Dr. Franklin Valcin represented Atlantic International University at the 9^th World Congress of World Federations of UNESCO Clubs and Associations (WFUCA) in the capital city of Beijing, in China from July 21^st to July 25^th, 2015.

According to the very description of our own academic dean, the event was a success from virtually all vantage points. The co-hosts of that congress, the World Federation of UNESCO Clubs, Centers and Associations (WFUCA) and the Chinese National Federation of UNESCO Clubs and Associations (CNFUCA) had ensured that nothing be left behind for the overwhelming success of the celebration.

One of the most important findings from the WFUCA Congress was that our ideals closely coincide with those promoted at the event. We found it amazing to observe the extent that such values match with Chinese culture at large, particularly with regard to the educational philosophy these people have embraced.

The conference was conducted in Chinese along with the sporadic use of other languages such as English, Spanish, and Portuguese, very renowned translators provided simultaneous translation in UNESCO 2 official languages, English and French. Representatives from about forty nations were in attendance, but everyone could easily follow all scheduled activities thanks to this linguistic apparatus put in place for the event.

In summary, the conference was a positive move for several reasons:

(1) it opened up another corner of the world to our institution
(2) it provided a good framework for an eventual involvement of our institution and students in this branch of the United Nations Organization,
(3) it widened our horizons in terms of the opportunity to network with other professionals in various fields, and most importantly,
(4) it exemplifies our stand to act concretely in order to expose AIU to the world and promote human rights through or toward the endogenous progress of every human being in particular.

To read more about the conference, please click on the link below:

https://www.aiu.edu/newemails/pdf/AIU-WFUCA.pdf