Interns’ International Experiences Enhance Cultural Exchange

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Meridian welcomes the Spring 2016 GlobalConnect interns!

A combined total of 20.5 years abroad in 15 different countries. Eight foreign languages spoken. GlobalConnect division’s five new interns embody the diversity of backgrounds and cultural experiences Meridian emphasizes as the foundation for global leadership. Exploring Cultural Outreach through YLAI YLAI (Young Leaders of the Americas) Program  Intern Alexandria Anderson also understands the importance of cross-cultural communication in community development. As an undergraduate at Spelman College, Anderson studied abroad in Cochabamba, Bolivia in a field studies-based program focused on multiculturalism, globalization, and social change. From potato farming with her host family to participating in a welcoming ceremony in...

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Soft (Boiled) Power: Diplomacy Through National Culinary Profiling

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“… Stomachs don’t waste time with universal doubt. They begin with inherited cultural wisdom which they seek to further. Bodies and stomachs immerse us in the world, engage us in all sorts of interactions, and blur rigid boundaries between ourselves and our surroundings.” – Richard Shusterman We live in a world dominated by food, in both its presence and absence. Nowadays it is possible for someone to fill a culinary passport without leaving the city, let alone country. What people eat plays a major part in defining them. And, just as it is true on an individual level, identity...

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International Exchanges: Instilling Hope and Understanding for a Better 2016

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Emerging Leaders of Pakistan at the White House

Here I was, in a charter bus with 15 Pakistani young leaders, dancing to Punjabi music, while directing the Chinese bus driver where to go in the bustling streets of San Francisco. To most people, this situation would seem bizarre. However, these types of unique experiences are a typical part of my job at Meridian International Center. Although they are definitely different from the traditional diplomacy, people-to-people exchanges have the power to effect meaningful change. Most notably, these exchanges break down stereotypes to foster intercultural understanding. For the 2015 Emerging Leaders of Pakistan program, Meridian worked on behalf of...

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Mapping IVLP Volunteer Service

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IVLP Volunteer Participation in Fiscal Year 2015

The spirit of community service has grown stronger every year since Congress enacted the National and Community Service Act of 1990. From President Bush’s Points of Light Award to President Obama’s United We Serve initiative, successive presidents have helped to strengthen this part of the American cultural fabric. After Martin Luther King Jr. Day was designated as a national day of service in 1994, Americans everywhere worked to make it not a day off but a day on. Continue