GRDS 2024: Why It’s Worth It & What to Expect

Have you been hearing about the Global Respectful Disruption Summit? We’re not surprised! As the conference enters its third year, the experience of attending is as valuable as ever before.

If you’re on the fence about registering, or just want to know more about what to expect, we have you covered. We interviewed previous attendees and planning committee members to get an inside look at the conference, and also outlined a few reasons why this is one of the best virtual summits you’ll see this year!

Why the Global Respectful Disruption Summit isn’t your typical conference

global respectful disruption summit 2024

Are you passionate about education abroad and equity, justice, inclusion, and diversity? You’re in the right place.

You saw one of the vibrant purple posts pop-up on LinkedIn last week, or maybe your co-worker attended last spring and still raves about the session they attended on restorative justice. Regardless of how you learned about the Global Respectful Disruption Summit, you likely have heard over and over that it defies the status quo in more ways than one.

With registration open and just a few weeks until the pre-Summit JEDI labs kick off on April 17, here are four reasons why this is not “your typical conference” experience:

1. The content is unique

The Summit’s JEDI labs and session blocks are jam-packed with an array of critical topics: from confronting ableism in inclusive education to understanding the impact of censorship in a connected world.

In carefully curating sessions focused on disruptive practices, the Summit provides a space for innovative and transformative learning to flourish. You will be hard-pressed to find a session that will not challenge your thinking on a topic and, most importantly, all the sessions are focused on action.

2. It’s a virtual format

Offered 100% online, there is no need to worry about the logistics, additional costs, and adverse environmental impacts associated with traveling to and from in-person conferences. Open your laptop, fill your favorite mug, and simply doubleclick to access high-impact professional development.

3. There’s a learning guide

Created by Ebony Ellis, Sumie Song, and Chris Thompson, the free learning guide for all Summit attendees to use before, during, and after the Summit further demonstrates the unparalleled commitment to transformative learning and systemic inclusion.

The guide is your go-to for everything from orienting yourself to new terminology and concepts to helping you turn your session takeaways into concrete action!

4. The community is welcoming

Community is at the core of the Summit, and the people attached to it—especially co-chairs Chris Thompson and Kory Saunders—make the community sparkle. Whether you connect with a colleague in the virtual lounge or make new friends in one of the post-Summit reflection spaces, you are sure to find “your people” at the Summit.

Register for the 2024 Global Respectful Disruption Summit

Top takeaways from previous GRDS attendees

Still not convinced? We talked to a few attendees and committee members from years prior to get a better idea of what to expect from the conference. Check out their responses below.

Darin Smith-Gaddis (he/him), CEA CAPA Education Abroad

What was your favorite session from past years? Why?

Disrupting Racialized Deficit Narratives of BIPOC Students in Education Abroad Advising Practices

Who do you consider a “Respectful Disruptor,” past or present, and why?

Anyone who was/is fighting, exhausted, undervalued, underpaid, disrespected, discredited yet clawing, inching towards a future that decouples the intersection of ignorance and power. Getting up every day to do that work over and over and over again in the face of adversity and danger from within the existing the system is a respectful disrupter.

What’s the most recent Podcast you listened to?

The Rewatchables

When not disrupting the status quo, where else can we find you?

Somewhere trying to be a little better human being so I can be the best dad in the world.

Hannah Sorila (she/they), International Educator

What was your favorite session from past years? Why?

Favorite sessions: 2023, Queering the SDGs: An Ethical Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals in Global Spaces /and Understanding and Promoting Human Rights for Neurodivergent People; 2022 Decentering the Whiteness of Intercultural "Competence" Education /and Ethical Internationalization in Context of (US) American Exceptionalism

Who do you consider a “Respectful Disruptor,” past or present, and why?

Alok Vaid-Menon, bell hooks, Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, adrienne maree brown

What’s the most recent Podcast you listened to?

The Upstream Podcast and the For the Wild Podcast

When not disrupting the status quo, where else can we find you?

Organizing for abolition, community safety (beyond carceral systems), and for a Free Palestine; cultivating intentional community; taking a cold dip in my favorite local brook; or reading a book from my overflowing shelves

Daniel F. Díaz (he/him), Catawba College

What was your favorite session from past years? Why?

