Exchanges are about promoting international understanding. In order to understand the United States, it is essential to learn about our system of government. Elections are a great opportunity to see our democratic process in action. Thanks to the American tax payer, thousands of visitors have been able to observe the spectacle through the U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).
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A recent IVLP project from Poland, “Educating about Holocaust-related Issues,” exhibited the power of unexpected encounters during exchange programs. Some professional appointments are more predictably impactful than others, but you can never calculate what will happen when strangers meet for the first time. Typically, the conversation ends when the visitors depart for their next meeting, however, one encounter forged an unlikely connection between one former white supremacist and five Polish visitors from the site of one of the world’s most tragic events.
Eleven alumni from the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) were reunited in Washington, DC yesterday for a timely discussion of the transatlantic relationship. Three members of the group sat on a panel at the Delegation of the European Union to the U.S. along with David Mark of Politix and a representative from the Atlantic Council. The alumni were Edmundas Jakilaitis of Media 3 Television Production in Lithuania, Eric Bo Axel Sundstrom of Sweden’s on-line progressive newspaper Dagens Arena and Aikaterini Sokou of Kathimerini, Greece and Cyprus’ largest daily broadsheet.
In 2009, representatives from Meridian and a Serbian youth organization, Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR), met serendipitously in Jakarta, Indonesia at a World Movement for Democracy conference. This meeting resulted in a proposal and four years of partnership implementing the Youth Leadership Program with Central Europe (YLPCE). Continue
In early September, Meridian International Center was delighted to host three young Austrian journalists for a program showcasing transformations in American news media.
