Alfiana A. Rosyadi, an Indonesian who recently completed graduate school in South Korea, said the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S. has made her think about the well-documented and pervasive racism outside the U.S.

"People may say this is just America's issue, but white privilege exists around the world," Rosyadi said. "This movement has given me insight that this can happen in my country, too."

Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests — condemning racial injustice and excessive use of police force — erupted across the U.S. after George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American, died in Minneapolis last month after being restrained by a white police officer.

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Protests Support Floyd, Black Lives Matter On 3 Continents

The protests have spread across the world, as well.

"People are acknowledging that racism and discrimination happen everywhere," said Rosyadi. "So, I think they are showing solidarity to the Black Lives Matter movement to stop all kinds of racism in the world."

Hate crimes

In the U.S., recent hate crime statistics show that nearly 60 percent of the documented 7,036 incidents in 2018 were motivated by a bias against someone's race, ethnicity or ancestry bias, according to the FBI.

Of the nearly documented 5,000 hate crimes against race, ethnicity or ancestry, 46.9 percent were anti-Black or African American bias; 20.2 percent were anti-white bias; and 13 percent were anti-Hispanic or Latino bias.

Around the world, hate crime data from 42 participating states show that of 5,735 incidents in 2018, 1,825 (31.8 percent) had a racist or xenophobic bias, according to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

And the Global Slavery Index in 2018 shows slavery continues in many countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. That includes forced labor, commercial sexual exploitation of children, and forced marriage.

"We see it present across the world in different configurations, towards different groups and on the basis of a variety of ideologies," said Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou, professor of international history and chair of the international history department at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) in Geneva, in an interview with IHEID earlier this month.

"The problem is just as gnawing and complex in these other places — see, for instance, how in recent months, in the context of the coronavirus crisis, Chinese nationals (and Asians more generally) were at the receiving end of racist incidents in many places while simultaneously in China some African students and migrants were discriminated against," he said.

Indonesia

In Indonesia, BLM protests have reignited the discussion about racism toward Papuans after news of protests in the U.S. spread among Indonesia's online community.

Papua and West Papua are Indonesia's two easternmost provinces, where the population is mostly dark-skinned Melanesians.

"I haven't personally experienced discrimination based on my skin color, but sometimes people from the east of Indonesia, who have darker skin, may get treated differently because people are not used to seeing them," said Rosyadi.

"My concern is that more people like fairer skin, especially for girls, and so some use a lot of [skin-lightening] products. Many Indonesians lose confidence for having darker or tanner skin because on the TV, actresses or other celebrities have fair skin," she added.

Skin-lightening products

Skin-lightening products are popular in many countries. A basic Google search for "skin-lightening" lists hundreds of products using images of Black, white, Asian and Latina, mostly female, skin.

In 2018, American pop star Blac Chyna was criticized for promoting a skin-lightening product called "Whitenicious" in Nigeria, where 77 percent of women use skin lighteners, according to the World Health Organization.

"Many use it in the hopes that they'll have an easier time ascending in their careers, finding husbands, or simply for a self-esteem boost in a society that looks at lighter-skinned women more positively," wrote online news outlet Vice.

This week, multinational manufacturer Johnson & Johnson said it would no longer sell skin-lightening products.

"I think more recently people are beginning to embrace darker or tanner skin, and seeing them as beautiful," said Rosyadi.

China

Lucy Ma, a freshman from China studying at Emerson College, said racial stereotypes have been perpetuated after high-profile crime cases involved minorities in her home country.

"People in small cities have less chance to really know the minorities in China, which creates a higher rate of racism," Ma said. "Big cities have more minorities than the small cities, and people in the big cities know the stereotypes cannot be the factor of how we define people. That's why there are much fewer racists in big cities."

While she said she's heard of no street protests in China, "people are supporting BLM groups through social media such as Weibo," said Ma. "There is a racism problem in China, but it is generally based on where you are, especially in small cities where there's much less diversity than the big cities."

India

Racism in India, with its tradition of a caste system, includes alleged birth rights, regional origin, religion, poverty or wealth.

"If you watch Bollywood movies you'd imagine India was a country of white folks," author and human-rights activist Arundhati Roy told Dalit Camera in a June 8 interview.

"Indian racism towards Black people is almost worse than white people's racism," she said.

South Korea

Dawoom Jung, a senior majoring in international studies and justice and civil leadership at Yonsei University in South Korea, said she noticed many Korean artists and social media influencers use their platform to bring awareness to BLM.

"I've seen a lot of Korean influencers and artists participate in the #blackouttuesday social media movement and donate to organizations. I've also seen illustrators take the initiative to translate the news into Korean and make cue cards so people in Korea can also follow what is going on," said Jung.

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On Racism, Young Americans Say Change Takes Effort 

Taking action

While social media has been an effective tool to discuss racism globally, some say more action needs to be taken offline.

"It's easy for people to post a black picture with the #blacklivesmatter hashtag, but it isn't more than granting attention to the subject. It simply doesn't truly help anyone," said Kenny Teucher, a student studying English and biology at Leipzig University in Saxony, Germany.

"In Germany, many people were involved in the subject, but only on Instagram and Facebook. I think that it is a problem that only few people want to take it a step further, whether it is through demonstrations or other political engagement," he added.

In France, society has grappled with the unsolved case of Adama Traoré, a Malian French man who died in 2016 after being restrained by police. Elise Crespin, a recent graduate from the Saint-Luc Tournai Institut, said #JusticepourAdama (Justice for Adama) has been revived since BLM protests.

