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Featured photos by Exchange Alumni Blake Bergen, Brian Rashid, Graham Wielgos, Nishi Rajakaruna, Savanna Lim, and Shukranna Shukrullah.

Starting today in Portland, Maine, there’s a new way to discover everyday life, cross-cultural experiences, and scenery in countries around the world. From August 31 through September 30, the “Impact of Exchange: Stories from U.S. Exchange Alumni” Photo Exhibition is open to transport viewers to locations all over the world, from places like China, Colombia, Moldova, Morocco, and South Korea. The open-air “Impact of Exchange” exhibit brings together curated photos and stories from 38 U.S. citizen Exchange Alumni representing 20 U.S. government-sponsored or funded exchange programs for local audiences, free of charge. 

The exhibit aims to share the power of international exchange and its role in U.S. foreign policy, strengthen U.S. citizen exchange alumni networks in these communities, and inspire more Americans to go abroad with U.S. government-funded exchange programs. Funded and conceived of by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Alumni Affairs in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and implemented in collaboration with two non-profit organizations, Global Ties U.S. and Photoville, with community-based partners as local hosts, the exhibit will travel to five cities across the United States from 2023 to 2024. 

Launching in New England was a natural choice, both for the late summer and early fall weather, and the fact that the state is among those with low rates of international exchange participation according to the 2022 Open Doors report, offering a real opportunity to attract new exchange program participants. 

“We’re delighted to showcase the experiences and stories of alumni of our international exchange programs. This public exhibition tells it all through their own lens,” says Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Rafik Mansour. “And we hope that it encourages more people across the United States to consider applying for international exchanges. Through ‘Impact of Exchange,’ Exchange Alumni show us how international exchanges build connections that not only engage and empower people but also motivate them to become citizen diplomats wherever they go.” 

It is the hope of the outdoor, free exhibition that audiences in Maine, Arkansas, Idaho, and two more soon-to-be announced stops will experience life abroad through the photos of U.S. Citizen Exchange Alumni who have had the opportunity to explore the world through U.S. government-funded exchange programs. The exhibit will run for a month in each location, giving audiences all over the country a chance to feel the impact of exchange.  

Photos were chosen through an open call to U.S. citizen Exchange Alumni earlier in 2023. A panel made up of professional photographers, employees from across the U.S. Department of State, and the implementing partners judged the anonymized entries on the basis of photographic merit and the potential to inspire future international exchange participation. 

For more information on the Office of Alumni Affairs at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, visit alumni.state.gov.   

 

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Religious icon from Lviv's Saint Kazymyr Cathedral, 2008 Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, Government of Ukraine.

On August 3, 2023, the Cultural Antiquities Task Force (CATF) and the Smithsonian Institution hosted a virtual workshop for U.S. and foreign law enforcement officials and heritage experts to build a mutual understanding of at-risk cultural property and trafficking trends in Central and Eastern Europe.

The workshop involved 150 participants, including trainers from the State Department, the Smithsonian Institution, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and partners from foreign museums and international organizations.

In the workshop, government officials and representatives explained the threats to cultural heritage in the region. They also reviewed the acute threat posed by Russia’s unjust war in Ukraine, which is leading to damage and the destruction of Ukrainian cultural sites and collections. Finally, law enforcement officers highlighted regional trafficking trends and patterns, case studies, and the role of money laundering in the illicit art trade.

This training was the seventh in a series of cultural property anti-trafficking workshops supported by the CATF and organized by the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum Conservation Institute and Office of International Relations, in collaboration with HSI, CBP, and FBI. These workshops provide opportunities for U.S. and foreign law enforcement and heritage professionals to exchange their expertise and increase knowledge about ways to disrupt trafficking in cultural property. Previous workshops addressed trafficking in coins, manuscripts, fakes and forgeries, and cultural objects from Central Asia, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.

Established by the State Department in 2004 at the direction of Congress, the CATF comprises federal agencies that share a common mission to disrupt cultural property trafficking in the United States and abroad. Since its creation, the CATF has supported more than 100 domestic and international cultural property training programs. CATF is a law enforcement-focused working group of the Cultural Heritage Coordinating Committee. Both are managed by the State Department’s Cultural Heritage Center.

