~Negotiation for peace-building and cooperation

~Using social media for positive social change

~Fostering responsible global citizenship

~Effective advocacy

~Media and information literacy

~Essentials of social entrepreneurship

This year marks the fourth UNAOC Summer School. Youth (between 18 and 35) who are interested in attending this year's summer school can apply at www.UNAOCEFSummerSchool.org on or before 31 May 2013.

Selected participants will be provided with flight, accommodation, meals and full event access.

For more information about the UNAOC-EF Summer School, please contact info@unaocefsummerschool.org.

For other opportunities for youth, explore the Center's database of opportunities in its database.

The Voluntourist is the story of his adventures, both physical and spiritual. Beginning with his father's death, then through the hot suffering of New Orleans, to a school in Costa Rica where Scary Facts are enough to be numbered, at a special needs school in China, tracking Pumas in Ecuador, seeing Bon Jovi in Bethlehem and to Kenya, of which he says, "If you're a human being, Africa is a homecoming. We are all children of Africa. This is where mankind began." 

Funny, touching, insightful and compelling, The Voluntourist is a story suitable for any global citizen of any age. 

In keeping with his philosophy about living a life that matters, Ken gives his earnings from the book back to the communities and causes he has visited. This includes:

1. A fund for the La La Shou special education center in Xi'an, China, where Ken volunteered through St. Paul-based Global Volunteers. They are currently at $3,400; the goal is to reach $10,000. 

2. A scholarship for Cross-Cultural Solutions to help people volunteer in Costa Rica, where Ken worked in 2006. The scholarship is named after Franco Lalama, a Port Authority employee who lost his life on 9/11 leading the evacuation of engineering offices in One World Trade Center. Ken met Mr. Lalama's stepdaughter through his Costa Rica experiences. They are about halfway to their $10,000 goal through money from the book and Mr. Lalama's family. 

3. Ken and his wife Julie continue to support the Calvary Zion trust, which was created by Susan Peattie of Scotland to benefit the children's home where Ken and Julie worked in Kenya. Follow this link to see how the money has been distributed.

If you would like to explore being a Voluntourist, there are many opportunities available in the Center's database. Learn more about these opportunities. 

FOPUSA will donate up to $4,206 to the Hoshyar Foundation in Mansehra District, Pakistan, for scholarships for forty girls from the villages of Jabbar Gali, Meil But, and Manda Gucha, Mansehra District, Pakistan, so that they may continue their education at the 11 and 12 year levels.  

An additional grant of $900 has been awarded to the local School Management Committee to enable six girls at the Government Girls Inter-College, Rerra, Bagh, Azad Kashmir to continue their studies for the coming academic year.  Upon successful completion of the 2013-14 academic year, they will be eligible for continued scholarship funding from FOPUSA for 2014-15. 

Learn more about Friends of Pakistan projects on their website.

The Center salutes USCCD Member organization Friends of Pakistan USA for their work promoting friendly relations between citizens of Pakistan and the USA and advancing education as an alternative to extremism for children and families in Pakistan.

All four of the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy’s spring interns are moving on to exciting projects, and their time at the USCCD has likely given them skills and experiences that made them good prospects for these adventures.

 Kotheid Nicoue joined the USCCD division of CDC Development Solutions as a research intern in May 2012 after graduating from the University of Iowa with majors in International Relations and French. He also interned at SOS Racisme, an organization that fights against racial discrimination in France and across Europe. This summer he’ll continue to share his talents with an internship at our parent organization, CDC Development Solutions' Washington, DC office. 

Since August 2012, Jodi Dobinsky has been social media intern at USCCD focusing her support on the J Center’s social media efforts, a perfect fit for her degree concentration: International Relations with a focus on Japanese politics and society. Soon she’ll be moving to Japan for a year to take part in the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program, where she’ll develop hands-on experience in the field. 

Amelia Piecuch has been with USCCD as its program intern since January 2013. She graduates from Drake University this May with a degree in International Relations and Environmental Policy and then she’ll return to Chile as a Fulbright Scholar to conduct research on the Chilean Fishing Industry. Her first visit to Chile as an exchange student developed her passion for Latin American studies and travel. Amelia has visited 15 countries so far.  

