Metro International Brings International Education Week to Life
Diverse Programs Help Tri-State Residents, International Students, and Local School Children Celebrate

New York City, November 13, 2006 –Metro International celebrates the seventh annual International Education Week November 13 – 17th, 2006 and commemorates this year’s theme, International Education: Engaging in Global Partnerships and Opportunities. 

While International Education Week is a special opportunity for Metro International to celebrate, Metro spends every week of the year celebrating international education with programs and services that connect this area's 50,000 international students with New York City's 8 million residents. International students hail from every corner of the globe and annually contribute over $13.3 billion to the U.S. economy.

International Education Week, a joint effort of the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Education, encourages policies and programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the United States. This week is an important occasion for us to promote the important experience that is international education - as stated by Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, "Education is a shared value among all nations. And, it is the key to progress and development - the development of a region, a nation and an individual life."

The following exceptional Metro International events happening this week illustrate a few of the many people that benefit from international education:

Metro International’s Global Classroom Program Reaches All Five Boroughs:  Global Guides, trained international students and Fulbright scholars from around the world, will visit schools and after-school programs to share their country and culture each day during International Education Week.  Visits will reach elementary, middle, and high schools, and three Global Guides will lead workshops at Bronx Community College. 

Global Classroom Design Competition:  Metro International is hosting a competition for Global Classroom students to design the Metro International holiday card.  The winning design will promote international understanding and will be sent to hundreds of colleagues and friends.  The winner will be chosen and announced at the end of International Education Week.

Metro International Hosts a LGBTQ Social:  Students from across the New York and New Jersey area are encouraged to join other Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer identified students and their allies at a social night at the LGBT Community Center in Manhattan.  Students will learn about resources in and around New York City for LGBTQ students, meet other LGBTQ students and allies from other schools and other countries.  A member of the LGBT Center will be on hand to share more about the program and opportunities at the Center. 

Metro International Visits Four College Campuses:  Metro International will participate in International Education Week Fairs at St. Johns University, the New School, Pratt Institute, and School of Visual Arts.  Metro International staff members will g invite international students to participate in upcoming programs, such as Thanksgiving Community Visits in Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

To view a sampling of International Education Week events held on university and college campuses around the New York and New Jersey areas, please visit www.metrointl.org/programs/IEW.html.

For more information on International Education Week activities throughout the world, please visit iew.state.gov/index.htm.

Metro International creates global learning opportunities for students, educators, and the community, in New York City and beyond. Metro was founded in 1977 to provide international undergraduate and graduate students with a bridge between their isolated campus environments and the broader New York community. Today Metro International’s programs and services promote interaction between international visitors and New Yorkers in settings as diverse as local neighborhoods, school classrooms, businesses, and cultural institutions. Metro serves as the officially-designated coordinator of enrichment programs for visiting Fulbright scholars in New York and is a nationally and internationally recognized leader in providing substantive and innovative educational programming.

For more information on Metro International, please go to www.metrointl.org.