The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs is pleased to announce the winners of the 2012 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund competition, which offers grants for public service projects to teams of alumni of U.S. government-funded exchange program. This year more than 7,000 alumni from 115 countries developed project ideas. Almost 700 projects were posted to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs “State Alumni” on-line community and 50 projects were selected as winners, representing all regions of the world.
Alumni formed implementing teams to develop projects using the skills and knowledge they gained during their exchange experience. After all the proposals were submitted, the worldwide network of exchange alumni voted for the winners via the “State Alumni” website. A sampling of topics of the winning projects includes:
Burma: Service learning internship program for university students.
Colombia: Promoting social inclusion and entrepreneurship among youth.
Georgia: Business mentoring for women entrepreneurs in Georgia’s regions.
Ghana: Innovative training for Ghanaian women entrepreneurs.
Pakistan: Empowering women, youth, and minorities in the democratic process.
Yemen: Changing social perceptions of women and empowering them to participate in the democratic process.
A complete list of AEIF winners is online at https://alumni.state.gov/aeif.
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs maintains dynamic engagement with our exchange program alumni through its Alumni Affairs Division, which oversees the community service and professional development activities of U.S. State Department-funded exchange alumni worldwide. Join the conversation with alumni on Twitter and Facebook.
Media Contact: Susan Pittman, PittmanSR@state.gov, phone (202) 632-6373.