Embodying Anti-Racism in Education Abroad Programming (2022): I loved the intersection of ideas presented. Anti-Racism is not just an idea, it is a lived experience. The transformational journey from 'un-aware, to aware, to respectful disruptor', requires intentionality. More so, it requires thoughtful guidance and supportive nurturing. We do not simply 'show-up' as anti-racist individuals, we become them. Embodying this process in education abroad programming is essential.

Who do you consider a “Respectful Disruptor,” past or present, and why?

Chris Thompson is a hero of mine! Our bond stems 20 years now! We both worked together in a study abroad office at the university we attended. I am beyond proud of her accomplishments, and she inspires me to be a respectful disruptor.

I admire Nikoli Tesla as a respectful disruptor. His attempts to give the world free energy was radical. Capitalism ruined his efforts. I hear him calling me to challenge the status quo.

I also like Amanda Gormon as a respectful disruptor. She speaks truth to power with beauty, sternness, and openness. I hear her calling me to be a respectful disruptor.

What’s the most recent Podcast you listened to?

I listen to Marketplace regularly! Love Kai Ryssdal.

When not disrupting the status quo, where else can we find you?

Laughing with my family! I have two little girls that mean the world to me. If not at home, come find me on the disc-golf course with my friends!

Kyle Keith (he/him), Barcelona SAE

What was your favorite session from past years? Why?

Like Hannah, I also really enjoyed last year’s Summit session on “queering the SDGs.” Prior to the session, I always perceived the SDGs as stuffy, inaccessible, too academic to really engage with in any meaningful way. Little did I know that applying a critical queer theoretical lens to the SDGs would make everything ‘snap into technicolor’ for me for the first time.

Who do you consider a “Respectful Disruptor,” past or present, and why?

Any trans or non-binary kid simply existing right now; particularly in the South (like my home state of North Carolina)—being their authentic selves, going to school, playing sports—when so many “parents rights activists” and far right politicians and think tanks are seeking to dehumanize them, is a respectful disruptor in my view. If you’d like to take action to project trans youth, check out: Trans Formations Project

What’s the most recent Podcast you listened to?

Too hard to pick one, so here’s several for ya: Switched On Pop; if you want to learn about pop music from musicologists and songwriters, it’s fascinating. They had a whole episode on why Carly Rae Jepsen’s ‘Call Me Maybe’ is one of the best pop songs of all time. Another one I have recently gotten into is Matt Bernstein’s A Bit Fruity. The host does so many critical deep dives into “cultural moments”—from tackling the political power of Taylor Swift to shedding light on the “LGBT conservative” political movement, each episode is both informative and entertaining!

When not disrupting the status quo, where else can we find you?

When I am home in North Carolina, you can find me gardening—I take pride in making my patch of Earth the nicest (and most pollinator friendly) lot in suburbia. Out here in California these days, you can catch me and my partner (he’s the dreamist, y’all) flying a kite on the dunes of Half Moon Bay or sipping a nice glass of Zinfandel amongst the Coastal Redwood forest.

Cathryn Fortuna (she/her), GoAbroad.com

What was your favorite session from past years? Why?

My favorite session was at the inaugural summit in 2022—”Disruptive Master Class: Embodying Anti-Racism in Education Abroad Programming.” All sessions are enlightening in some way of course, but this one resonated with me especially because of my career and passion for inclusive, ethical education abroad. (Plus, Dr. Song is a joy to listen to.)

Who do you consider a “Respectful Disruptor,” past or present, and why?

Varshini Prakash and Aru Shiney-Ajay of the Sunrise Movement come to mind. They’ve done an incredible job over the past few years making the Green New Deal a mainstream issue while centering Black and brown communities, and identifying capitalism and colonialism as driving factors in climate change.

What’s the most recent Podcast you listened to?

I love listening to The Daily and Science Friday when I find the time. (Yep I’m an NPR millennial.)

When not disrupting the status quo, where else can we find you?

You can find me either in the Philippines or Cleveland, Ohio depending on the time of year! I’ll be drinking black coffee and cross stitching, playing Dungeons & Dragons, or explaining to people why unionizing is important.