The Cultural Property Advisory Committee will meet September 19-20 in Chicago to review a proposed extension of the U.S. cultural property agreement with the Government of the Republic of Honduras and a request for import restrictions by the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.  The Committee invites the public to comment on these proposals and to participate via video conference in the virtual open session. 

The State Department follows the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA) when considering cultural property agreements and import restrictions.  Requested categories of material will be considered if they meet the criteria for archaeological and ethnological materials in the CPIA.  

Nepal
Protection is sought for archaeological material from 32,000 BCE to 1770 CE, including stone (such as tools and sculptures), metal (sculptures and coins), terracotta, leather (Lichhavi coins from the 5th through 9th centuries CE), and inscriptions and manuscripts on parchment, birch, and palm leaf.  The ethnological materials for which protection is sought span from the 13th century to 1950 and include objects made from stone (sculptures, inscriptions, reliefs, mosaics, and architectural elements); metal (sculptures, inscriptions, and coins); ceramics (sculptures, architectural elements, reliefs, coins, and ceremonial items); wood (statues, reliefs, and architectural elements including struts and turanas); parchment, paper, palm, or birch leaf (manuscripts, sometimes illuminated or painted); paintings, such as thangka paintings (an extremely ornate, colorful and precise style of Buddhist painting that typically depicts a deity or mandala).  Requested object types also include sacred icons and frescoes, particularly from the 13th through 18th centuries.  Protection is additionally sought for traditional clothing, religious vestments, and ceremonial paraphernalia in different materials.

Honduras
Extending the Honduras agreement would continue import restrictions on pre-Columbian archaeological material in ceramic, stone/stucco, metal, shell, and bone, dating from approximately 1200 B.C. to A.D. 1500.  Extending the Honduras agreement would also continue import restrictions on ecclesiastical ethnological material including sculpture, paintings, and metal objects, dating from approximately A.D. 1502 to 1821.  The Government of Honduras has not requested additional categories of material.

Public Comments 
The public may provide written comment in advance of the meeting and/or register to speak in the virtual open session scheduled for September 19, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. CDT (please note the time zone). 

Public comments on the cultural property agreements should focus on the four determinations in the CPIA. 

How to submit written comments:  Use regulations.gov, enter the docket DOS-2023-0023 and follow the prompts to submit written comments.  Written comments must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on September 12, 2023.

How to make oral comments: Make oral comments during the virtual open session on September 19, 2023 (instructions below).  Requests to speak must be submitted no later than September 12, 2023.

Join the Virtual Open Session
The virtual open session of the Committee meeting will be held on September 19, 2023, at 1:00 pm CDT by videoconference (please note the time zone). 

To Speak:  Registered participants can speak and may be asked questions by the Committee.  If you wish to register to speak you must submit your name and organizational affiliation in an email request to culprop@state.gov by September 12.  After you pre-register you will receive an email response with a unique link and instructions on how to participate.  Due to time constraints, each participant will have no more than five minutes to speak.

To Observe:  Anyone may observe the open session by videoconference, but they will not be able to speak.  It is not necessary to pre-register to observe.  If needed, please request reasonable accommodation by email to culprop@state.gov no later than September 12.  It may not be possible to fulfill requests made after that date.

Zoom Information:  
https://statedept.zoomgov.com/j/1615848925?pwd=bUxQU09WR0doSzJWVzhrU3hnVlphUT09

Webinar ID: 161 584 8925

Webinar passcode: 054903

Join by phone:

+1 669 254 5252 US (San Jose)

+1 646 964 1167 US (US Spanish Line)

+1 646 828 7666 US (New York)

+1 669 216 1590 US (San Jose)

+1 415 449 4000 US (US Spanish Line)

+1 551 285 1373 US (New Jersey)

 

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AWE alumni Sandra Ruivo (right) leads plastic and silicone mold companies Speedturtle and Turtle Petals with her sister Cátia Ruivo (left) from her hometown of Batalha in Portugal. Photo Credit, Sandra Ruivo

Article by Roni Kane, a VSFS intern with the U.S. Department of State, currently studying International Studies and Film, TV and Media at the University of Michigan. 

