Managed by the Center for International Studies, the AIA is a non-profit organization aimed at encouraging the local community to join conversations on foreign affairs, international business, culture and art. It puts on events such as lectures, book clubs, cooking classes and more in order to teach attendees about cultures around the world.
The AIA’s 2015 program will focus on the social, political and cultural aspects of Asia, a continent that has a growing effect on Western societies. For the opening lecture of 2015, ticket sales were so successful that the event was moved to a larger ballroom to accommodate the overflow of attendees.
While the crowd was generally part of an older demographic, the AIA hopes to reach a younger audience this year by offering free student admission to many of their events, said Marina Oborotova, president of the Albuquerque International Association.
The organization works to bring the world to the city and to students through its variety of activities, which is important because not everyone can afford to travel, she said.
“No one can take advantage of all AIA has to offer, and that’s a good thing. Our aim is to open the complex, exciting, diverse and ever dangerous world we live in to Albuquerque. And, we hope, open Albuquerque to the world,” Oborotova said.
However, the need for an organization like the AIA is not limited to involving just the general public. There are advances happening now in the Albuquerque business and development world that could benefit from integrating the fundamentals of the AIA into their own work, she said.
“People are talking about Innovate Albuquerque, a collaborative effort by UNM, government and the business community to create new companies, grow existing ones and attract enterprise from out of state. This is a great idea, if not a new one. But to make it work we have to look beyond architecture, technology and economics. We need a cultural and intellectual infrastructure to complement the physical,” Oborotova said. “That’s why AIA is so important. That’s why AIA must grow.”
As the organization grows, it will continue to address the global political, economic and cultural trends of the modern world, hopefully inspire others to get involved in the AIA, and continue to make Albuquerque a more vital and exciting place to live, she said.
Ned O’Malia, doctor of philosophy of Asian religions and a professor at the University of New Mexico Honors College, led the lecture on Sunday evening. He has traveled to a total of 122 countries. His latest trip was to Bhutan, which has given him insight into the great worth of traveling abroad and exemplifies why an organization like the AIA is so necessary, he said.
“Just walking down the streets of Bhutan and looking at markets and stores and bakeries and kids carrying stuff, and I’m thinking, you’re not on Central Avenue now,” O’Malia said.
Many of his students at UNM find that being exposed to a new culture, specifically religious traditions, taught in his classes, can be a life-changing experience. The AIA is a good resource because it is an opportunity to experience that connection with other cultures, he said.
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Steve Czuchlewski, an AIA member who attended at Sunday’s lecture, said the Albuquerque community can benefit from acknowledging the reasons why the world faces many of the issues it does today by addressing the local history and government policies of other regions.
“I hope that in the future we are able to reach a bigger part of the Albuquerque audience and to influence people who are studying things like international relations and public policy,” Czuchlewski said.
