Lucas Welch is the Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Soliya, an international non-profit organization combining best practices for constructive dialogue with innovative application of new media technologies to foster greater cross-cultural respect and cooperation. Since 2003, Soliya has been conducting the Connect Program – an online cross-cultural education program that enables university students to engage in sustained, facilitated dialogue as part of their curriculum. The program has been integrated into 100 universities in 27 countries in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, Europe and North America. Building off the success of the Connect Program, Soliya has established an “exchange 2.0” coalition with other stakeholders in the field of international education. Together, they aim to leverage the power of new technologies to vastly expand the number and diversity of students who have a profound cross-cultural experience as part of their education.

Prior to his work with Soliya, Lucas worked as a producer for ABC News with Peter Jennings, taught new media at Birzeit University in the West Bank, and conducted research at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. Lucas is a TED Fellow, an Echoing Green Fellow, and a “Global Expert” for the UN Alliance of Civilizations.

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