[Portugal, August 2023] Two sisters in Portugal are helping make plastic waste a little less harmful to the environment by bringing a touch of ingenuity into their family business. 

Sandra Ruivo, a 2022 alumni of the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE), and her sister Cátia Ruivo grew up in the Portuguese city of Leiria, a historic gothic municipality just an hour north of Lisbon. Their father owned a “mold manufacturing” company, or a business that produces and sells molds for creating plastic products — anything from automobiles parts to food packaging.

After graduating from the Universidade de Aveiro in 2007, Sandra Ruivo lived in Italy for a year before moving back home and started working for her father. Meanwhile, her sister completed an MBA in entrepreneurship and innovation in Austria and also joined the family business. The sisters spent a decade learning the ins and outs of mold-making and started to build their own network of contacts and clients in the industry. But when her father decided to sell his shares of the companies, Sandra Ruivo said she and her sister were left wondering what to do next.

“We thought, ‘what do we do now?’” Ruivo said. “There was all this background and experience we had in mold-making so we decided to open our own company.”

That’s how Speedturtle and its sister company, Turtle Petals, were born. Both Sandra and Cátia Ruivo currently run both companies. The pair founded Speedturtle in 2012 and Turtle Petals nine years later in 2021. While Speedturtle specializes in producing custom molds for clients worldwide — just like Ruivo’s father did — Turtle Petals’ main goal is figuring out ways to make those products more environmentally friendly.

“We invest in the sustainability side of mold-making,” Ruivo said. “Home compostable products can be used, and then when they are disposed of, they will disintegrate naturally in the environment without harming the planet and creating pollution or releasing toxins.”

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Speedturtle and Turtle Petals work in tandem to develop sustainable plastics solutions and molds — like the PetalsPod coffee capsules pictured here. Photo Credit, Sandra Ruivo
 
One of the products Ruivo has developed with Turtle Petals is the PetalsPod Coffee Capsule — a compostable alternative to the disposable plastic capsules that instant coffee companies like Keurig and Nespresso use to package their products. In a country where most people enjoy coffee, Ruivo’s coffee capsules are already gaining national and international attention for posing a solution to the challenge of making consumption carbon-free. The design was one of just five products nominated for a 2023 Refocus award in the U.S. from The Plastics Industry Association and won second place in an AWE-sponsored entrepreneurship competition for program participants in Portugal.

Ruivo said participating in the AWE program helped her figure out how to break into new international markets and to best promote her product. She said the working through the marketing modules on the DreamBuilder online learning platform — which was designed by Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management and the Freeport-McMoRan Foundation using a cutting-edge U.S. business curriculum — helped her make sure both of her businesses were on the path to success. 

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AWE helped Ruivo break into new international markets, to promote her business’s compostable plastics at a global scale. Photo Credit, Sandra Ruivo

“It’s built so well for entrepreneurs and businesses,” Ruivo said. “[Through AWE] I can validate the management procedures we are already doing and know we are doing things the right way. But there were also new techniques — especially in marketing, because that’s always changing.”

Ruivo said when she and her sister started Speedturtle, her brother was a part of the company too. When he left the company, she was a part of a woman-led company for the first time — previously either her father or her brother had always been leading the business with her. She said she noticed a difference between how stakeholders regarded her and her sister as the CEOs of an engineering company compared to how they had interacted with her male relatives in that same role. 

“Most of the people in this industry are male, and so are the stakeholders,” Ruivo said. “So some of them didn’t think the company could actually succeed with women leadership. But this made us improve our skills and be better each day — it is in adversity that we grow.” 

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Ruivo’s time in the AWE program helped her take her business to the next level and prove that women-led companies are a force to be reckoned with. Photo Credit, Sandra Ruivo

Working alongside other women entrepreneurs in Portugal and around the world through the AWE program helped Ruivo increase her self-confidence. AWE showed her that there was no question that female leaders belonged at the forefront of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Just recently in July 2023, Ruivo was even recognized in the American magazine Plastics News as one of the 50 “Women Breaking the Mold” this year.  Plastics News has been highlighting women in the industry with unique stories to tell with its special report since 2015. 

