A New Generation of FLEX Arrives in the United States
About the Author: Amy Schulz serves as a Program Officer in the Youth Programs Division of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
The Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX) began 20 years ago as a way to introduce high-school students from Eurasia to American society and in turn, expose U.S. citizens to the culture, traditions, and lifestyles of the people of Eurasia. As a sign of its success, FLEX continues to impact a new generation. Olga Pak, participated in the very first cohort of students in the FLEX program in 1993-1994 and spent her exchange year in California. Aleksandr Kim, her son, is the first second-generation FLEX Program participant.
Aleksandr says his mother’s positive exchange experience inspired him to pursue a FLEX scholarship. “My mother was telling me stories about her exchange year since I was 11 years old. She encouraged me to come to the United… more »
U.S. Department of State Announces Basketball Sports Visitor Program with Youth from Burma
Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC January 4, 2013
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces that 12 Burmese youth—six boys and six girls—and two coaches will travel to the United States January 7-20. The basketball exchange program, with support from the National Basketball Association (NBA), marks the first State Department Sports Visitor program with Burma. Throughout the program, the group will learn about sports in the United States by participating in basketball clinics with their American peers and engage in educational sessions on nutrition, conflict resolution, and disability sports.
The program builds on the first-ever Sports Envoy program in Burma, that sent Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rich Cho, former Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) player Allison Feaster, current Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Darvin Ham, and former NBA player Marty Conlon to Burma as Sports Envoys in August 2012.
The basketball exchange participants, ages 15-17, will visit North Carolina to attend a Charlotte Bobcats game and take part in a clinic with Cho, who was born in Burma, and Bobcats players. In Washington, D.C., the group will attend a Washington Wizards game and meet team members.
SportsUnited is the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ division devoted to sports diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State. Athletes and coaches from a range of sports are chosen to conduct clinics, visit schools, and engage with youth abroad in a dialogue on the importance of education, positive health practices, and respect for diversity. The NBA has partnered with SportsUnited since 2005, helping to host Sports Visitors from 20 countries and sending nearly 60 current and former NBA and WNBA players and coaches to travel to more than 30 countries as Sports Envoys.
For more information, contact Anna Griffin of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State, at eca-press@state.gov.
Marshall Islands Students Honor the Victims of Sandy Hook
About the Author: Doug Carey serves as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy Majuro.
Majuro Cooperative School in the Republic of the Marshall Islands put away their traditional red school uniforms and instead wore green and white - the school colors of Sandy Hook - to honor the children and teachers who lost their lives in Newtown.
In a condolence card delivered to Ambassador Thomas Armbruster on December 21, the students said, “even though we are half a world away and living on a tiny island in the Pacific, we felt the pain…of the families and the community of Newtown.” Even though the United States and the Marshall Islands are geographically very distant from each other, the connection between the peoples of our two countries is particularly close.
The Compact of Free Association between the Marshall Islands and the United States allows Marshallese students to travel, live, work and study in the United States; nearly…more »
Naval Academy Football Player Honors American Diplomats
Following Navy’s 17-13 win over Army earlier this month, you may have seen theWashington Post’s ”Sports Section” on December 9 that carried a photograph of Navy safety Kwazel Bertrand reacting to a fumble by Army late in the game.
Bertrand — appropriately wearing number 17 — was captured in that photo running off the field in victory while wearing a patch bearing the seal of the State Department. Naval Academy football players individually choose one or two patches to wear on their jersey for the Army-Navy game. Many players opt for patches with personal ties — a player may select the unit patch from a ship or squadron in which… more »
Think about it. Breaking the glass ceiling and advancing science go hand-in-hand. If we can get more women and girls - maybe half the world’s population - studying science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), we have more chances to solve major global crises, from disease to arms control, from communications to health. Getting ahead on STEM is a challenge worth taking on.
Over coffee one day, we decided that we would do our part to address this challenge. The answer, we believed, was self evident: We need to recruit greater numbers of young people to enter the fields of STEM so that we can extend our budding talent pool. And we must reach out to the 50 percent of our population traditionally constrained from pursuing careers in science: women.
That is what motivated us to create two programs, both launched on December 19, dedicated to removing barriers… more »
Folk Music Group Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer With Barbara Lamb Tour Asia and the Pacific Islands
Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC December 27, 2012
The American Music Abroad program, a partnership with American Voices, sends American musical groups overseas to engage with audiences and communities, especially underserved youth. This season’s 12 participating American Music Abroad groups were selected from a pool of nearly 300 applicants to travel to more than 40 countries to promote cross-cultural understanding through music.
