IVLP Alumni Spotlight: Bringing Technology Entrepreneurship to Low-Tech Environments

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Jarius Andrew Greaves is working to bring Liberian youth opportunities through technology innovation.

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 Mr. Jarius Andrew Greaves, the Founder and Executive Director of the Youth Network for Reform (YONER-Liberia),  a youth development organization in Liberia that has directly impacted the lives of more than 30,000 underprivileged and poverty-stricken youth and children through partnership with communities to provide local scholarships to deserving students. His three-week IVLP project introduced him to strategies for bringing technology (energy, IT, medical), technical education (STEM), and entrepreneurship to underserved communities. Mr. Greaves we recently selected to participate in the Obama Foundation Leaders Program: Africa.

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U.S. Speaker on Her Recent Program in India on Refugee Inclusion

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Elizabeth Ferris with staff of Centre for Disaster Studies, University of Kerala, and K.S. Bijukumar, US consutate, Chennai.

Since 2013 Meridian International Center has been implementing the U.S. Speaker and Specialist Program for India sponsored by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. The program is designed to connect U.S. experts with Indian audiences and institutions; to promote an understanding of U.S. strategic priorities, policies and institutions; and to discuss the political, economic, social, and cultural context from which they arise. One of the most recent U.S. Speakers to travel to India was Elizabeth Ferris, Research Professor at the Institute for the Study of International Migration of the Edmund Walsh School of Foreign...

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IVLP Alumni Spotlight: The Impact of Partnerships

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Ms. Mehreen Shoaib (IVLP 2011) and Ms. Rahat Jabeen (IVLP 2008) have partnered on numerous projects in Pakistan as a result of meeting each other through the IVLP network.

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 Pakistani alumni from different IVLP projects who have connected through the alumni network and established working partnerships to address local needs.  Visitor: Ms. Rahat Jabeen Title: Environment Specialist, Environment & Natural Resources Department, Global Practices, World Bank Country of Origin: Pakistan Itinerary: Washington, DC; Maryland; Denver and Golden, Colorado; Seattle, Washington; Jacksonville and Gainesville, Florida IVLP Project: Sustainable Development & Environmental Protection, A Multi Regional...

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From U.S. to Korea – A Participant’s Journey

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Jason Cox, a participant in the 2011 U.S. Congress - Republic of Korea National Assembly Exchange Program pictured here teaching at the Korean Naval Academy

In March and April of this year, Meridian International Center, conducted a longitudinal study which surveyed American and Korean participants from the 2007 – 2017 U.S. Congress – Republic of Korea National Assembly Exchange Programs. The exchange, jointly funded by the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Affairs and National Unification of the Korean National Assembly, is Meridian’s second longest program implemented continuously since 1998. The exchange however is much older having been created in 1981 by U.S. Representative Ben Gilman and his Korean counterpart Assemblyman David Pong with the express...

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How an Exchange Program Shaped the Career Path of a Program Alumni

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The American participants in the 2015 U.S. Congress - Republic of Korea National Assembly Exchange Program pictured here in downtown Seoul. Jessica is the third person from the left.

Jessica Reppert is an alumni of the 2015 U.S. Congress – Republic of Korea National Assembly Exchange Program. Now in its 21st year of implementation by Meridian International Center, the program is jointly funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and by the Committee on Foreign Affairs and National Unification of the Korean National Assembly. To mark the 20th Anniversary of implementing the program, Meridian conducted a longitudinal study, surveying both American and South Korean participants from the 2007-2017 programs to assess how this exchange has impacted the alumni. A representative from Meridian...

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