IVLP Alumni Spotlight: Two Women Countering Violent Extremism

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Ms. Natascha Jensen (second from right) from Denmark with fellow IVLP participants at the CVE conference she organized in Aarhus in November 2015.

 

IVLP Alumni Spotlight features U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) alumni as they reflect on the impact of the program and how it has affected their work and lives.  Here we feature two alumni who participated in a Multi-Regional project for women engaged in countering terrorism on practitioner and grassroots levels in their own countries. The participants spent two weeks in the United States examining the growing threat of terrorism and extremist organizations, the role of women within these organizations, the radicalization of women, and the tools and strategies that help counter this threat.

 

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Meridian bids farewell to veteran Arrivals Officer Paula Manganelli

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Paula Manganelli (center in pink) poses with Professional Exchange Division colleagues.

For all these years she has been our mainstay, And she has done it in her lovely, quiet way So miss her we will, but we know you’re not far away. We’re happy for you — you can relax every day. Thank you Paula, for your kindness to us. That’s it.  That’s all.  What’s more to discuss? Meridian International Center Program Officers in the room greeted the farewell couplets with applause and laughter as Paula Manganelli, the guest of honor, sat by smiling. Paula retired last month after over 30 years of experience scheduling arrivals for Meridian’s Professional Exchange Division....

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Community Development in Iraq through Volunteerism

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The Volunteers of Duhok team discusses ways to engage students in community development through volunteerism.

By Ameer Sabri, Manager of Volunteers of Duhok University (VDU) Alumnus IYLEP 2015 Volunteers of Duhok University (VDU) is an initiative launched by a group of students from the University of Duhok – a fast-growing institution in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Established in March 2015, the idea of setting up a youth center was pitched by a student, Saeed Qasim, and his mates, Zeena, Pekhatin, Karzan, Matty, Khosh, Iman, Yoshia, Khalid, Shihab, Ahmed, and Iman Na’man to create and spread the culture of volunteerism among students. First of all, the VDU team developed a registration form for membership...

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IVLP 75th Anniversary Time-lapse Map

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Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the International visitor Leadership Program

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 50% of these alumni.

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