Kiran Pandey
Staff Writer
The Frank Church Symposium is an event that’s organized and hosted every year by the International Affairs Council (IAC), a student organization under the Department of Global Studies and Languages. It’s named in honor of Idaho’s late senator, Frank Church, who served as chair of the U.S. Committee on Foreign Relations during the Vietnam War.
Topics covered this year include international affairs, global governance, law and the political economy.
“This symposium benefits students by allowing them to hear from and meet experts in their field and learn about new topics relating to the international world,” said IAC president Jillian Christiansen.
The symposium will take place March 1 and 2 in the Salmon River suites of the Pond Student Union building.
“His distinguished leadership and principles are reflected in our symposium,” Christiansen said in a statement posted on the symposium website.
The symposium is composed of different panels with three to five delegates who speak for about 20 minutes, followed by the question from the audience.
Chantal de Jonge Oudraat, president of Women in International Security, will give this year’s keynote address on March 1 at 5 p.m. in the Rendezvous Planetarium.
The symposium is open and free to all ISU students and there is also an option to take the symposium as a credit class.
Delegates at the event are experts in their academic fields while the speakers hail from ISU, University of Utah, Dixie State and the University of Nevada.
The symposium is organized and run entirely by the members of the IAC, except for some input by faculty advisers. The week after a symposium is completed, the IAC meets and members bring in ideas about what they would like to cover in the next year’s event.
“For the students who plan the symposium, they are able to gain experience in planning and creating a conference and this provides them with a networking experience with individuals who are excelling in their respective fields,” Christiansen said.
In prior years, the symposium lasted two full days, but the IAC shortened this year’s event to a day in a half to accommodate attendees’ schedules, according to Christiansen, which allows more people to attend.
The event typically sees 600-800 participants, but Christiansen said she is hoping to see that sumber increase.
The symposium provides an opportunity for the Pocatello community to be exposed to new ideas from people who have different backgrounds.
“We believe that understanding different viewpoints strengthens and enhances our university and community,” she said in the statement posted on the website. “We bring in delegates from around the country and the world to give presentations and engage in open discussion with us to achieve this goal.”
