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What Is Resilience?Virtual ConferenceThe seventh annual “Get Engaged: Student Action and Leadership Conference” took place virtually on Saturday, March 21, 2020. The conference brought together 41 student leaders from across the Bard international network of partner institutions. Participants asked, "What is resilience?"—discussing how change-makers can connect and engage going forward, as we adapt to the seismic cultural shifts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Watch the slideshow of Get Engaged 2020 student projects across the network.Student-Led Civic and Community Engagement ProjectsDuring the conference students and institutional coordinators discussed ways to adapt their projects and/or shift focus to meet the needs of their communities. Using technology, ongoing efforts to share experiences, learn new skills, hone leadership styles, and network with international partners will continue throughout the year. The conference continues to be an inspirational and practical space that encourages young people to grow into their roles as agents for change.
More about the Virtual Conference
This year's conference participants came from Al-Quds Bard College of Arts and Sciences (AQB) (East Jerusalem), American University of Bulgaria (AUBG), American University of Central Asia (AUCA) (Kyrgyzstan), Ashesi University (Ghana), Bard College Annandale (United States), Bard College Berlin (BCB) (Germany), Central European University (CEU) (Hungary), European Humanities University (EHU) (Lithuania), Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences at St. Petersburg State University (Smolny College) (Russia), and Fulbright University of Vietnam (FUV).
Organized by the Bard College Center for Civic Engagement, in partnership with the Community Engagement Office and the Bard-CEU Study Abroad Program at Central European University, the conference adapted to the current COVID-19 pandemic through a virtual platform while continuing to cultivate a new generation of globally engaged citizens that are at the heart of the new Open Society University Network. The conference focused on strengthening the growing network of student social innovators who use the liberal arts as a creative tool to address local, national, and global challenges.
Thank You
A special thank you to our conference supporters:
Andrew Gagarin Trust
Bard College Center for Civic Engagement Board of Advisors
Bard College Office of Development and Alumni/ae Affairs
Central European University Community Engagement Office
Central European University Bard-CEU Study Abroad Program
Kellner Family Foundation
Open Society University Network
Not a traditional academic conference
The Get Engaged Conference brings together students from across the Bard International Network to develop community leadership skills and collaborate on solutions to local and global challenges.
Workshops focus on: Leadership, Public Speaking, Networking, Social Media, Community Partnerships, Innovation and Creativity, Fundraising and Grant Writing, and Emotional Intelligence.
Get Engaged Microgrants
Microgrants provide supplemental resources to deepen (or initiate) student-led engagement projects and can be used to link two or more projects across the network. Grant awards range from $250–$500 USD and will not exceed $600. The new microgrant application cycle begins in April 2020. Check back for the 2020–21 application.
Global Engagement Fellows
Selected fellows have developed and sustained a civic engagement project and demonstrated leadership skills and a desire and aptitude for working with others. Fellows may apply for a microgrant of up to $750.
Viktar Filipenka
Junior
My ultimate goal is to help young leaders on their way of doing important things for society and their communities. I want to inspire them even more to continue developing their ideas and thoughts, and there is no better time than during such a mind-blowing, in a good way, event called Get Engaged: it's a step forward for everyone.
Kathy Gaweda
Junior
I attended the Get Engaged Conference in 2019 with my project Period@Bard. I am looking forward to meeting and getting to know all of our attendees this year and, of course, to get inspired by all of their incredible work. I am participating as a Global Fellow because I love the community that civic engagement, especially within our Bard network, creates and I want to provide whatever help I can throughout this lead-up to the conference and beyond.
Dilshod Hamroboev
Sophomore in International and Comparative Politics
As a Global Fellow, I am looking forward to broadening my network with other Bard partner universities and make a contribution to the Get Engaged Conference. Moreover, I wish to be able to develop an international project or research with other global fellows.
Shadin Nassar
Junior in International Law and Human Rights
As a Global Fellow, I strive to attract students to contribute productively and meaningfully to their community by assisting them in incorporating their skills, visions and experiences figuratively and literally to lead civic engagement projects, which will contribute to the excessive growth of their community in concrete-based results.
Zarlasht Sarmast
Senior in the Department of International and Comparative Politics
What I am looking for to achieve as a member and lead fellow at the Global Fellows program is to work together with other members, help them with their projects and combine some of the similar projects together and make a big impactful team of global fellows. I am also planning to work on something similar to TedTalks within global fellows where global fellows members can go to other universities in Bard Network and present their amazing projects to inspire other students and maybe find people who can help them with their projects.
Sofia Sorokina
Senior at Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Saint Petersburg State University
As a Global Fellow, I'm looking forward to improving the connections between Smolny and other universities of Bard Network, meeting even more passionate engaged people around the world and making our society a healthier place to live.