The Role of the State Department in Responsible Business

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The following was written by The Honorable José W. Fernandez Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment U.S. Department of State. This feature can be found in our recently launched Corporate Systemic Responsibility Report which was the first outcome of our new Responsible Business Diplomacy initiative. To download the report and read other testimonies, click here. I thank the Meridian Center for this opportunity to share ideas on how governments, the private sector, civil society, and other stakeholders can work together to foster responsible business conduct. I appreciate the focus on the need for businesses to act...

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Israeli IVLP Alum reflects on Pride and LGBTQ+ Solidarity

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Liana and her IVLP group meeting with PFLAG in Washington, DC

In March 2019, Israeli national Ms. Liana Ester Meirom Asif traveled to the U.S. for an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) on “Human and Civil Rights for Marginalized Communities.” At the time, Ms. Meirom Asif was the International Funds and Resource Development Coordinator for IGY, Israel LGBTQ+ Youth. She has since taken on the role of Vice President, Resource Development and External Relations for IGY. Below, she reflects on her IVLP experience and what Pride means to her. What have you been doing since your IVLP experience? I have started new projects both at IGY, Israel’s LGBTQ+ youth organization,...

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Building Bridges from America to Zimbabwe

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IVLP Alum Herod Sibanda (left) chats with Henry Collins (right) about his IVLP experience

The following was written by Mr. James Horsman, IVLP Program Officer at World Learning What if you found out that something you do every day had a tremendous impact on someone’s life years earlier? What if that impact was felt across the world and you found out that person is someone in your family? All of this came true when I learned that my father-in-law, Herod Benjamin Sibanda from Zimbabwe, was a past participant in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). His IVLP project was administered by Meridian International Center, which along with World Learning and six other National...

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The IVLP In One Pitch

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A Beautiful Night for Baseball

I anticipated that the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP)  “Demographic Change and Immigration,” which opened on April 23, 2018, would be an excellent program. Sometimes, you just get that feeling. The meetings were spot on, the cities were diverse, and the visitors had a perfect blend of professional backgrounds—a journalist, an attorney, and a few elected officials. There was also uncommon diversity in the group, including first generation and second-generation immigrants from Tajikstan and Turkey. On April 23, I thought an excellent meeting on demographics with D’Vera Cohn at Pew Research Center might be the highlight. And while that meeting...

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