The program builds on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s vision of “smart power,” which embraces the full range of diplomatic tools, including music, to engage people and create opportunities for greater understanding. MORE.
Social Media for Good: Civil Society IVLP Learnings from Silicon Valley
About the Author: Augusta Babson serves as a Program Officer in the Office of International Visitors in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Mayke Randa was sitting in a conference room in San Francisco earlier this month when her hand shot into the air. She was eager to talk to the representative from Medic Mobile, a tech company in San Francisco that uses mobile technology to improve healthcare in challenging settings. “I use Twitter and Facebook to run five non-governmental organizations in Indonesia, but we haven’t used mobile phones for outreach. Today is a fantastic moment for me to meet the people behind important new social networking tools. I can bring this experience and knowledge back to my organizations and make a real impact.”
Mayke founded of a social movement in Indonesia called “Blood for Life” that uses online tools to connect blood donors and patients in dire need of transfusions. She is one of 25 activists from… more »
About the Author: Ann Stock serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Today, more than 6,000 alumni from 45 countries in every region of the world are celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program and paying tribute to the program’s founders: the late Senator Ted Kennedy and Senator Richard Lugar. Their vision in the aftermath of the 9-11 terrorist attacks in the United States was to build bridges between Americans and young people in countries with significant Muslim populations. Now in its tenth year, that’s exactly what American and international students are doing through the YES and YES Abroad programs.
The YES program provides scholarships to almost 900 young people… more »
Community Solutions: Creating Global Solutions One Idea at a Time
About the Author: Ambassador J. Adam Ereli serves as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Solving the world’s biggest problems starts with one idea, by one individual, in one community. And those leaders must be equipped with new knowledge, resources, and networks in order for their ideas to thrive.
The State Department’s Community Solutions Program is in its second year and empowers community leaders with the tools and skills to change the world. For the past four months, 58 young professionals from 28 countries participated in a fellowship at U.S. community-based non-profits, government offices, or legislative bodies to see how American institutions address complex challenges.
Community Solutions Fellows worked with American community leaders to enhance their practical expertise, leadership skills and professional contacts to address… more »
Opportunity Funds: Opening More Doors to International Education
About the Author: Meghann Curtis serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Academic Programs in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Last week, we celebrated International Education Week here in the United States and around the world. New data in our annual Open Doors Report shows that international students are coming to the United States in higher numbers than ever, and more American students are going abroad to more diverse places. Students who seize the chance to study abroad enrich classrooms across the globe and return to their home countries to become leaders who promote more prosperous, equitable, and stable societies. Here at the State Department, our goal is to help a wider range of students have access to international education.
On November 20, I had the opportunity to join Eileen… more »
![Aleksandr Kim, a participant in the Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX), is pictured with his mother, Olga Pak, in Kyrgyzstan before travelling to the United States in January 2013. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2013_0114_flex_program_m.jpg)
![Students and parents at the Majuro Cooperative School honor the victims of Sandy Hook in the Republic of the Marshall Islands on December 21, 2012. [U.S. Embassy Photo/Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_1221_coop_honors_sandy_hook.__m.jpg)
![A Navy Wide Receiver catches a pass over an Army Cornerback in the Navy vs. Army football game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Dec. 8, 2012. [AP Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/1208_2012_navy_army_football_game_m.jpg)
![Under Secretary Sonenshine and Acting Under Secretary Gottemoeller pose for a photo with a student group the Tomorrows Women in Science and Technology (TWIST) in an event at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology in Alexandria, Virginia. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/1228_2012_empowering_women_engaging_girls_m.JPG)
![Augusta Babson, a Program Officer in the Office of International Visitors in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, poses for a photo with a participant in a U.S. Department of State-sponsored International Visitor Leadership Program exchange program at Twitter Headquarters in San Francisco, California, December 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_1222_twitter_m.jpg)
![Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Adam Ereli listens to Smrita Khadka, a Community Solutions fellow from Nepal who educates young girls about human trafficking in her country, in Washington, D.C., December 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_1207_community_solutions_1_m.jpg)
![Deputy Assistant Secretary for Academic Programs in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Meghann Curtis poses for a photo with Executive Director for Client Relations at the Educational Testing Service Eileen Tyson and a student from Africa currently studying in the United States, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., November 20, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_1121_eca_1_m.jpg)
