Offering sessions that will showcase the international engagement happening on campus, the first International Symposium will begin this Tuesday and continue through Thursday.

Sponsored by the Office of International Programs, the symposium will feature sessions focused on topics such as climate change, disease, cultural differences, refugees and developmental programs or organizations. Each day, sessions will begin at 9 a.m. and continue throughout the day until 5 p.m., and each session will last an hour.

The decision on what sessions would take place was decided through the review of proposals given during the fall semester. Kathleen Fairfax, the vice provost of International Affairs, said she was impressed by the diverse amount of unique proposals received.

“One of the things I noticed when I got here was that there’s so much international stuff happening on this campus,” Fairfax said. “People are involved in all different ways. The Office of International Programs is central in coordinating certain programs, but we don’t do all the stuff nor do we know all the stuff that is going on in the international realm. We thought this would be a great way of highlighting what they’re doing internationally.”

The sessions will also be in various formats and presentation styles, such as panels, discussions, interactive workshops and games. Additionally, a visual showcase will take place Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon.

“One of the things I’ve often felt about these kinds of things is that the format doesn’t lend itself well, usually, to having people who are more in the arts participate,” Fairfax said. “So that’s why we added a separate feature to this one called the visual showcase, where it’s a chance for people who have either had international experiences or international research or something that they want to share with others in a visual or artistic mean.”

Thursday’s visual showcase will be filled with several activities. Fairfax said she is excited for the showcase, as some activities include playing instruments from another country, photography and painting displays.

This is the first year for the symposium, though in previous years there was a more formal event known as the International Colloquium. However, it was more centralized on one topic.

“I was really impressed by the Diversity Symposium and the format of it and having people from all over campus contribute to content (for) it,” Fairfax said. “And so, I said, ‘I’d like to do the International Colloquium as an International Symposium and model it as the way they set theirs up.'”

Though this is only the first such symposium, Fairfax said she is excited for the turnout.

Daniela Navarro can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @thedanielazahra.