. Studying abroad is no longer simply a chance to see famous monuments and taste new food; in reality, globalization has already made those things familiar. Studying abroad must now be seen as society’s responsibility to prepare everyone to be successful and ethical in our complex and expansive world. It also gives quality to those international interactions that are already taking place. While “global awareness… will lead” to a more successful future, my experiences every day tell me that global awareness is needed right now. I am currently studying in Indonesia, with the fourth largest population and the single largest Islamic population in the world. Although this may be considered a developing country, I am convinced that what is happening here has immense implications for the US and the rest of the world. America’s failure to recognize this frightens me and needs to be addressed now with policies and relationships that can only come from person to person contact.

This kind of recognition is exactly what our policymakers mean when they talk about better “foreign policy, greater security from terrorism, and economic resilience.”

My generation has witnessed events that are challenging our traditional concepts of citizenship, religion, and education. The world is changing; we cannot ignore it, and must change along with it. If we do not learn about our global community, we are in danger of waking up to find that we no longer understand our place within it. My generation now has the burden of coming to grips with a post-9/11 world, with an exponentially growing China, with a globally integrated environment and economy, and the threat of clashing religions.

My message is one of hope, however, not fear. For each danger that my generation faces there is opportunity. Curriculum must change along with reality, and the reality is that my generation is a “global” generation. We must recognize our roles as global citizens. Studying in another country, a student influences their foreign environment even as it changes them. Through this dialogue, we have the power to construct a world of peace and prosperity.

Furthermore, the importance of studying abroad is as local as it is global. The skills and new perspectives gained across the world are “imported,” as such, back to the home towns of Vergas, MN and Des Moines, IA. Study abroad students have negotiated peace between countries, but they have also come home to start successful businesses, run for the school boar, and lead their country. They become the people who can identify a problem, see what must be done, and take the initiative to do something about it. According to a University of Minnesota survey, international corporations identify the most important skills as skills that are attained through studying abroad.

Studying abroad, you also learn that we are all connected; what we do in America affects people on the other side of the world, and vise-versa. Accepting the implied responsibility, you realize that improving the world for one is improving the world for all – promoting education in your home town, for example, is just as vital as reconstructing the homes of earthquake victims in central Java.

The world of my generation is unavoidably pluralistic; we can accept and learn about the diversity we are immersed in, or we can ignore and hide from it. In one case, we take the first step towards finding solutions that will benefit all, and in the other case we unwittingly breed global terrorism, world wide environmental degradation, and border-crossing epidemics.

The time is indeed ripe for the Year of Study Abroad. Each individual that sees another place, meets another people, learns another language and tastes a different food is another person that can come home with a passion to improve the world and make the most of what it has to offer. I hope that you will support study abroad as an essential part of education.