A partnership between Iowa Sister States and the UI Conversation Center recently provided an intercultural exchange opportunity for UI students and high school students from Norin High School in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. Nicole Oliver, former coordinator for international relations, International Strategies Division of the Yamanashi Prefectural Government, helped to coordinate the event.

A partnership between Iowa Sister States and the UI Conversation Center is providing intercultural exchange opportunities for UI students as well as high school students across the state of Iowa.

What defines a nation, or a state? What’s the meaning of sovereignty, and how do communal or religious identity figure into demands for self-determination? The world community in 2016 appears to be a fractured place with aspirations to statehood like those we’ve seen in South Sudan and Palestine, as well as civil disruptions and realignments like those between Crimea, Ukraine, and Russia. Amidst all of this there are non-state actors like ISIS challenging sitting governments and established states. The 2016 Provost’s Global Forum, The Nation, the State, and the Global Redefinition of Self-Determination, will address these questions and more during a series of lectures and panel discussions on October 13-15. A highlight of the forum will be the October 15 WorldCanvass, which will be held for the first time in Des Moines at the John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center, from 5-6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public and begins with a reception at 4 p.m.