Embracing Hope in a Turbulent World: Five Steps for Global Leaders

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Upon completing a cross-cultural training, Japanese Ministry Officials participating on the State Department's Global Government-to-Government Partnership pose for a photo with Jo Ann Ross.

This article is reposted from the Fletcher Forum of World Affairs (September 6, 2016). Jo Ann Ross, based in Maryland, is a principal at the Center for Enlightened Organizations (C.E.O.) where she coaches global leaders in industry, government and nonprofits. Her other publications include “The Art of Self-Care and Dynamic Global Leadership” and, with Willa Zakin Hallowell, “Getting to the Heart of Global Leadership.” For the past 28 years at Meridian International Center, Jo Ann has provided executive coaching, leadership development, cross-cultural communications, global awareness, and multicultural team building to international visitors from around the world. She is also Senior Associate at Grovewell LLC, serving global leaders in Fortune 500 companies. Continue  

On the value of networks

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YLAI Professional Fellows Program 2016

As a new intern and a young professional in the making, one is always made aware of the multiple networking opportunities that arise in any given environment. We are encouraged to network, to update our LinkedIn profiles, and make eye contact when firmly shaking people’s hands. Flash forward a month into my summer experience interning for Meridian’s Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative  (YLAI), I have learned the true value of creating a network. Needless to say, my networking awareness was not exclusively informed by my peers, colleagues, or from my fellow interns. Rather, it came from reading more than 300 applications out...

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The Everyday Olympics of Rio de Janiero

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The workships in Rio took place from March 23-24, 2016.

This guest blog by Dave Loewenstein, the selected artist for ECA’s Community Engagement through the Arts Brazil program, first appeared here. For the prequel to the story, read about his experience in Vitória.

In a picture postcard
How would the dream of Rio compare to actually being there, especially at this moment? My first impression matched if not exceeded my expectations – the awe inspiring beauty of how human settlement is tucked in between those lush green mountains that appear like teeth sprouting from the maw of a sun bathing dragon.

Looking down at Copacabana Beach from the top of Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain)
Looking down at Copacabana Beach from the top of Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain)

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U.K. Parliamentarians Meet with U.S. Representatives through BAPG Exchange Program

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MP's Angela Crawley, Jim McMahon, Ranil Jayawardena, and David Mackintosh meet with Representative Pearce

In 2004, a rising Conservative in the United Kingdom Parliament named Theresa May participated in the British American Parliamentary Group (BAPG), a Department of State exchange program co-founded with the U.K. Parliament in 1977 and administered by Meridian International Center. Ms. May and several colleagues traveled to the United States for meetings with U.S. congressional representatives to learn about America’s political process and its domestic debates, in turn sharing their perspectives on pressing challenges facing the U.K. and Europe. Continue  

Remembering the “Forgotten War”: U.S. Congress – Republic of Korea National Assembly Exchange Program

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US Korea Blog Photo

On June 25, 1950, the Korean War commenced. On September 15, United States led the 21 nation-Allied Forces in valiant efforts to help South Koreans repel the Chinese-based communist troops allied with the North Korean troops invading from the North. Nearly 38,000 U.N. troops, most of them from the U.S., died during the conflict. The war resulted in a truce, yet the peninsula remains divided to this day. For South Koreans and Americans, we have familiarized ourselves with this version of the Korean War. However, many of us fail to recognize the most crucial part of the story. Thus,...

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