“AWE helped me envision a new brand strategy — to focus on sustainability,” Ruivo said. “We are doing very well now. We have control over what products we sell and which customers we choose to work with.”

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​​​​​​​The AWE program showed Ruvio that women belong at the forefront of innovation and entrepreneurship. Photo Credit, Photo courtesy of U.S. Embassy Lisbon, taken at the Ambassador’s Residence at AWE’s closing reception

The Academy for Women Entrepreneurs is a women’s empowerment program that operates under the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the U.S. Department of State, and helps women like Ruivo build their business acumen and have the knowledge, networks and access to launch and grow their own businesses. Thanks to a partnership with Arizona State University and the Freeport-McMoRan Foundation, AWE currently offers programs in nearly 100 countries and has empowered roughly 25,000 women worldwide. Since its launch in Portugal in 2020, AWE has helped more than 80 Portuguese women entrepreneurs like Ruivo turn their business dreams into reality — and contribute to carbon-free living at the same time.

By Juan Quintero Ramirez 

Tafa Mi-Soleil, a Haitian musical artist and participant of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), performs on stage at a musical showcase event hosted by the New Orleans Jazz Museum on July 13, 2023.  This event was one of several opportunities provided to participants to perform and engage with local musical artists.  Photo Credit: New Orleans Jazz Museum.
 

Recently, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) launched the first-ever multi-regional International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) focused on the influential role music plays in promoting social justice and advancing civil society.  This IVLP connected 19 music professionals from all over the world with their American counterparts in New York City, NY; Washington, D.C.; Iowa City, IA; Cincinnati, OH; Santa Monica, CA; Albuquerque, NM; Santa Fe, NM; and New Orleans, LA.  Through their professional meetings, the participants explored innovative ways to use music to raise social awareness in civil society and among youth, and to preserve cultural heritage.

IVLP participants meet with Branden Lewis, a famous Trumpeter for the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Co-Creator of the International Trumpet Mafia Collective, while in New Orleans, Louisiana. 
Photo Credit, Todd Rose.


IVLP participants meet with ECA’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Professional and Cultural Exchanges Nicole Elkon and other ECA officials at the Department of State to discuss U.S. music diplomacy programs. Photo Credit, Amanda Kilchrist.
 

In addition, this IVLP introduced the participants to U.S. government efforts to establish and strengthen music diplomacy programs.  In Washington, D.C., the participants met with staffers from the office of Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX) to discuss the PEACE Through Music Diplomacy Act.  The group also serenaded ECA Deputy Assistant Secretary Nicole Elkon and other ECA staff, then had an engaging discussion on U.S. Department of State music diplomacy programs. 

Several International Visitor Leadership Program participants perform together on stage at a musical event at The Outpost Productions, Inc, a music venue in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on July 7, 2023.
Photo Credit: Todd Rose.
 

The implementing partners for this IVLP included Meridian International Center, Global Ties Iowa, World Affairs Council – Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, International Citizen Diplomacy of Los Angeles, Global Ties ABQ, Global Santa Fe, and Global New Orleans.  ECA thanks them for their public diplomacy efforts and plans to implement this program again next year! 

 

 

The Cultural Property Advisory Committee intends to meet September 19-20 in Chicago (pending Federal Register announcement confirmation), to review a proposed extension of the U.S. cultural property agreement with the Government of the Republic of Honduras and a request for import restrictions by the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.  The Committee invites the public to comment on these proposals and to participate via video conference in the virtual open session.  

Please save this link for updates, details, and confirmation of the meeting agenda closer to the meeting date.  

The State Department follows the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA) when considering cultural property agreements and import restrictions.  Requested categories of material will be considered if they meet the criteria for archaeological and ethnological materials in the CPIA.   

Public Comments  

The public may provide written comment in advance of the meeting and/or register to speak in the virtual open session scheduled for September 19, 2023. 

Public comments on the cultural property agreements should focus on the four determinations in the CPIA.  

How to submit written comments:  After the Federal Register Notice has been published, use regulations.gov, and follow the prompts to submit written comments.  Written comments must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on September 12, 2023. 