Megan Weber, program intern since January 2013, graduates from Grand View University this spring with double majors in Criminal Justice and Spanish. Through her passion for Spanish/Latin American cultures, she traveled to Costa Rica and discovered an interest in international relations and diplomacy. She will spend the summer interning in the area of criminal justice.

The USCCD wishes each of these talented young people success as they undertake their individual journeys. It will be a pleasure to see where their careers take them. There is no doubt that they will each continue to shine as exemplary citizen diplomats, wherever their paths may lead.

iEARN projects are designed and facilitated by educators and students worldwide. Most are project-based learning and result in a range of collaborative final “products” or project outcomes that are shared between the participants. Past projects include magazines, creative writing anthologies, websites, reports to government officials, art exhibits and performances.

In addition to connecting students' learning with local issues and meeting specific curriculum needs, every iEARN project should answer the question, "How will this project improve the quality of life on the planet?" Answering this question is key to turning students into global citizens and allows them to make a difference through collaboration with their peers in other countries. 

In July 2013, iEARN and iEARN-Qatar will host the 20th Annual iEARN International Conference and 17th Annual Youth Summit. Educators from more than 70 countries will come together to learn how to use technology to build connections and to share their stories. Students from more than 20 countries will attend the Youth Summit, where they will build relationships and plan future collaborative projects. 

The conference runs July 1-6, 2013. Registration information is available here. The full program is here. 

Kingdom Cares has two main parts: A sports-based program in the United States that teaches leadership and responsibility through gamesmanship, and a program in Ghana whose mission is to help in whatever form that might take. And they’re doing a good job.

In Iowa, approximately 95% of the students who have gone through Kingdom Cares have received academic or athletic college scholarships. In Ghana, the organization has created a medical campus that sees 50 patients each day. Incredibly, Kingdom Cares has been around only since 2009. Their international program Project Ghana has created a medical clinic, assisted with school expansions and orphanage development, opened a foster home, established a child sponsorship program, and has developed a basketball academy in Ghana. They also provide scholarships to Ghana students to enable them to get an education.

Although Tate began her engagement with Kingdom Cares as an intern, she recently learned she’ll be spending six months in Ghana working as a liaison between the people in Ghana and the resource structures available via the U.S. base. For example, Tate will be able to assist with arranging medical care, finding equipment and tools, and making scholarships. Scholarships are very important; Kingdom Cares helps with fees for the “private” school, which is too far away from the free government school for many children to attend. Scholarships include both the school fees and medical care for the students.

To build her confidence for her extended stay, Tate is skyping with friends she made on her trip, trying to learn a bit of the language and strengthen relationships that will help her do her job well once she’s there. She’s confident it will be an easy transition, since the people of Ghana are “so warm and friendly.” She smiles as she recounts how the children welcome visitors. “Once they’ve got your hand, you belong to them. If another child approaches and tries to touch you, they sometimes get physical staking their claim!”

Tate is very excited about her new role and becoming part of the Asikuma team. “We’re a presence there to be sure things are going smoothly, looking for opportunities and creating relationships so we can find a way to address needs.”

They encourage their local community to get involved by becoming a professional resource for their exchange members during their visit, by organizing classroom visits, or by volunteering in other ways. 

For example, their Home Hospitality program brings a small group of visiting emerging leaders into a host home for a meal and conversation. With the assistance of a translator, the host, their friends and family, and the visitors exchange thoughts and ideas about life in America as well as life in the visitors’ home country. This simple but impactful evening helps ensure visitors to Utah have a memorable experience to take home and share. It also helps the host’s own family and friends have a deeper understanding of another culture. 

The Council also offers a lecture series intended to expand minds by broadening the worldview of attendees. Lectures in 2012 covered such diverse topics as “POWER, PERSUASIAN & PURPOSE– PREPARING & ARMING THE NEXT GENERATION TO COMPETE AND SUCCEED GLOBALLY,” and “THE FIGHT FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY IN PAKISTAN.”

Travel is only one way to engage in citizen diplomacy. There are organizations all across the U.S. that offer creative and engaging home-based activities to encourage global thinking and understanding.

