A Program Exchange Unlike Any Other

Posted under: Center for Global Leadership By /

A group of the WiSci campers laugh with a counselor while they learn how to weave a bracelet.

If someone asks you if you’d like to implement a summer camp for 120 girls in the heart of Rwanda–grab it, as it is not a question many individuals are faced with. When Meridian International Center, a non-profit in Washington, DC that specializes in cross-cultural exchanges, was brought on to help facilitate the 2015 Women in Science (WiSci) Camp in Rwanda this spring, I knew the program would bring a life changing experience. When given the opportunity to be part of it, I realized how different yet similar my experience would be compared to our 120 bright campers from...

Continue  

WiSci 2015: A Journey of Self Discovery

Posted under: Center for Global Leadership By /

An Intel trainer reviews programming language with the WiSci campers.

By Emily Adcock, WiSci STEAM Camp participant Today is our last day in Rwanda, and a few of us got up to watch the sunrise for the last time. As I was reflecting on the past three weeks, I whimsically connected my experience to the sunrise before me. A sunrise universally symbolizes a new beginning. To me, this sunrise was the beginning of a new chapter in my life. In this chapter, my self-concept and global outlook have developed in so many ways, some of which I have yet to realize. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “If you don’t...

Continue  

Beyond the Beltway: Transatlantic Trade

Posted under: Center for Global Leadership By /

Amb Michael Froman, US Trade Representative, discusses TTIP with a group of European Parliament staffers

Trade has been in the news lately, and it’s as controversial as ever. With Congress’s recent granting of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA, which allows Congress to vote yes or no on a final negotiated agreement but without adding any amendments) to President Obama, negotiators have been hard at work finalizing the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), a proposed free trade agreement between the US and many Pacific Rim nations, as well as making progress on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP), which would create a free trade area between the world’s two largest economies, the United States and the...

Continue  

Soft Power: The Monthly Roundup (August Edition)

Posted under: MCCD By /

Events this month took place in Nairobi, Singapore, Berlin, Toronto, and Edinburgh, among others.

As August, and consequently summer, sadly comes to a close, the Meridian Center for Cultural Diplomacy is back to round up some of this past month’s soft power events. The following selection highlights cultural exchange through community engagement in the globalized world. For the summer season, this interconnectedness means lots of festivals, so read on to see how diverse communities are coming together to celebrate around the world.

Continue  

Future Leaders with High Hopes Shine at IYLEP 2015

Posted under: Center for Global Leadership By /

IYLEP students attend a session during workshop on the importance of volunteerism civic engagement .

It is hard to keep the energy flowing when you are exhausted after completing a tight, four-week academic program, but the excitement and restlessness of being in a city that is considered the power center of the world, doesn’t allow you the time or the space to rest! You chose to keep the buzz going to explore what is so special about this place and what is waiting for you in this epicenter of the United States. The thrill doubles when the subconscious keeps reminding you that you are in Washington DC where the Office of the U.S. President...

Continue