How to make oral comments: Make oral comments during the virtual open session on September 19, 2023 (instructions below).  Requests to speak must be submitted no later than September 12, 2023. 

Join the Virtual Open Session 

The virtual open session of the Committee meeting will be held on September 19, 2023 by videoconference.  

To Speak:  Registered participants can speak and may be asked questions by the Committee.  If you wish to register to speak you must submit your name and organizational affiliation in an email request to culprop@state.gov by September 12.  After you pre-register you will receive an email response with a unique link and instructions on how to participate.  Due to time constraints, each participant will have no more than five minutes to speak. 

To Observe:  Anyone may observe the open session by videoconference, but they will not be able to speak.  It is not necessary to pre-register to observe.  If needed, please request reasonable accommodation by email to culprop@state.gov no later than September 12.  It may not be possible to fulfill requests made after that date. 

Recognizing the power of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) as a vehicle to create economic, educational, and societal opportunity and equity globally, the U.S. Department of State launched today this year’s TechGirls exchange program in Washington, DC. More than 125 girls, ages 15-18 years old, from 36 countries and territories, including the United States, who have an interest in pursuing a STEM-related education or career arrived in Washington, DC on July 7 for a month-long immersive skills development training and cultural exchange.

The program’s centerpiece is a 12-day technology camp hosted by Virginia Tech’s Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity in Blacksburg, Virginia. The TechGirls participants also will visit the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and experience life with U.S. host families in Austin, Cincinnati, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, and Seattle during a five-day community immersion program. U.S. technology leaders in both public and private sector organizations will mentor the TechGirls, offering them insights into STEM careers. The program will close in Washington, DC, with a Women’s High-Tech Coalition session on Capitol Hill, a Washington Spirit women’s soccer game, and a closing ceremony with senior-level officials at the State Department.

Legacy International, the Department of State’s implementing partner for TechGirls, has teamed up with several additional organizations to create a robust TechGirls experience, including Virginia Tech, World Chicago, Global Ties Detroit, World Denver, BRAVE Communities-Austin, Global Ties Cincinnati, World Affairs Council-Seattle, and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, among others.

TechGirls exchange alumnae, now totaling over 500, have trained more than 12,000 peers in their home countries and have pursued studies at leading institutions around the world. Join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #TechGirls.

For media inquiries, please contact the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at eca-press@state.gov.

Article by Allie Dalola, intern with the U.S. Department of State, currently studying Business Administration and Economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel-Hill.  

In April 2023, over 400 women from nine countries in Central and South America convened virtually for “Entrelazando Experiencias,” a virtual event that brought together alumni from the U.S. Department of State’s Young Leaders of the Americas (YLAI) and the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) exchange programs.

The idea for the event, which began as a conversation between two exchange alumni and female entrepreneurs, Cathy Perugachi and Micaela Castro, resulted in an opportunity for hundreds of women to explore networking, empowerment, and economic development.

The collaborative summit showed the power of the Department of State’s many unique exchange alumni networks.

Micaela Castro is a 2022 YLAI Bolivia alumni and a social entrepreneur. Her business, Bolivian Concept, incorporates indigenous Bolivian textiles into contemporary fashion. By sourcing the fabrics directly from artisans in rural regions, Bolivian Concept works to promote economic development and cultural heritage.

Cathy Perugachi lives in Ecuador and participated in AWE in 2018 and YLAI in 2021. Through her business, Handmade LATAM, Perugachi is empowering Ecuadorian artisans by helping them launch their products in broader markets.

As alumni of U.S. Department of State programs, social entrepreneurs, and fellow fashionistas, Perugachi and Castro became fast friends after they met at the YLAI Fellowship Closing Forum in Washington D.C. in 2022.

As they talked, they began to wonder if AWE or YLAI alumni from their respective countries were taking advantage of the massive international network these programs create.

“The most important part of my experience was meeting and connecting with other people,” Castro said. “We wanted to provide other women entrepreneurs with the opportunity we had.”

Their vision was to bring together AWE and YLAI alumni for a virtual event to grow their businesses, hear from inspirational speakers, and take advantage of the resources afforded to them as U.S. Department of State exchange alumni. 