One of the main points of discussion included strategies for a national awareness campaign to elevate global citizen diplomacy, educating more Americans on why global fluency is important and inspiring action.  There is a need for the message to be presented in such a way that it will connect across demographics and the many different sectors of citizen diplomacy programs and activities.  Citizen diplomacy is a very broad field, and all Americans have the right and the responsibility to get engaged through one of the thousands of programs available either here at home or by traveling abroad.  Youth, in particular, have tremendous potential and energy that needs to be harnessed in support of the movement.

Chris Dodd, former Senator and now President of the MPAA, spoke of his full support of citizen diplomacy movement.  He has a long history of personal involvement as a citizen diplomat, starting with service as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Stay tuned to hear more about this important initiative from the USCCD and CDS as we move forward with development of the national campaign.

~Learn how to link ICV to your core business to benefit your employees, your customers and your stakeholders. 
~Hear the stories of others in this space and see how ICV has changed them.
~Understand the need and how ICV programs are being used to create long-term change in at-risk environments.
~Gain practical tips and concrete how-tos you can take back to your organization to create or expand an ICV program

Explore the agenda to learn more.

 Don't miss out! Register here.

In Guatemala, a glorious carpet of flowers also marks renewal and fertility. (Photo Wild Junket)

In countries like Poland dousing friends with buckets of water or water balloons is common. It is believed this dates back to the baptism of Polish Prince Mieszko in 966 AD.

Hungary also 'douses' but in this tradition men spray perfume or perfume water on women. The liquid is believed to have a cleansing effect that leads to good fertility.

In Eastern Europe there is also a male-female tradition: men sneak up on women and spank them with a willow reed. The reed is supposed to transfer the men's vitality and virility to the women.

Norway may have one of the most unusual traditions. Since 1923, so many Norwegians read thrillers over this holiday publishers produce special "Easter Thrillers."

In France and Italy, Easter is one of the major religious festivals of the year. Known as Pâques in France, and Pasqua in Italy, both countries incorporate with enthusiasm and zeal.

Sweden celebrates Easter as many countries do Christmas, with a week of activities leading up to the holiday. Shops are decorated specifically for the occasion.

In Israel, thousands of pilgrims and tourists travel from across the world to Israel to celebrate the holy festival of Easter in the Holy Land of Jerusalem. Holy fire lights and candles symbolize the resurrection of Jesus Christ here.

Across the world this is one of the most celebrated holidays in many cultures. Whether the celebration is based in folk lore or spirituality it is acknowledged with joy and zeal. 

In Yogyakarta, Indonesia, interns will help strengthen the local community by teaching English to primary and secondary school students, helping NGOs with communications and social media, or researching and writing reports for NGOs. Although Indonesia is a burgeoning center of business and tourism, roughly 14% of the countries people are living on less than $1.50 per day. Because tourism and business play such an important role in the country's future success, they are in dire need of people to teach English to workers and computer operation and internet skills. Dates for Indonesia internships are June 19 to August 4.

http://www.idealist.org/view/volop/34kBSwJjhZSsP/

If the dessert climate is more appealing, internships include opportunities to create summer camps for children in underserved communities, website design and development for NGOs, teaching English or coaching sports, or planning ecotourism opportunities and environmental programs. Sadly, there is nearly 30% unemployment in Morocco and 25% of Moroccans live below the poverty line. Support in the areas of education, economic development and social services are vital to the future of this area. Dates for internships in Morocco are June 26 to August 8.

http://www.idealist.org/view/volop/33tp6J6WpDK5P/

If you're interested in being outdoors, Ifrane National Park is seeking service interns to assist environmental education efforts for six weeks this summer. Service interns will work full time with park staff and have opportunities to explore the park, map trails and organize a nature garden for educational programs.

http://www.idealist.org/view/volop/33CJZsTJhzsCp/

Study Swahili in Stone Town, Zanzibar's capitol, while you teach English and IT to students and staff and help the State University of Zanzibar set up service-learning programs for its students. Enjoy the tropical climate while learning about this unique culture. The internship in Zanzibar begins June 4 and runs through July 18.

http://www.idealist.org/view/volop/F8jxWXZnTfCp/ 

To apply for any of these opportunities, or learn more about Creative Learning and their America's Unofficial Ambassadors programs, please visit their websites. Applications are due by April 1.

