Jesse Clark’s Final Thoughts on His Experience in the U.S. Congress – Republic of Korea National Assembly Exchange

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Jesse Clark in front of a sign noting the distance between Pyeongyang and Seoul at the DMZ

Hey Everyone! It was a very exciting final week of the 2015 U.S. Congress – Republic of Korea National Assembly Exchange Program, and I have more stories than I could possibly put in a single blog post. I am in Chicago right now for a quick layover; so far I’ve taken a two-hour flight from Seoul to Tokyo, had a three-hour layover, and then hopped on a 12-hour flight from Tokyo to Chicago. I still have a two-hour flight back to Bangor, and then a two-hour drive back to the glorious town of Calais, Maine.  For those keeping score at...

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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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Three Months Out

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Al-Amir Mohssen, second from left, leads volunteers in a clean up day as part of Let's Do It Egypt.

In his capacity as Project Manager of the Sustainable Development Program at the Industrial Modernization Center in Cairo, Mr. Al-Amir Mohssen manages projects that focus on entrepreneurship and micro, small and medium enterprise development that support young entrepreneurs working across Egypt. He frequently volunteers for youth initiatives and is interested in learning about a broad variety of youth engagement strategies in the U.S. in addition to programs to encourage young entrepreneurs.

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Program Theme Spotlight: Foreign Trade and investment

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Three visitors at a family-owned “pop-up” camper business in Sacramento, where they discuss the with the owners the company’s global marketing strategy.

With the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and other pending trade agreements in the headlines, and as states across the country compete with one another for foreign investment and global export markets, IVLP projects in these fields are on the rise.  The increase of projects on this theme is a reflection of U.S. foreign policy interests and a recognition that global commerce has an impact on a myriad of domestic policy issues. In preparing proposals for projects about trade and investment, Meridian and its implementing partners consider a number of policy priorities that are affected by the globalization of commerce.

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