In the third session of Whom Do We Trust 2018, moderated by Kirill Artemenko and Alexander Kubyshkin, Russian college students Irmo V. and Paulina S. and American students Rene P. and Buyka T. were asked to discuss their engagement with global affairs and international news coverage.

 

What is it that drives their interest in news stories covering the issues and experiences of people living many oceans and borders away?

 

An overarching theme emerged whereby participants identified experiences and even singular points in time when the personal tied in to the global.

 

Many student panelists and audience participants acknowledged that this personal connection was a driving force behind their desire to engage with international news and foreign cultures. Some felt a need to gain a deeper understanding of their family’s heritage and language. Others were driven by exposure to a different country’s cultural products in the form of food, sports, or the arts.

 

In anecdotes of encounters with peers from different countries, participants identified points of cultural divergence and convergence. The latter drew many to conclude that despite differing countries of origin, ethnic backgrounds, and languages, many of our stories and perspectives transcend national borders.

 

Throughout this session, participants recognized a need for increased cross-cultural communication and cooperation when tackling international issues of greatest importance, identified in this panel as being the (1) the rise of ‘fake news’ and (2) global climate change.