Creative Learning

America's Unofficial Ambassadors

These websites allow individuals and groups to raise cash, without trading equity or taking out a loan. Some, like Kickstarter, are geared toward arty and creative projects like films and books. But others, like StartSomeGood.com, are open to nonprofits and social enterprises. Current StartSomeGood campaigns are based in Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Greece, Sierra Leone, the United Kingdom and of course the United States. Projects must fall into one of 11 areas: Arts & Culture, Children & Youth, Community, Economic Development, Education, Environment, Food, Health, Human Rights, Media or Politics - all areas that can easily involve citizen diplomacy.

So, what can you do with this information? If you're an organization, think about using a crowdfunding campaign to fund a component of one of your programs. If you're an individual, think about how you could lead change by developing a project that makes an impact locally or on a broad scale. Keys to success:

~Create change. Have an exciting project or program that creates positive movement. Show how your work will make a difference, whether it's building a well or teaching English or connection two classrooms or painting a mural.

~Tell your story well, and tell is using real faces and real voices. There's an old adage that says people give to people. Someone may like your idea, but if they don't have reason to like you, their wallets are less likely to open.

~Have a solid budget! Make clear the goals and chances for success with proper funding. As with any funding effort, the dollars need to make sense. Transparency is key.

~To the tipping point and beyond! The tipping point is the minimum cost (established by you) to accomplish your project. But you can and should think bigger. If you get the basic funds, what can you add to make the project even better? Can you duplicate your mural in two schools? Send two groups to build wells in two locations? Once you know your bottom line, think big!

~Offer great rewards. Rewards are what your participants trade for their investment. Rewards can be as simple as a hand-written thank you note or posting the funder's name on your office wall. Or you can go big and have a post-trip dinner with the team to share your adventures, or offer an invitation to the ground-breaking if it's geographically accessible.

~Spread the word! Develop a social media and PR plan ahead of time to push news of your campaign beyond your own circle of influence into the great big world.

If you don't tip, don't be discouraged. Regardless of whether or not you're able to successfully fund, you're spreading the word about your cause and building awareness.

* Kristen Bell and her former Veronica Mars cast mates joined producer Rob Thomas to ask for Kickstarter support funding a Veronica Mars movie. They hit their $2,000,000 funding goal in just 12 hours, a record on many levels. Check out the Kickstarter campaign.

Within its eight program areas, Partners creates opportunities that bring cultures together to build understanding and solve real-life problems. Here are a few recent examples:

Food Security and Agriculture – Agriculture and food security are critical issues in many countries. Programs within this area, like The John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer to Farmer Program, provide technical assistance and training to partners in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa. Learn more. 

Sports for Development – Partners believes there is power in sports. As a tool for youth employment, health, or social inclusion, sports-centered activities have a valuable and long-lasting impact on the communities involved. A Ganar Alliance, a youth workforce development program involving soccer, found that 70% of the graduates from its program found jobs, started a business or returned to school. Read more about this and other sports-based programs here. 

Women and Gender Equality – Recognizing that “economic, social, and political success are only possible when women are full participants of community and national development,” Partners has worked to support women achieve their full potential since its inception nearly 40 years ago. Through programs such as Workforce Development For Girls in Brazil in cooperation with the Nike Foundation and others, Partners is providing employment and entrepreneurial training to more than 1400 adolescent girls and young women in three Brazilian states. More here. 

These are just a few of the important and exciting challenges Partners is tackling on a daily basis. To learn more about their work and their programs, visit their website. You can check out all the Center's members here.

One fun tool they provide is an interactive map that allows you to explore language in the United States. You can see the country as a whole, or pick a language and see where it is most common. You can also hone in on a specific state and/or a specific language. For example, here in Iowa, Spanish is the second most prevalent language after English, followed by German, French, Serbo-Croatian and Vietnamese.

For another example, select the United States and Persian, a language common to Iran, and you might be interested to learn there are heavy pockets of Persian speakers in Southern California, Washington state and Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, parts of Texas and Florida, and along the eastern coast from Maryland up to Boston.

Check out your own state or favorite language and see if there are any surprises! http://arcgis.mla.org/mla/default.aspx

1. ISC Alabama is part of the International Visitor Leadership Program created by the U.S. Department of State. This program brings together current and emerging foreign leaders in government, politics, the media, education, the arts, business and other key areas to build mutual understanding during a three-week visit to the U.S.

