A Profile of IVLP Alumni Becoming Heads of State

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A Profile of IVLP Alumni Becoming Heads of State

The 75th Anniversary of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is a major milestone in the program’s history. It offers us a chance to reflect on the impact of the program by examining the numbers. More than 335 current or former heads of government are IVLP alumni. Meridian International Center is proud to have coordinated the programs of 168 of these alumni. I compiled basic data on these world leaders to see what sort of statistics could be gleaned. I focused on their age when they participated in the IVLP, how many years afterward they became a head of government and what was the length of their term. I also marked their gender and if they were currently in office.

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The Art of Disability Programming

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Belarus IVLP group wheelchair dancing in Kansas City

As the U.S. Department of State focuses increasing attention on promoting the rights of people with disabilities, the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is seeing increasing numbers of participants studying this topic. The implementation and design of exchange projects on disabilities policy, some with participants with disabilities, have unique logistical and administrative needs and require a high degree of skill, creativity and sensitivity. This article provides IVLP programmers and associated colleagues with a framework for providing disabled participants the same productive (and fun) experience as others. Continue  

3 Months Home: An Interview with IVLP Alumna Khairunnisa Ash’ari from Brunei

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Khairunnisa and the group visited America's Promise Alliance in Washington, DC.

This is the first post of a new initiative where we will feature a U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) alumnus who, three months out from their IVLP experience, is putting into practice ideas and concepts gleaned during the IVLP study tour. Here we feature Ms. Khairunnisa Ash’ari, Director of Community Engagement for Green Brunei and a Committee Member of the Brunei Youth Council. She participated in a group project on Volunteerism and Youth. We followed up with Ms. Ash’ari to learn about her experience since IVLP and lessons learned.

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The American Dream, seen through the eyes of a European

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Rowin at Meridian

On May 4, 2015, Meridian welcomed the inaugural cohort of the Meridian Social Innovation Fellowship to Washington, D.C. The eight Fellows – who hail from Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain – are global problem-solvers who bring together networks and resources to solve critical challenges facing their organizations, communities, and countries.  Meridian has brought together this distinguished group to drive ground-breaking advancements in the fields of youth and women empowerment, cultural integration, entrepreneurship, science, technology, and education The following blog post is written by Meridian Social Innovation Fellow Rowinda Appelman “Your time is just as valuable as mine.” John...

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