“We Stand With You” — President Obama Recognizes IVLP Participants at CGI

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Visitors stand together in front of the New York City skyline.

Over 1,000 advocates, political leaders, and non-profit executives gathered in New York City on September 23rd for the 10th annual Clinton Global Initiative, where they witnessed President Obama illustrate America’s commitment to empowering and supporting civil society. In the President’s speech, he highlighted the extraordinary work of three International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) participants, Sopheap Chak of Cambodia, John Gad of Egypt, and Miriam Canales Flores of Honduras, for pushing forward their missions during perilous times. They are champions for human rights, fighters for at-risk youth, and artists using their talents to strengthen civil society.

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The Transatlantic Relationship: 10 Year Recap

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Waving United States and European Union Flag

Eleven alumni from the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) were reunited in Washington, DC yesterday for a timely discussion of the transatlantic relationship. Three members of the group sat on a panel at the Delegation of the European Union to the U.S. along with David Mark of Politix and a representative from the Atlantic Council. The alumni were Edmundas Jakilaitis of Media 3 Television Production in Lithuania, Eric Bo Axel Sundstrom of Sweden’s on-line progressive newspaper Dagens Arena and Aikaterini Sokou of Kathimerini, Greece and Cyprus’ largest daily broadsheet.

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A Look Back on the Youth Leadership Program with Central Europe (YLPCE)

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YLPCE 2012 alumni and 2013 participants celebrate at the US Ambassador to Serbia, Michael Kirby's, residence.

In 2009, representatives from Meridian and a Serbian youth organization, Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR), met serendipitously in Jakarta, Indonesia at a World Movement for Democracy conference. This meeting resulted in a proposal and four years of partnership implementing the Youth Leadership Program with Central Europe (YLPCE). Continue  

European Visitors Make Connections in Unexpected Places in the U.S.

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The group of Young European leaders arrives at Meridian International Center in Washington, DC. (Photo Courtesy of Philip Brown)

If you’re looking for a place to partake meaningful dialogue with Europeans leaders, you might want to try North Dakota. Earlier this summer, 15 young European leaders and professionals mingled with local residents in the small, but growing, town of Minot, North Dakota. The European visitors participated in a United States Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) project, administered by Meridian International Center. The purpose of the project was for these young leaders to witness and converse about current political, social, and economic issues in the United States. and similar issues faced by their home countries. Why...

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Special Relationships: UK MPs Shadow US Reps Around the Country

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Four Members of UK Parliament come to the United States with the 37th British-American Parliamentary Group exchange program.

You may have heard of the “special relationship” between the United States and United Kingdom (UK).

The term sounds rather mystical, but is actually based on over 200 years of political, cultural, economic, and military relations between the two countries. It characterizes the nations’ close cooperation and alignment, most famously emphasized by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in his 1946 speech, “The Sinews of Peace.”

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