After receiving a $2,000 YLAI Fellowship Impact Grant to fund the event, Perugachi and Castro worked hard to plan it and ensured it would be successful. They decided that the summit would cover social impact, mental health and entrepreneurship, and would feature a special keynote address from Josephia Urziaz, an alumni of Vital Voices who gave expert advice about entering the U.S. market as a Latin American entrepreneur. 

“We hoped this event would create economic growth and exchange opportunities between the female entrepreneurs,” Castro said. “We hoped they would feel very connected personally and emotionally.”

The pair said the event was a massive success. More than 150 women attended each day of the summit, and over 400 women have since joined the Entrelazando Experiencias Facebook group. Castro and Perugachi said they have also received glowing feedback from several participants about the positive impact the summit had on them.  

Since the event, Castro said she has heard several instances of women from both the AWE and YLAI programs collaborating with one another. She described the summit as part of the “multiplying effect” of passing on the knowledge she gained from the YLAI program to other women entrepreneurs.

For example, Castro described meeting one woman who had been looking for business partners in Mexico. At the summit, Castro said that the alum was able to meet another entrepreneur in Mexico who is going to connect her with potential buyers for her product. Perugachi said stories like that have made it clear that finding ways to traverse national borders and bring together ExchangeAlumni from all over the world is worth it.

“These connections will have a positive impact on their ventures and their communities, and it will help them cultivate a sense of identity as State Department Alumni,” Perugachi said. 

Perugachi and Castro said they plan to make the summit an annual affair and hope to have the event in person in the future. 

“We hope that the Department of State can foster more similar initiatives to keep growing the AWE and YLAI communities to help bring them closer,” Perugachi said. 

The Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) equips enterprising women with the skills they need to launch and scale successful businesses. In partnership with Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management and Freeport-McMoRan Foundation, AWE has empowered more than 25,000 women in 100 countries with knowledge and networking opportunities.  

Launched in 2015, the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) empowers emerging business and social entrepreneurs from across Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada, and the United States.  Combining an annual fellowship, an active online network, and continuing activities organized by U.S. embassies and consulates, YLAI fosters prosperity, inclusive development, and democratic values. 

For more information about AWE, visit: https://eca.state.gov/awe. 

For more information about YLAI, visit: https://ylai.state.gov/. 

 


The Cultural Property Advisory Committee intends to meet September 19-20 in Chicago (pending Federal Register announcement confirmation), to review a proposed extension of the U.S. cultural property agreement with the Government of the Republic of Honduras and a request for import restrictions by the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.  The Committee invites the public to comment on these proposals and to participate via video conference in the virtual open session.  

Please save this link for updates, details, and confirmation of the meeting agenda closer to the meeting date.  

The State Department follows the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA) when considering cultural property agreements and import restrictions.  Requested categories of material will be considered if they meet the criteria for archaeological and ethnological materials in the CPIA.   

 

Public Comments  

The public may provide written comment in advance of the meeting and/or register to speak in the virtual open session scheduled for September 19, 2023. 

Public comments on the cultural property agreements should focus on the four determinations in the CPIA.  

How to submit written comments:  After the Federal Register Notice has been published, use regulations.gov, and follow the prompts to submit written comments.  Written comments must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on September 12, 2023. 

How to make oral comments: Make oral comments during the virtual open session on September 19, 2023 (instructions below).  Requests to speak must be submitted no later than September 12, 2023. 

 

Join the Virtual Open Session 

The virtual open session of the Committee meeting will be held on September 19, 2023 by videoconference.  

To Speak:  Registered participants can speak and may be asked questions by the Committee.  If you wish to register to speak you must submit your name and organizational affiliation in an email request to culprop@state.gov by September 12.  After you pre-register you will receive an email response with a unique link and instructions on how to participate.  Due to time constraints, each participant will have no more than five minutes to speak. 

To Observe:  Anyone may observe the open session by videoconference, but they will not be able to speak.  It is not necessary to pre-register to observe.  If needed, please request reasonable accommodation by email to culprop@state.gov no later than September 12.  It may not be possible to fulfill requests made after that date. 

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