Durham, NC - Darla K. Deardorff, executive director of the Association of International Education Administrators hosted at Duke University, spoke in April in Baku, Azerbaijan at the first World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue. The forum was sponsored by UNESCO and other United Nations agencies, along with the Government of Azerbaijan.  

The theme was "United through common values, enriched by cultural diversity."  Deardorff spoke on "Intercultural understanding and cultural diversity to achieve peace and development." in a session hosted by the Foreign Affairs Minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov. The forum was attended by foreign ministers and other government officials from more than 70 countries around the world.  

Deardorff is an adjunct research scholar in the Program in Education and is editor of The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence (Sage, 2009).