2. ISC also has a partnership with the Academy for Science and Foreign Language Learning in Huntsville. They help school administrators, staff, and teachers connect ASFL language classrooms with classrooms in the country of the language being studied, including Russian, French, German and Spanish. These global dialogues between students encourage all involved to expand their knowledge of other cultures.

3. Working with the University of Alabama, Huntsville, ISC arranges speakers to facilitate communications between policy-makers and citizens on a variety of topics.

4. ISC also works with private agencies, corporations and government organizations to develop and implement a robust international visitors program, showcasing the state of Alabama, its professional community and its people.

To learn more about this and other organizations active in culture and the arts, check out the Center’s database.

buildOn’s service learning programs empower young people, giving them tools to facilitate change as well as the knowledge that they have the power within themselves to do so. In these programs youth tackle local challenges to make their own communities better for themselves, their families, their neighbors, and the children who follow in their footsteps. The results are impressive: 94% of the graduating seniors that have gone through buildOn programs continue to college.

But for some of the participants, there is an even greater opportunity: the Global School Construction program has helped build 524 schools in some of the poorest places in the world. American students travel to countries like Haiti, Malawi, Nepal and Senegal and work side-by-side with people of the village. The village provides the physical materials as well as a gender-balanced leadership team and a promise that girls will be able to attend the school in equal numbers to boys. The buildOn students spend two weeks living with local host families, experiencing a new way of life and learning a new language.

The impact of these trips on the participating buildOn students is long-lasting. They learn that poverty isn’t a barrier to familial ties. They learn the importance of education in a better future. Most importantly, they learn about themselves, their abilities, that they can do much more.

Carrie Pena, a buildOn team member who recently returned from a trip to Haiti, was herself affected by the experience. “It’s very powerful for the students to realize what people around the world are willing to do for education and what happens when people aren’t educated. It reenergizes their commitment to their own education, because they realize it’s typically the only way of out of extreme poverty. “

buildOn currently has afterschool programs in Chicago, Detroit, New York City, Oakland/San Francisco, Philadelphia and Connecticut. They have built schools in Haiti, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, Nicaragua and Senegal. In the past they've also built schools in Bolivia, Brazil, India and even New Mexico. 

You can learn more about buildOn's work at their website.

To discover more opportunities for international cultural exchange, check out the Center's members working in that sector.  

The International Cultural Engagement Task Force was led by Frank Hodsoll, principal of Hodsoll & Associates, and Ambassador Cynthia Schneider, distinguished professor, diplomacy, at Georgetown University. They, along with 15 committee members with backgrounds in the arts, academia and politics, prepared a report on “Best Practices” that exemplifies organizations doing this important work.  You can find the results of that Task Force report here and the full report here.

The Task Force identified three desired outcomes in this area:

1. Identify exemplary existing and proposed new international cultural engagements that demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of these activities in enhancing mutual understanding, respect, and trust so as to strengthen peace, stability, and social equity, and reduce risks of conflict.

2. Increase recognition and support for international cultural engagements that strengthen understanding between people in different parts of the world.

3. Establish international and/or national annual awards for best practices under the auspices of the President, Secretary of State, or a council of notables.

Many of the Center’s member organizations have programs in this important area; watch the Blog for highlights and reports on their programs throughout the month.

“Having people who understand your thought is much greater security than another submarine,” said Secretary Kerry, quoting Senator J. William Fulbright. Secretary Kerry continued by saying, “We value education, promoting programs like the Fulbright exchanges managed by the Department of State. They enable the most talented citizens to share their devotion to diplomacy and peace, their hopes, their friendships, and the belief that all of the Earth’s sons and daughters ought to have the opportunity to lift themselves up. Today these exchanges bring hundreds of thousands of students to America from other countries, and vice versa.”

The Fulbright Program is just one of the initiatives of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs designed to increase mutual understanding through citizen diplomacy. Learn more about these programs here.  

For the full text of Secretary Kerry's speech, click here. 

