My Experience with YLAI – A U.S. Department of State Exchange Program

From September to October 2018, Meridian International Center successfully implemented the Young Leaders of America Initiative (YLAI) 2018 cohort. This great program which is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, brought 250 YLAI Professional Fellows from Latin America and the Caribbean to expand their leadership and entrepreneurial experience. YLAI is designed to address the opportunity gap for youth, especially women, by empowering business and social entrepreneurs with the training, tools, networks and resources they need to transform their societies and contribute more fully to economic development and prosperity, security, human...

Continue  

Building Communities of Peace – Countering Violent Extremism: U.S. Professional Development Program

Academics’ Learning Journey into CVE and Building Resilient Communities On March 24, 2018 ten (10) academics drawn from four universities in Trinidad and Tobago embarked on a 10-day, life-changing journey to the U.S. cities of Boston, MA and Washington, DC. The trip, initiated by the U.S. Embassy in Port-of-Spain and the U.S. Department of State, was facilitated by Meridian International Center and focused on researching violent extremism and building resilient communities. The team at Meridian International Center must be highly commended for planning and executing a programme that was well tailored to us as academics hailing from a plethora...

Continue  

“YLAI Has Changed My Entrepreneurial Life” by Michelle Guimarães, YLAI Alumna from Brazil

Michelle Guimarães is the founder and CEO of Visit Manaus. She is one of 248 fellows who participated in the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI), a professional fellows program that empowers entrepreneurs and innovative civil society leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean. YLAI focuses on strengthening their capacity to launch and advance their entrepreneurial ideas and effectively contribute to social and economic development in their communities. – YLAI has changed my entrepreneurial life! It has opened a lot of opportunities for me. Although I’m still looking for funds to develop the project that I presented in...

Continue  

“Una Experiencia Enriquecedora y para Compartir! por Linda Luque, una Participante Panameña en el Programa Edward R. Murrow para Periodistas

The United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs permitió que como profesional de mi país Panamá pudiese participar en el International Visitor Leadership Program en el programa Edward R. Murrow para Periodistas “Los Medios Nuevos y Tradicionales en la Era Digital” brindándome así la apertura a la adquisición de nuevos conocimientos que se visualizan como los elementos necesarios para la proyección del periodismo como fuerza de unión entre las naciones. Continue  

“An Enriching and Sharing Experience!” by Linda Luque, A Panamanian ‘Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists’ Participant

The United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs allowed me, a professional journalist from Panama, to participate in the International Visitor Leadership Program in the Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists. This experience provided me the opportunity to acquire the necessary knowledge to project journalism as a force of union between nations. Continue