Calvin Students Hold Faith and International Development Conference

The director of the Peace Corps, a World Bank Social Development specialist and the vice president of the board for the Association for a More Just Society are coming this week to the Calvin College campus—at the invitation of students—for the Faith and International Development Conference.

The conference, running Feb. 5-7 and now in its tenth year, is completely student-run and organized and expects to attract more than 200 students and professionals from schools and organizations continent-wide.

Sophomore civil and environmental engineering major Emily Lawson and junior geography and international development studies major Gabe LePage are co-directing the conference.

The theme for the conference this year is “Healthy Humility: Learning to Learn,” which organizers say is rooted in Christ’s humility.

“American development workers get high-level educations and often go on to get masters and PhDs in their fields. We get way more formal educations than the people we’re serving. We come in thinking we have all the answers. Even with all our formal knowledge, we still have things to learn,” said Abby Paternoster, an international development studies major who serves as a general assistant for the conference.

“We need to stop and listen to people instead of coming in guns blazing, saying that we have all the answers.”

Lawson says the conference will provide myriad opportunities—from Q&A sessions to topic tables—for students and professionals to engage in thoughtful dialogue around development practices and how to best serve others. “We want to raise questions and passions, allow people to see that drive within themselves,” she says.

Speakers for this year’s conference include Carrie Hessler-Radelet, director of The Peace Corps, Michael Woolcock, a World Bank Social Development specialist, as well as Calvin professor and vice president of the Board for the Association for a More Just Society Kurt Verbeek. These speakers will give TED Talk-style lectures—short, powerful talks usually 18 minutes or less—on their respective topics.

And organizers say they built time into the conference for participants to put steps and action to lectures. “At the end of the day, it’s not just about words, it’s about action—putting love into action.”