Summary

Presenters will facilitate an interactive workshop envisioning future actions to support and embrace diversity and inclusion in social work study abroad programs. Through an equity/social justice lens, the workshop promotes a perspective that actively seeks and embraces diversity and inclusion for the richness it adds to group experiences. This conversation is crucial to exploring the value that enhanced diversity and inclusion can bring to study abroad programs and enhancing social work students’ awareness and interest in global issues and perspectives.\\\\ The social work profession has long recognized the importance of human rights and engaging in anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (CSWE, 2021). The presentation uses the phases of study abroad program development and execution as a framework for mutual exploration of how aspects of diversity are, or are not, fully considered and embraced in each phase. Elements of diversity for discussion include ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, gender/sexual identity, disabilities, age, family status and religious beliefs as well as intersectionality. Below is the planned structure of the presentation. A series of questions will be posed for each program phase to promote critical conversations which places the embrace of diversity and inclusion at the center of study abroad: What was your experience? What could you, or we, do better to support and embrace diversity and inclusion? What aspects of diversity and inclusion were supported and what was left out? What are obstacles to diversity and inclusion in this phase? What does embracing diversity and inclusion ideally look like in, and add to, each phase?\\\\ Our focus is on eliciting an array of perspectives, lessons learned, and ideas to advance diversity and inclusion in study abroad.\\\\ Part I: Introductions, presentation goals, and program background; Part II: Program Inception; Part III: Pre-Planning; Part IV: Pre-Travel Education; Part V: Travel Abroad; Part VI: Post Travel

Keywords (separate with commas)

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Study Abroad, Program Design, Critical Conversations, Future Action, Global Perspectives, Panama, Italy\\