European Visitors Make Connections in Unexpected Places in the U.S.

Posted under: IVLP By /

The group of Young European leaders arrives at Meridian International Center in Washington, DC. (Photo Courtesy of Philip Brown)

If you’re looking for a place to partake meaningful dialogue with Europeans leaders, you might want to try North Dakota. Earlier this summer, 15 young European leaders and professionals mingled with local residents in the small, but growing, town of Minot, North Dakota. The European visitors participated in a United States Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) project, administered by Meridian International Center. The purpose of the project was for these young leaders to witness and converse about current political, social, and economic issues in the United States. and similar issues faced by their home countries. Why...

Continue  

Special Relationships: UK MPs Shadow US Reps Around the Country

Posted under: IVLP By /

Four Members of UK Parliament come to the United States with the 37th British-American Parliamentary Group exchange program.

You may have heard of the “special relationship” between the United States and United Kingdom (UK).

The term sounds rather mystical, but is actually based on over 200 years of political, cultural, economic, and military relations between the two countries. It characterizes the nations’ close cooperation and alignment, most famously emphasized by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in his 1946 speech, “The Sinews of Peace.”

Continue  

Swedish and U.S. Law Enforcement Counter Violent Extremism

Posted under: Center for Global Leadership By /

Swedish Police meet with U.S. counterparts from Emergence Group.

In June of 2013, Meridian International Center hosted six Swedish law enforcement officials seeking to curb the effects of violent extremism in their respective municipalities. These officers represented all geographic and cultural corners of Sweden– small towns, large suburbs and bustling cities. They came to Washington, DC with a large appetite for knowledge of our law enforcement tactics and strategies to employ in their hometowns. Our group was inquisitive, intelligent and intellectually curious. Sweden is part of a global initiative led by the U.S. Department of State to counter violent extremism. The visit was sponsored by the U.S. Embassy...

Continue  

Small Footprints, Quantum Leaps: A Zimbabwean Fellow’s U.S. Experience

Posted under: Center for Global Leadership By /

Gerald visits the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

Written by Gerald Mangena, Founder of Great Mountains and Spring 2014 Professional Fellows from Zimbabwe As many people and organizations continue to seek refined and more effective ways of contributing to the development of the continent as a whole, quite a high number of varied exchange programs almost everywhere in the world have sprung but the Meridian International Center’s Business and Entrepreneurship Exchange Program (BEEP) is in a league of its own. There could not have been a better way of empowering emerging business leaders than through an exchange program of this caliber. The greatest part about this program...

Continue  

IYLEP 2014 Kicks Off in New York City

Posted under: Center for Global Leadership By /

Students signed a commemorative poster with the program’s rallying cry ‘I learn, I lead, IYLEP’ to mark the beginning of an exciting program.

“I learn, I lead, IYLEP!” This was the rallying cry at the opening conference for IYLEP 2014 last weekend in New York City. IYLEP, which stands for the Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program, is an intercultural and educational exchange initiative funded by the U.S. Embassy-Baghdad and administered by Meridian International Center for the sixth consecutive year. While the students will spend most of the program in the U.S. at five American universities focusing on varying institute themes, New York City provided the perfect venue for the participants’ first weekend in the United States. Designed as a four-week summer program for...

Continue