Program Theme Spotlight: Technology Entrepreneurship

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High Tech Entrepreneurship in Low-Tech Environments Group

Entrepreneurship and innovation are key indicators of a community’s capacity to: grow its economy; develop its workforce; create a diversified workplace; develop leadership skills among its citizenry; and facilitate civic engagement. Entrepreneurship is a tremendous tool for engaging  young people, particularly in underserved communities, by helping them develop the skills necessary to compete in the 21st century economy. Tech entrepreneurship can open up potentially broader opportunities for partnerships with other community stakeholders. Numerous organizations – international, national and local – have focused their resources on developing tech entrepreneurship programs in partnership with educational institutions, businesses and government entities. Developing...

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Visitors from Mongolia translate historical tablet for University of Iowa Library

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Participants from the IVLP

In October of this year, a five-member group of Librarians from Mongolia participated in a three-week International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) on Library Management.  Beyond Washington, DC, the group traveled to Baltimore, Maryland; Albany, New York; Akron Ohio; Iowa City, Iowa; and Reno, Nevada. Visits to public libraries were a principal component of the program and in one location, Iowa City, local librarians were grateful for the unexpected assistance of an IVLP participant.  The University of Iowa brought out an old wood block tablet from Mongolia to demonstrate the library’s broad reach in showcasing other cultures for the community....

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IVLP Interfaith Group Statement Affirms Importance of Religious Freedom after Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting

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Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Education and Cultural Affairs Jennifer Galt and Ambassador for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback met with the Interfaith Dialogue and Religious Freedom Multi-Regional Project participants.

On October 15, Meridian International Center implemented, in partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Office of International Visitors, a multi-regional project from 26 countries and representing all five major faiths on the theme of Interfaith Dialogue and Religious Freedom. The participants concluded their program in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, October 26 – just as news of the Pittsburgh shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue was breaking. The previous Friday evening was spent in a Los Angeles synagogue, where the group attended a Shabbat service and shared a Shabbat meal. Upon returning to their respective homes, the...

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IVLP Alumni Spotlight: Bringing Technology Entrepreneurship to Low-Tech Environments

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Jarius Andrew Greaves is working to bring Liberian youth opportunities through technology innovation.

IVLP Alumni Spotlight features U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) alumni as they reflect on the impact of the program and how it has affected their work and lives. Here we feature Mr. Jarius Andrew Greaves, the Founder and Executive Director of the Youth Network for Reform (YONER-Liberia),  a youth development organization in Liberia that has directly impacted the lives of more than 30,000 underprivileged and poverty-stricken youth and children through partnership with communities to provide local scholarships to deserving students. His three-week IVLP project introduced him to strategies for bringing technology (energy, IT, medical), technical education (STEM), and entrepreneurship to underserved communities. Mr. Greaves we recently selected to participate in the Obama Foundation Leaders Program: Africa.

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“Finding the value of a global outlook” – U.S. Participant Spotlight

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American participants visiting the Namsangol Hanok Village in downtown Seoul.

For the past 21 years, Meridian International Center has successfully implemented the U.S. Congress – Republic of Korea National Assembly Exchange, a unique program jointly funded by the U.S. Department of State and the Republic of Korea National Assembly through its Committee on Foreign Affairs and Unification. The program brings together 20 young people from the United States and the Republic of Korea for a memorable opportunity to promote cultural awareness and political understanding between the two countries. Following below is a blog by one of the U.S. participants in the program, Nasya Blackwell, written at the conclusion of the...

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