Exchange Programs and World Press Freedom Day

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Participants in the Media Literacy: Promoting Civil Society through New Media program at the Foreign Press Center in New York. Photo credit: Brittany Lynk

Every 3rd of May, the world celebrates World Press Freedom Day to evaluate the freedom of journalists worldwide and to defend attacks on media. In 1993, the UN General Assembly proclaimed this date to act as a reminder for governments to respect their commitment to press freedom and for media professionals to reflect upon ethical issues in their field. Thousands of journalists, writers, activists and leaders recognize World Press Freedom Day as a way to address the main challenges concerning the freedom of information. Meridian’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) visitors address this subject matter by engaging in the power of international exchange through different experiences and ideas. Continue  

Visitors from Japan will explore U.S. trends in energy and environmental regulations

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Shigeki Kagiwada, Assistant Director for International Affairs in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan meets with U.S. Congressman Marsha Blackburn prior to Prime Minister Abe's address to Congress.

Welcome 2016 participants

Kazutaka Nakagawa and Mitsuo Nagai will begin their year-long Global Government-to-Government Partnership (G3P) this month. Following an introductory tour of U.S. economic revitalization efforts in Greensboro, NC, Cincinnati, OH and Portland, OR, the two participants will immerse themselves in English-language training. These initial activities prepare them for individualized research projects, which are the capstone of the program.

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Digital Media in the U.S. & Australia: IVLP Alumna Shares Key Takeaways from Exchange

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(Erin Vincent visiting the Foreign Press Centre in Washington.)

This article is reposted from the Australian Broadcast Corporation’s (ABC) Back Story blog. Erin Vincent is the Executive Producer for ABC’s News Breakfast program. She participated in an International Visitor Leadership Program that I organized in the summer of 2015. Erin Vincent was selected to participate in the U.S. State Department professional exchange program, the International Visitor Leadership Program, ‘Broadcast Journalism: New and Traditional Media’. 22 journalists from all over the world travelled through Washington, Syracuse, Portland and Chicago to hear from U.S. media professionals and tour media outlets to gain a deeper understanding of the history, practices and...

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Sky High Mural Arts in Santo Domingo

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The glucose-inspired design for my mural project in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

In this latest blog I will describe my experience working with the community of artists, students, faculty and staff of the Instituto Tecnico Superiore Comunitario (ITSC) in San Luis, a section of Santo Domingo towards the east. We worked on a wall that was part of the Science building, a four-story surface that faced the highway (carretera). All traffic headed from Santo Domingo towards the eastern part of the island would pass directly in front of the wall. It was where the city became rural; pastures were across the street and cows grazed freely on the grounds in front...

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Even in Norway, youth fall between the cracks. Exchange participants study how to save them.

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From left: Carl Boone, Rico Rush Jr., Eddie Eidsvåg, Tyrone Parker and Lene Walle at Alliance for Concerned Men headquarters in Anacostia, Washington, DC.

After flying from Norway that afternoon, Edvard Eidsvåg (Eddi, for short) was left wide awake on a late night in March. He wandered the streets around his Dupont Circle-area hotel, searching for those many view as the outcasts of society: the drug addicts and the homeless. That night in March, Eddi sought out the very people he claims society tends to ignore. Eddi is Founder and CEO of People Project (or Pøbelprosjektet), a Norwegian organization dedicated to providing opportunities for at-risk youth. He and his colleague Lene Walle, Regional Manager of People Project, arrived in Washington, DC on March...

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