During the gathering of PEN partners and associates in Rochester for meetings and for the Technology Symposium, June 23 through June 30, 2005, representatives of each country were interviewed to obtain their thoughts on the experiences and ideas that they had regarding the first five years of PEN-International's operation. Respondents were from Russia, China, the Philippines, Japan, the Czech Republic, and Thailand. Participants were asked to reflect upon the successes/beneficial experiences and the challenges experienced over the first five years of the program. PEN-international directors wished to find out not only the experiences of each individual country, but also what similarities and differences in experience and ideas might exist between the participating countries. The results are to be used to help evaluate the first five years and to give guidance to the next five years of the programs.

Several important topics emerged: Faculty development; international exchanges; employment and career development; student, young deaf professional and administrator training; mainstream education; technology use; and internal bureaucracy.

The full Self-Study Report, authored by Patricia Mudgett DeCaro, Research Consultant and Kelly Masters, Evaluation Consultant, contains specific recommendations for the future of PEN-International.