The fellows are placed around the U.S. in local communities where they can develop their professional skills and share their personal experiences working on the recovery and rebuilding efforts within Japan after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The Kizuna Project (funded by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and administered in cooperation with Cultural Vistas, the Laurasian Institution, The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, Japan International Cooperation Center, and Japan-U.S. Educational Commission) represents a unique opportunity to not only strengthen the special bonds shared between the United States and Japan, but also to empower and create life-changing experiences for tomorrow's leaders.

Yusuke has a passion for political science and diplomacy, as well as a deft capacity for bringing individuals of different backgrounds and cultures together. He intends to use these abilities to help his fellow Japanese better understand their country and its future as they move on from the March 2011 earthquake that caused great devastation.

Yusuke will return to Japan in April, when he will begin work at the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) in the programming division. He hopes to use his degree and his interest in art to create programs that excite and inform the people of Japan.

He tells the story of three young girls who transferred to a school across from his apartment in Tokyo after they were displaced from their homes in the region of Japan evacuated because of its proximity to the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. Children in the school were afraid the newcomers were dangerous – they believed they would ‘catch’ the radiation from the damaged nuclear reactor in Fukushima.  The children were too young to have developed this fear on their own.  “Credibility of the source of information, such as the government or the media, has been a major issue in Japan since the great earthquake,” Yusuke explains. “I would like to immerse myself in a foreign perspective and rethink the status quo and the future of my country.”

Yusuke's work at the USCCD will include a higher education research project conducted by the USCCD J-Center in advance of a planned conference this autumn in Japan.  He will also work on youth outreach and social media activity, promoting the J-Center's work of strengthening relationships between Japan and the American Midwest.

Please welcome Yusuke and watch the Center’s blog for insights into his experiences and adventures in the U.S.

If you’re in Washington and interested in the work THIS is doing, consider attending their Spring Soiree fundraiser this coming Friday March 15th at Meridian House International. The social event and fundraiser features internationally acclaimed musicians from around the world, as well as a unique silent auction offering one-of-a-kind experiences with members from the diplomatic community in Washington, DC. Visit www.THISforDiplomats.org or call 202- 232-3002 for more information.

Program details and application can be found here:

https://studyabroad.asu.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=6601

Other ASU study abroad opportunities include:

Culture and Text in Contemporary Leon, Spain
Program Dates: June 24-July 20, 2013
Program webpage: https://studyabroad.asu.edu/?go=SpainSummer%5FLeon

Food and Culture in Paris
Program Dates: July 15-22, 2013
Program Webpage: https://studyabroad.asu.edu/?go=SHESCFrance

Medieval and Renaissance Studies in Oxford, United Kingdom
Program Dates: July 5 - August 9, 2013
Program Webpage:  https://studyabroad.asu.edu/?go=ACMRSOxford

Sustainability, Tourism and Park Management in Australia
Program dates: July 7-August 1, 2013
Program webpage: https://studyabroad.asu.edu/?go=SustainaibilityAustralia

There are three programs to choose from:

Advanced Russian Language and Area Studies Program (RLASP)
RLASP is designed to improve participants' oral, listening, reading, and writing proficiency in Russian language and to develop their knowledge of Russian history, politics, culture, and society. Learn more: http://www.acStudyAbroad.org/rlasp/

Business Russian Language and Internship Program (BRLI)
Combining intensive business language classes and an internship in Moscow or St. Petersburg, BRLI prepares Russian language students for a career in the international job market. Learn more: http://www.acStudyAbroad.org/brli/

Russian Heritage Speakers Program
Customized to the individual need of each participant, the Russian Heritage Speakers Program is intended to address the specific needs of students who grew up speaking Russian and wish to strengthen their language skills. Learn more: http://www.acStudyAbroad.org/heritage/

Applications, additional program information, and eligibility requirements are available at: http://www.acrussiaabroad.org/program.php

Applications for fall 2013 and academic year 2013-14 programs are due on March 15, 2013. Must be 18 to apply.

To learn more about other USCCD Membership Organizations that have programs in Russia, explore our database. http://uscenterforcitizendiplomacy.org/programs/results/search&channel=programs&category=++Russia/

~Have an opportunity for high-achieving U.S. university students with strong leadership potential to gain first-hand experience in the Middle East;

~Engage with organizations and leaders in the Middle East working to overcome religious, cultural, ethnic, and political prejudice and hostility in the region;

~Be inspired to enjoy respectful dialogue as a tool for building mutual understanding between people of different faiths and backgrounds; and

~Develop a deeper understanding of the countries and cultures of the Middle East through dialogue and personal interaction.

