The Impact of Exchange: Changing Race Relations in South Africa

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Frederik de Klerk & Nelson Mandela - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 1992 (Copyright: World Economic Forum)

Today is Election Day in South Africa, 20 years after the country’s first all-race vote and the 5th national election since the fall of apartheid. Many are part of a generation of “born frees” – citizens born after apartheid that are voting for the first time. On this day, we remember a South African visitor that came through our doors for a project sponsored by the U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program (formerly under the U.S. Information Agency) in 1976. He was a member of the South African Parliament under apartheid and had been serving for seven...

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Raising Educational Awareness & Literacy Rates in Bangladesh: SUSI Alumni Create Change

Posted under: Center for Global Leadership By /

Students gather for International Mother Language Day

This post is part of a recurring series about alumni of the Study of U.S. Institutes for Student Leaders for Public Policy and Government Leadership Program (SUSI) that is run by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and Meridian International Center. For other posts about progress SUSI alumni are making in their communities, click here. Thanks to governmental reforms, education in Bangladesh has continued to improve over the past ten years. However, this uplifting progress comes with some disheartening figures: according to a World Bank report, in 2004 almost 1.5 million students were not...

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SUSI Alumni Making Changes: Olivier Senat

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Students listening to a Jeunesse Verte Haitienne presentation

This post is part of a recurring series about alumni of the Study of U.S. Institutes for Student Leaders for Public Policy and Government Leadership Program (SUSI) that is run by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and Meridian International Center. For other posts about progress SUSI alumni are making in their communities, click here. Continue  

Economic Empowerment Program for Zambian and Zimbabwean Professionals

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Victoria Falls - At the Zambia/Zimbabwe Border

In the spring of 2014, Meridian International Center will begin the implementation of the U.S. Department of State’s Professional Fellows Program for Zambia and Zimbabwe. Beginning in May 2014, the program aims to bring 24 professionals to the U.S. from Zambia and Zimbabwe in two cohorts to introduce them to American business, entrepreneurial, and marketing practices that they can later implement in their home countries. The program incorporates a 3-week fellowship with an American business or NGO based in Denver, CO, or Charlotte, NC, as well as skills-based workshops, and culminates with a Professional Fellows Conference in Washington, DC. The participants will also benefit from a reciprocal two-week visit from eight American counterparts to Zambia and Zimbabwe in 2015.

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SUSI Alumni Making Changes: Swechhya Sangroula

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In collaboration with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Meridian International Center administered the Study of U.S. Institutes for Student Leaders for Public Policy and Government Leadership (SUSI) in the summer of 2013. The program was a combination of leadership training, cultural exchange, and rigorous classes designed to give participants a better understanding of the United States, as well as transform them into more effective and successful leaders.

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