First International Alumni Summit in Singapore Unites Hoyas from Seven Countries
On September 8 and 9, 2023, the Georgetown University Alumni Association (GUAA) hosted the first ever international alumni summit in Singapore. With over 150 registrants throughout the weekend, the event marked the largest engagement of its kind in the region, attracting alumni from seven different countries.
Highlights from the event included a landmark reception on Friday evening atop the National Gallery in Singapore hosted at Smoke and Mirrors. This reception featured a university update from GUAA Executive Director Julia Farr (C’88, Parent ’19, ’21, ’24) and remarks from Vice President for Global Engagement Thomas Banchoff. All of this was enjoyed over a beautiful panorama of Singapore’s skyline.
Saturday featured three events focused on key elements uniting Georgetown and Asia’s shared future: the futures of U.S.-China relations, global education, and diplomacy.
The first panel, “The Future of America’s China Policy,” showcased Evan Medeiros, Penner Family Chair for Asian Studies at Georgetown, in a riveting conversation on the place of Singapore in the global stage carefully navigating its path between the United States and China. Other speakers included Chin-Hao Huang, associate professor at Yale-NUS, and Xue Gong, non-resident scholar at Carnegie China.
The second panel on “The Future of Global Education” highlighted Georgetown Representative in Asia Renée Gallant interviewing Vice President for Global Engagement Thomas Banchoff on what the trends in higher education mean for both Georgetown University and Asia. While Georgetown continues to attract the best and brightest students, there are many challenges to contend with to ensure this remains the case in the future.
At the conclusion of the day, attendees were treated to an exciting conversation on the future of diplomacy featuring Casey Mace (SFS’99), deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore, and Joel Hellman, dean of the Walsh School of Foreign Service. The conversation centered on how to best educate the next generation of diplomats, as well addressed the challenges currently facing the United States in Singapore and Asia.
Thrilled by the success of the international alumni summit in Singapore, GUAA is already looking forward to the next summit in Asia soon.