Erin Cannan, center, leads students in a group exercise at Get Engaged 2024. Photo by Ibrar Mirzai/Bard College Berlin
The Get Engaged Student Action and Youth Leadership Conference held its 2024 event in Berlin last week, hosted by Bard College Berlin and the Hertie School. The annual gathering, organized by the Civic Engagement Initiative in partnership with the Bard College Berlin Civic Engagement Office and the Bard College Center for Civic Engagement, brought together participants from 22 partner institutions representing 50 different countries. Erin Cannan, vice president for Civic Engagement at Bard, has been leading the Get Engaged Conference for 11 years. “It’s what we all look forward to each year,” says Cannan. While she’s seen it grow since the first conference in 2014, there are some things that never change. “Meeting others that are so different creates an opening of the heart that takes you across a bridge of understanding. Once you know it, it’s something that can’t be undone. It’s always with you.” Inspiring student projects addressed pressing challenges; in this year of critical elections across the globe, Sierra Ford ’26, from Bard College, has been running “Election@Bard,” which works to safeguard the right to vote by registering students and community members and helping them learn about candidates.
Post Date: 07-23-2024
