Who are we

Global Virginia is a recently formed grassroots association of individuals and organizations consisting of kindergarten through high school educators, post-secondary educators and administrators, current and former government officials, national and local business leaders, and private individuals committed to improve Virginia’s capacity to be globally competitive through world language study and use. We advocate for increasing and improving Virginia’s capacity and capability to more readily compete in an ever expanding and increasingly global environment through education, training, professional development, public policy and related socioeconomic supporting efforts.

We are answering a Call to Action. In 2017, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences published America’s Languages: “Investing in Language Education for the 21st Century.” Among its many findings and recommendations, the report noted: “While English continues to be the lingua franca for world trade and diplomacy, there is an emerging consensus among leaders in business and politics, teachers, scientists, and community members that proficiency in English is not sufficient to meet the nation’s needs in a shrinking world, nor the needs of individual citizens who interact with other peoples and cultures more than at any other time in human history.” Furthermore, it recommends a national strategy to “improve access to as many languages as possible for people of every region, ethnicity, and socioeconomic background –that is to value language education as a persistent national need...”

It is essential that Virginia meets this call to action and improve its economic, commerce, business, social, educational, and individual interests and opportunities. We assert that the ability through confident and practical steps and measures, we can imagine new opportunities and possibilities across Virginia’s socioeconomic spectrum. These steps forward rest on the re-architecture and restructure of the current state and condition of language study and utilization. The common purpose of Global Virginia is to advocate for and support the development of a globally competent workforce through collaboration and cooperation with government organizations, the academic and business communities and other private, non-governmental organizations.