YLAI Pilot Alumni Continue to Make Progress

Posted under: Center for Global Leadership By /

YLAI Pilot Fellows at Meridian House

In February and March 2016, Meridian was proud to welcome 24 entrepreneurs from 20 countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean as part of the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Pilot Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.

Meridian is always happy to hear from its alumni, and is particularly proud to share what Luis Loaiza, Alejandro Carbonell, and Triston Thompson have been up to since the conclusion of the program. Continue  

Blagica Petreski: Entrepreneurial Passion Could Change The World

Posted under: Center for Global Leadership By /

Blagica Petreski & her YTILI mentor, CTBA Executive director Ralph Martire, at the “Illinois: Vision for the future” event.

This blog post was written by the YTILI fellow: Blagica Petreski, Macedonia CEO of Finance Think- Economic Research and Policy Institute, Skopje- Macedonia   To be selected as a Young Transatlantic Innovative Leaders Initiative (YTILI) fellow is an honor; to participate is a challenge. I had a dream to be a part of the US fellowship programs; I have a dream to improve my society. When I was nominated by the US Embassy in Macedonia as an YTILI fellow, dozens of butterflies appeared in my stomach. At the same time, I was a bit scared. Why me? Could I leave work for...

Continue  

IVLP Alumni Spotlight: Australian TV Producer Reflects on Broadcast Media in the U.S.

Posted under: IVLP By /

Testing the green screen in the Dick Clark Studios at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications

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 one alumna who participated in a Multi-Regional project for journalists and media professionals. The participant spent three weeks in the United States examining how new technologies shape the way news is gathered and how broadcast media influences and reflects American society. More information about Erin’s experience on the program can be found here: “Digital Media in the U.S. & Australia: IVLP Alumna Shares Key Takeaways from Exchange”

Continue  

Congressional Districts Visited by IVLP Participants in 2015

Posted under: IVLP By /

Congressional Districts Visited by IVLP Participants in 2015

Each year, in order to track the geographic diversity of our programming, we collect a list of the cities that our visitors see as they travel across the country. Last marked the 75th Anniversary of the International Visitor Leadership Program. Using the list of cities from that year we constructed a map to visually show our visitors travels. Would the data points cluster near the coast or major cities? What if we overlaid it with congressional districts? How would the spread be with red and blue districts? In the following maps we tried to discover the answers to those questions and more and the results might be surprising.

Continue  

“America 101” to Genetically Modified Foods Seminars: Evolutions in International Exchange Trends

Posted under: Center for Global Leadership By /

Paula Manganelli addresses former and current Meridian Program Officers who gathered in honor of her retirement.

On Feb. 18th, Meridian International Center said goodbye to Senior Program Officer Paula Manganelli, who has over 30 years’ experience scheduling international exchange groups. During the send-off, I spoke to a host of other Meridian veterans about their programming experiences and changes in international exchange trends. Former Program Officer and Foreign Service Officer Dick Christensen attributes Meridian’s success in international exchange in part to its illustrious history. Meridian sits on a majestic lot on Crescent Place NW, just off of the 16th St. NW stretch in front of Meridian Hill Park, what was the geographic meridian of Washington, DC...

Continue