Upon completion of the project, participants are expected to incorporate this experience into their academic and surrounding communities by engaging their peers in activities, projects, and events, which support the foundation of a more peaceful and prosperous shared future.

All program costs including airfare, accommodations, food, and training are covered by our partners at the Ibrahim Family Foundation. Complete details are available here: https://ypfp.org/content/ibrahim-leadership-and-dialogue-project

The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy (USCCD) was honored by Sen. Wofford's participation in the 2010 U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy, where he was a member of the International Voluntary Service Task Force and hosted a briefing on “Public Diplomacy in the 21st Century” presented by the U.S. Department on State.

Sen. Wofford will receive the Presidential Citizens Medal today at the White House.  The award is the nation's second highest honor, recognizing exemplary service of country and countrymen. 

Heartiest congratulations to Senator Wofford on this well-deserved honor! 

Read more about Sen. Wofford's Presidential Citizens Medal and his work with the Building Bridges Coalition.

Whether you are an entrepreneur with an international footprint, a mid-sized company looking to expand your presence overseas, or a Fortune 500 corporation with locations across the globe, attendance at the Conference will help you identify and take advantage of citizen diplomacy opportunities. It will help answer your questions about citizen diplomacy while focusing and refining your organization’s goals and opportunities.

The conference will help you answer these questions:

What’s in it for you as a business owner or senior executive?

What’s in it for your employees?

What’s in it for your business’ growth?

Why should your organization include ICV in its business model?

How does participation in ICV programs affect your future and how do you evaluate the ROI of such programs?

Join CDC Development Solutions for its International Corporate Volunteerism Conference on April 11th and 12th, 2013, in Washginton, D.C., to discuss the future of responsible leadership and corporate engagement in global development.

Registration is now open.

The 2013 National Meeting is about experiences, stories, impact, skills, and community. The following Tracks will allow NCIV members to focus on specific skill sets:

• Improving IVLP Programming Skills
• Strengthening Organizations
• Building Relationships with Elected Officials
• U.S. Foreign PolicyBuilding Relationships
• Embracing New Opportunities

Featuring skill-building workshops, networking opportunities, advocacy events, and an exhibitor hall, it is NCIV’s most comprehensive professional development event. It brings together leaders from exchange organizations from 44 states, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, and international exchange alumni organizations from around the world. Learn more and register here. Early registration ends Friday, January 18.

Are you an educator that would like to connect with people in a from a different culture? In 400 words, tell how you would share it with your classroom and students, and you may be selected to receive one of the scholarships. This award is for trips listed above only, not U.S. or Canada sites. Applications are due to the GCN office by February 28th, 2013 5pm CST. Please see the website for more details.

Natasha has held multiple leadership positions in AIESEC, the world’s largest youth-run organization, which she was a part of for three years. She partnered with 35 NGOs focusing on HIV/AIDS, education, and child rights, and implemented innovative social projects that combined international exchange programs with local awareness events. She organized Delhi University’s first HIV/AIDS testing drive and facilitated HIV/AIDS and reproductive health workshops for more than 500 students. Additionally, she led six diverse and multi-cultural teams throughout her tenure and in 2009, was selected to represent AIESEC India as a cultural envoy to Turkey. In 2010, she led a five member international team and handled media relations and PR for India’s largest youth congregation comprising of 700 young leaders from 110 countries.

Through these experiences, Natasha has honed strong communication, project management, and leadership skills and has grown into a committed and ambitious nonprofit professional. Natasha has earned a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from the University of Delhi, India, and is a strong advocate for women and children’s rights.

We very much look forward to getting to know Natasha throughout her fellowship year with Atlas Corps, a USCCD Member Organization. She will be working with the USCCD on communications, outreach and membership initiatives, and we have some exciting plans for documenting her own experiences as a citizen diplomat while here in Des Moines, Iowa.  Watch for more on this blog

Learn more about Scott Beale and the other 2010 National Award Winners.