Bringing the world to campus: Worldwide Week at Harvard 2024

Throughout the year, Harvard is home to a diverse range of lectures, seminars, and events on topics of global importance. Our museums and cultural organizations host thought-provoking programs and exhibits that help us better understand cultures and perspectives different from our own. And in Harvard’s 20-plus offices abroad and in countries around the world, Harvard faculty, students, staff, and researchers are immersed in understanding and solving some of the world’s most complex challenges.

From Oct. 5-12 this year, the Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs invites the Harvard community to join in celebrating Worldwide Week at Harvard, an annual event highlighting the breadth and depth of this engagement with the world. During this weeklong event, Harvard’s Schools, departments, research centers, student organizations, and domestic and international offices will host a variety of academic and cultural events with global or international themes.

“Harvard’s excellence is driven in large part by its global engagement,” said Mark Elliott, vice provost for international affairs. “Our campus is home to a large and vibrant community of international students and scholars, and our research and teaching are deeply engaged in countries around the world. We look forward to highlighting some of these international activities during Worldwide Week at Harvard 2024.”

Worldwide Week at Harvard has been hosted by the Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs (OVPIA) since 2017. This year’s program includes a number of seminars and panel discussions on topics ranging from democracy and populism to AI in education to international law reform to informal economies, as well as student information sessions, art exhibits, musical performances, and social events.

Of note: On Oct. 8 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Smith Campus Center, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs will host its annual International Comedy Night, featuring Katie Boyle and the Harvard College Stand-Up Comic Society.

And on Oct. 9 from noon to 3 p.m. in the Science Center Plaza, OVPIA will host its first-ever Harvard’s Global Offices Information Table. Stop by to talk with the directors of many of Harvard’s 20-plus global offices — who are visiting campus next week for their annual Global Office Directors Summit — and learn more about Harvard programming and resources in Greece, South Africa, Chile, China, and beyond.

For a full listing of Worldwide Week events, visit Worldwide Week at Harvard.