Skip to main content.
OSUN Menu
Education sub-menu
Education
OSUN Courses
Faculty
Graduate Programs
Certificate Programs
Mobility
Teaching
Birkbeck Summer School
Center for Liberal Arts and Sciences Pedagogy (CLASP)
Developing Teaching Professionals
Experiential Learning Institute
Global History Lab
Global Teaching Fellowship Program
GLOBALED
Curricula
CORUSUS
Economic Democracy Initiative
Experimental Humanities Collaborative Network
Global Studies
Hannah Arendt Humanities Network
Human Rights Program
Liberal Arts and Sciences Collaborative
Policy Labs
Professional Development Program for University Administrators
Strengthening the Core
Transnational Feminism, Solidarity, and Social Justice
Research sub-menu
Research
Research Projects
Community Engaged Research
The Democracy Institute
Economic Democracy Initiative
GEOHUB
Global Institute of Advanced Study
OSUN Forum on Democracy and Development
Research Creation Initiative
Senior Projects
Fellowships
Chatham House Academy Fellowships
Global Scholars Academy
Past Projects
Global Observatory on Academic Freedom
Open Society Research Platform
Access sub-menu
Access
Teacher Education
Enhanced Network Teacher Education Capacity
Hubs for Connected Learning Initiatives
Education Pathways
Collaborative for Liberal Education for Adolescents
Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison
Hubs for Connected Learning Initiatives
Microcollege for Just Community Leadership
Civic sub-menu
Civic Engagement
Student Engagement
Get Engaged Conference
Global Commons
Global Engagement Fellows
Engaged Learning
Certificate in Civic Engagement
Community Engaged Liberal Arts and Sciences
Community Engaged Research
Engaged Senior Projects
Experiential Learning Institute
OSUN Science Shop
Solve Climate by 2030
Academic Freedom sub-menu
Academic Freedom
Initiatives
AltLiberalArts
Invisible University for Ukraine
Smolny Beyond Borders
Threatened Scholars Integration Initiative
Institutional Partners
American University of Afghanistan
Parami University
News sub-menu
News + Opportunities
Newsroom
Current News
News Archive
Events
Current Events
Events Archive
Opportunities
For Students
For Faculty
Archive
Student Fellows and Ambassadors
Resources sub-menu
Resources
OSUN Resources
Academic Technology Guides
Blended Learning Toolkit
Digital Collection
Digital Case Studies
Digital Course Collection
Student-Produced Videos
About sub-menu
About
About OSUN
Our Vision
Who We Are
What We Do
Member Institutions
Themes
Annual Report
Branding
Search
Search
News & Events Menu
News & Events Menu
Newsroom
Current News
News Archive
Events
Current Events
Events Archive
Opportunities
Current Opportunities
Opportunities Archive
OSUN News
View all news
Virtual Student Leadership: Building Skills to Shape the Future
William J. Barber III was one of several engaging speakers at OSUN's Virtual Student Leadership Conference.
By Alejandra Ortiz (Bard College '22)
OSUN held its inaugural Virtual Student Leadership Conference on October 9-10, giving attendees an opportunity to learn about and develop leadership skills, as well as connect with a global network of like-minded colleagues. Over 140 Students spanning the network, from 21 institutions in 68 countries, attended the online event, participating in workshops devoted to helping them learn more about themselves as leaders and as human beings. (See a map representing the global spread of attendees
here
.)
Speakers at four workshops focused on different aspects of leadership, including self-care, resilience, goal-setting, teamwork, networking, and time management. On the first day,
Jonathan Becker
(Vice Chancellor of OSUN) asked students about the meaning of leadership and
William J. Barber III
(Director of Strategic Partnerships, The Climate Reality Project), asked students to reflect on what is their personal philosophy as a leader and the importance of being a student of history. Barber also focused on leadership as it relates to education, action, struggle, and success within the climate justice and racial justice movements. The last speaker of the day was
Jovanny Suriel
(Dean for Civic Engagement, Bard College), who discussed goal setting and time management.
Speakers during the second day of the conference focused on students’ well-being and the importance of intercultural communication among leaders.
Kahan Sablo
(Dean of Inclusive Excellence, Bard),
Annia Reyes
(Director of Health & Wellness, Bard),
Erin Cannan
(Vice President of the Center for Civic Engagement at Bard),
Sonita Alizada
(rapper, activist, and Bard student),
Zarlasht Sarmast
(Global Fellows Program Coordinator, American University of Central Asia [AUCA]),
Nurzhamal Karamoldoeva
(Executive Director, CCE AUCA), and
Zhamal Dzhumashova
(Program Coordinator, CCE AUCA) discussed self-care, teamwork, resilience, and intercultural communication. These sessions successfully taught participants how to deal with the pressures of being a leader.
Many of the students in attendance expressed a strong dedication to improving their leadership skills so they might help solve problems affecting their home countries. Many spoke passionately about their current projects and what they needed to learn so they could reach those goals.
Organizing and participating in the conference gave me an opportunity to reflect on my own leadership skills and to check in with myself. I learned new ways to manage my time, my work, and teamwork and I appreciated that the guest speakers we gathered drew people deeper into the issues being discussed.
Seeing students actively attend conference events and participate in the exercises was a powerful reminder that there are many people who want to see positive global change. These students and future leaders hail from countries all over the world that have complex human rights problems that need to be resolved. To successfully address these issues, leaders are needed–individuals who can motivate those who seek positive change to organize, build movements, and become leaders themselves.
Overall, students who attended the conference reported learning new skills such as how to use SMART goals to manage their time and how to work effectively with teams. Many were excited to meet other students from the OSUN Network and looked forward to new opportunities to connect. Serving on the editorial team of the OSUN
Global Commons
publication is one of many opportunities currently available.
Post Date:
10-25-2021