APAIE 2020 postponed to 2021

The Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE) has made the difficult, but wise, decision to postpone to March 2021 the APAIE conference and exhibition that Simon Fraser University was due to host in Vancouver later this month.

As a university committed to “Engaging the World,” the mandate given to SFU to host the APAIE conference for the first time in the Americas would have provided us with the unique opportunity to welcome and engage the international education community.

With the help of our co-hosts, supporting organisations and conference sponsors, we have worked hard over the past year to prepare for APAIE 2020. However, rising concerns about the global health scenario surrounding the COVID-19 virus outbreak necessitated this decision.

While the risk of transmission of the COVID-19 virus is currently assessed as low in Canada, and enthusiasm for APAIE 2020 was high among the more than 2500 people who had thus far registered to attend, the situation is changing every day in unpredictable ways.

After careful consideration, APAIE took this decision considering the health and welfare of participants and of the host community, plus the fact that increasing national and international travel restrictions were preventing many delegates from Asia from attending.

SFU has been closely associated with the APAIE conference for many years, and has benefited from the opportunities it provides to advance international and inter-cultural engagement, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, where SFU has deep ties with many educational institutions and alumni.

While it is unfortunate that the conference will not proceed as planned, I am pleased that the APAIE Executive Committee has decided to postpone rather than cancel it, giving us the opportunity to host next year with renewed gusto.

Information about next year’s conference can be found here.