Internationalization in Concert: Composing Together
At a time when geopolitical tensions, social divides and competing global narratives are reshaping the ways countries, institutions and communities relate to one another, international higher education is called to do more than maintain existing channels of cooperation. It must create spaces where trust can be rebuilt, differences can be acknowledged, and new forms of collaboration can be collectively imagined.
The FAUBAI 2027 Conference invites the Brazilian and global international education community to reflect on internationalization as a shared composition. In this perspective, cooperation is not the result of a single voice, model or agenda, but of many voices learning to listen, respond and create together.
Hosted in Salvador, Bahia – a city shaped by African, Indigenous, European and Atlantic encounters – FAUBAI 2027 draws inspiration from one of the world’s most powerful expressions of cultural plurality. Salvador reminds us that diversity is not simply something to be celebrated; it is something that must be composed, negotiated and transformed into collective possibility.
Under the theme Internationalization in Concert: Composing Together, the conference will explore how higher education institutions, associations, networks and partners can move beyond declarations of intent and work together on concrete practices, shared responsibilities and transformative forms of international cooperation.
Brazil and Latin America bring distinctive contributions to this conversation. Their experiences, challenges and knowledge traditions invite international education to become more reciprocal, inclusive and attentive to different contexts, while remaining committed to common futures.
Key questions to explore
- How can internationalization help rebuild trust in a world marked by fragmentation and competing narratives?
- What does it mean to compose international cooperation together, rather than reproduce inherited models and asymmetries?
- How can multicultural realities, diverse knowledge traditions and different ways of seeing the world reshape the future of internationalization?
- How can multicultural territories, shaped by different histories, voices and traditions, inspire more inclusive and creative ways of composing internationalization?
- How can higher education institutions transform diversity of voices, cultures and knowledge systems into concrete collaborative practices?
- In what ways can Brazil, Latin America and the Global South contribute to more reciprocal and transformative international partnerships?
- How can international education move from intentions to action, producing shared responses to global and local challenges?