As the Olympic and Paralympic Games proved this summer, sports have the unique ability to bring people together peacefully.
As part of its Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports Initiative, the U.S. Department of State brought 18 young female athletes and two coaches from India and Pakistan together recently for the first joint India-Pakistan sports exchange program.
Regardless of their country of origin, these athletes and coaches became a team. They shared laughs, started a new conversation with one another, and encouraged each other to excel both on and off the soccer field.
With a focus on peace building, the India-Pakistan soccer exchange also highlights the importance of using sports as a means of empowerment. According… more »
Back to School…Anywhere in the World!
About the Author: Ann Stock serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer in the United States. If they haven’t already done so, students all across our country are heading back to school this week. And for more than 270,000 of them, this school year will also be the start of a whole other adventure — studying abroad!
If you want to understand another country and its culture, institutions, and languages, there’s no substitute for living there, whether for a few weeks, a semester, a year, or longer. The friendships that these experiences foster are life-changing, and they form the basis of our country’s international relationships for years to come. Students with that experience are more confident and better prepared to engage globally. Studying abroad also enriches the campuses and communities around you.
In short, study abroad expands your world: new insights, places, and people… more »
U.S. Department of State Exchange Explores Media Literacy with Tunisian, Libyan, and Egyptian Youth Leaders
Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC August 24, 2012
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs welcomes 21 youth and three educators from Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia to the United States on August 24, to participate in a three-week Youth Leadership Program focused on the theme of Media Literacy. The participants will learn about leadership development, civic education and community service through engagement with students in local high schools, encounters with civic, youth, and governmental organizations, and participation in community service activities and leadership workshops. The program is implemented by nonprofit organization World Learning.
The exchange program begins with a leadership and team building camp at World Learning’s School for International Training Graduate Institute campus in Brattleboro, Vermont. After the camp, the students will break into groups and travel to either Louisville, Kentucky or San Diego, California. In each of the cities the students will meet with local organizations to learn about civic engagement and media education initiatives. They will also live with local host families, perform community service, and attend cultural events.
The group will reunite in Washington, D.C. on September 12, to learn how the State Department interacts with media at home and abroad, and to draft plans for service projects they will implement in their home communities.
Today marks 75 days until the start of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London. As London prepares to welcome the world for the Olympics, the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. organized a medley of sports activities or “Embassy Olympics,” in recognition last month of the “100 Days To Go” mark. On April 18, international colleagues from the diplomatic community joined to compete in the “Embassy Olympics.” SportsUnited representatives from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs along with their colleagues in the Bureau of International Information Programs and Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs were key “players” in the event.
Even the rainy weather — true to form for a British activity — did not dampen the spirits of the participants. Embassy teams enthusiastically represented countries that have previously hosted the Olympics… more »
Nicaraguan Dental Faculty Participate in U.S. Exchange Program
About the Author: Alison Griffith is the Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Managua, Nicaragua.
The port of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua bustled with activity the morning of June 23, 2011. U.S. military personnel crossed the loading docks with great purpose, as a group of Nicaraguan dental faculty stepped from their vans into the throng of activity. Sixteen men and women representing the only two dental schools in Nicaragua looked eagerly onto the choppy waters upon which they were about to embark. The colossal white hospital ship, the U.S. Naval Ship (USNS) Comfort, emerged through the morning mist, and the bright red crosses emblazoned on its side beckoned to the visiting faculty.
The faculty members’ visit was a dental subject matter expert exchange (SMEE) the U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua coordinated with the Dental Department aboard the USNS Comfort. Timing their ascent with the rise and fall of the Pacific Ocean waves, the visitors boarded the ship… more »
In Vancouver, Promoting International Understanding Through Exchanges
More than 8,000 educators, advisors, scholars, and counselors attended theAssociation of International Educators’ 63rd annual NAFSA conference from May 31 to June 3. The conference offered dozens of workshops and seminars on international education, providing an unparalleled forum for hammering out agreements between educational institutions, spotting new trends in international education, and plain, old-fashioned networking.
There is burgeoning understanding that educational advising and international academic exchanges are increasingly recognized as important tools for building long-term relationships between citizens of the United States and other countries. Caryn Danz, Branch Chief for Educational Advising in the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural… more »
New Initiative Empowers Women and Girls Through Soccer
On Friday, June 3, 2011, international youth soccer players and their American counterparts spent the day participating in drills and a friendly practice game. On Monday, June 6, these international soccer players will join Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and members of the U.S. Women’s National Team at the launch of theWomen’s World Cup Initiative: Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports. Tune in to the live webcast beginning at 9:30 a.m. (EDT) at www.state.gov and DipNote. Get live updates via Twitter @AnnatState. more »
Launching the New J-1 Visa Exchange Visitor Program Website
Today, we are launching the new J-1 Visa Exchange Visitor Program website. Each year, more than 350,000 students, professors, summer work travel participants, Au Pairs, and camp counselors travel to work or study in the United States. J-1 visas are a critical component of our mission to promote mutual understanding.
This new site will make it easier for visitors, program sponsors and host families to find the information they need. Enhancements include an interactive facts and figures map, participant and sponsor information, and our “participant testimonials” section, providing first person accounts of experiences in the United States. Videos and interactive content extend the site’s reach into the social media forum. The site also allows those with only mobile… more »
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![Fulbright Students, who are now studying in the United States, gather in Denver, Colorado for the Fulbright Enrichment Seminar on Greening of the Planet. The seminar took place Feb. 24-27, 2011, and was one of 9 Fulbright Foreign Student seminars hosted across the United States during the year. [Photo by Fulbright student Lucien Bourjeily/ Photo Courtesy of the Fulbright Program]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121018081338im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0903_fulbright_2_m.jpg)
![U.S. Department of State employees pose for a photograph after participating in Embassy Olympics at Reeves Field American University in Washington, D.C., on April 18, 2012, to mark 100 days until the start of the London Olympics. [Photography copyright Tony Powell/ British Embassy]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121018081338im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0513_team_usa_m.jpg)
![EdcuationUSA Advisor Nelson poses for a photo, Vancouver, Canada, 2011. [State Dept. photo]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121018081338im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_0608_NAFSA_Education_Advisor_m.jpg)
![Participants in a youth soccer exchange program pose for a photo, June 3, 2011. [State Department]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121018081338im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_0604_soccer_event_m.jpg)
![Screenshot of the J1 Visa website on June 1, 2011. [State Department Image]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121018081338im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_0601_j1_visa_website_m.jpg)
