Women in Science: From IVLP to Opportunities in STEM

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To celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we are highlighting Sotheavy At, Strategic Communications Specialist at DAI Global/USAID Digital Asia Accelerator and alumna of the U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).   How has participating in international exchange for STEM issues transformed your life, career, or education? Did any new opportunities arise from this experience? Before the visit, I thought that only women and girls in developing countries like Cambodia faced barriers to pursue STEM-education and STEM-related work. From my visit, I quickly learned that most women and girls share the same journey...

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An eye on our most vulnerable

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Meer Ahsan Habib is a National Consultant – Communication Specialist, National Adaptation Plan Process at UNDP Bangladesh and 2021 participant in the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) project, “Transparency and Accountability in Government for the Indo-Pacific.” Habib develops the communications strategy of the National Adaptation Plan of Bangladesh. By engaging policy experts and the public, he provides policy analysis and suggestions to create an inclusive National Adaptation Plan and comprehensive position papers on climate change adaptation for Bangladesh’s Department of Environment. Habib is also a freelance columnist for several media outlets and has written numerous op-ed...

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IVLP Fosters Collaboration as part of 100,000 Strong in the Americas Initiative

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IVLP Participants meet with representatives from Michigan State University, UCLA, Centre College in Danville, KY, and Kalamazoo College in Michigan

The 100,000 Strong in the Americas initiative was originally conceived during President Obama’s administration with the stated goal “to underscore the critical relationship between broader educational opportunity and greater regional prosperity.” The initiative’s central objective is to increase study abroad opportunities between the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Over the years, Meridian has worked on multiple projects aimed at building stronger cooperation through this initiative. Most recently, an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) project focused on Expanding Sustainable Education Partnerships engaged eight higher education leaders from four Latin American countries exploring future linkages with U.S. educational institutions....

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Improving Partnerships and Collaboration in Cybersecurity

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Cybersecurity experts from Africa celebrate the completion of their IVLP project

In May of this year, for the first time ever the GasBuddy mobile app earned the achievement of most downloaded on the U.S. App Store. Overall, total downloads increased almost 20 fold compared to an average day earlier in the year. This was not simply a huge influx of people who wanted to see if they could save an extra three cents a gallon. Rather, a cyber attack on the Colonial Pipeline, the largest fuel pipeline in the U.S., caused a surge of panic buying amidst fears of an impending gas shortage. In early September, Howard University in Washington,...

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Investigating Human Rights Abuses through Advanced Technologies

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IVLP Participants meet with Mr. Jeremy Rue of the UC Berkeley Advanced Media Institute

The following post was drafted and submitted by Fernand Gouveia, Program Officer for Meridian’s Center for Global Leadership. Meridian’s Center for Global Leadership recently administered a project for the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) titled “Investigating and Prosecuting Human Rights Violations.” Participants included a group of 10 lawyers, prosecutors, government advisors, and advocates representing various countries with compelling human rights records, like Barbados, Colombia, Mexico, and Rwanda. Participants gained valuable insight on the use of evidence-based methods and innovative technologies that investigators increasingly rely on to hold rights violators accountable and protect vulnerable populations. These new tools and strategies,...

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