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Paris Marchers Decry Racism, Far Right Rallies in London

"His family and especially his sister have been leading protests since his death. He is an example of what is going on in France, because he is not the only one," said Crespin.

"I think we are tired of hearing the same things and the same injustices. Everyone woke up. Our systems are wrong and they must change," she said.

Kathleen Struck contributed to this report.

It’s tough to gain admission to Yale University, and it’s getting even tougher for international students as standout students from around the world set their sights on Yale.

The Yale Dale News, the campus newspaper, takes a look at the situation here.

Read the full story here.

Ruth Chane, a computer science major from Ethiopia, writes about her experiences settling into student life at Whitman College in the U.S. state of Washington.

"The community at Whitman College made sure I felt welcomed even before I stepped foot on campus," she says.

Read her essay here.

In The Student Life, the student newspaper for the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of five liberal art colleges and two graduate schools in Claremont, California, student Rochelle Lu writes about readjusting to her Shanghai home after spending a semester in the United States.

Read the full story here.

Cedarville University in the U.S. state of Ohio says it’s got more than 140 international students representing 44 countries.

Here, the school interviews Jonathan Sutton, director of international student services. He talks about his job and the opportunities for international students on campus.

Read the full article here.

Morehouse College, a private, historically Black liberal arts college in the U.S. state of Georgia, offers a guide for international students interested in attending the school.

Among the tips to apply and thrive at Morehouse:

• Take advantage of the school’s orientation program
• Turn to the school’s Center for Academic Success for tutoring, support and more
• Immerse yourself in campus life via clubs and societies

Read the full article here.

The administration of President Donald Trump said on Monday it will review Columbia University's federal contracts and grants over allegations of antisemitism, which it says the educational institution has shown inaction in tackling.

Rights advocates note rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias since U.S. ally Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza began after Palestinian Hamas militants' deadly October 2023 attack.

The Justice Department said a month ago it formed a task force to fight antisemitism. The U.S. Departments of Health and Education and the General Services Administration jointly made the review announcement on Monday.

"The Federal Government's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is considering Stop Work Orders for $51.4 million in contracts between Columbia University and the Federal Government," the joint statement said.

The agencies said no contracting actions had been taken yet.

"The task force will also conduct a comprehensive review of the more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Columbia University."

The agencies did not respond to requests for comment on whether there were similar reviews over allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias.

Columbia had no immediate comment. It previously said it made efforts to tackle antisemitism.

College protests

Trump has signed an executive order to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Columbia was at the center of college protests in which demonstrators demanded an end to U.S. support for Israel due to the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's assault on Gaza. There were allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia in protests and counter-protests.

During last summer's demonstrations around the country, classes were canceled, some university administrators resigned and student protesters were suspended and arrested.

While the intensity of protests has decreased in recent months, there were some demonstrations last week in New York after the expulsion of two students at Columbia University-affiliated Barnard College and after New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the removal of a Palestinian studies job listing at Hunter College.

A third student at Barnard College has since been expelled, this one related to the occupation of the Hamilton Hall building at Columbia last year.

The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.

It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.

In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.

Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.

"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.

An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."

House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."

Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.

Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.

The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.

"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."

The Times of India breaks down the most popular subjects for international students to study in the U.S.

STEM and business lead the pack. Read the full story here. (January 2025)

U.S. News & World report addresses some of the misconceptions about U.S. colleges and universities, including the difficulty of getting a visa.

Read the full story here. (January 2025)

US News & World Report details the three top factors in foreign students' decision to study in the U.S. They include research opportunities and the reputation of U.S. degrees. Read the full story here. (December 2024)

A British student who did a year abroad at Bowling Green State University in Ohio talks about adjusting to life in America in a TikTok video, Newsweek magazine reports.

Among the biggest surprises? Portion sizes, jaywalking laws and dorm room beds.

Read the full story here. (December 2024)

Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health reaches out to international students by detailing the international student experience at the school.

Learn more about housing, life in Boston and more here.

China issued its first national action plan to build a "strong education nation" by 2035, which it said would help coordinate its education development, improve efficiencies in innovation and build a "strong country."

The plan, issued Sunday by the Communist Party's central committee and the State Council, aims to establish a "high quality education system" with accessibility and quality "among the best in the world."

The announcement was made after data on Friday showed China's population fell for a third consecutive year in 2024, with the number of deaths outpacing a slight increase in births, and experts cautioning that the downturn will worsen in the coming years.

High childcare and education costs have been a key factor for many young Chinese opting out of having children, at a time when many face uncertainty over their job prospects amid sluggish economic growth.

"By 2035, an education power will be built," the official Xinhua news agency said, adding that China would explore gradually expanding the scope of free education, increase "high-quality" undergraduate enrolment, expand postgraduate education, and raise the proportion of doctoral students.

The plan aims to promote "healthy growth and all-round development of students," making sure primary and secondary school students have at least two hours of physical activity daily, to effectively control the myopia, or nearsightedness, and obesity rates.

"Popularizing" mental health education and establishing a national student mental health monitoring and early warning system would also be implemented, it said.

It also aims to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas to improve the operating conditions of small-scale rural schools and improve the care system for children with disabilities and those belonging to agricultural migrant populations.

The plan also aims to steadily increase the supply of kindergarten places and the accessibility of preschool education.

The Open Notebook, a site focusing on educating journalists who cover science, has complied a list of U.S. graduate program financial aid information for international students.

Read it here.