The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) is commemorating the Community College Initiative (CCI) program’s 10th anniversary (2007-2017) through the publication of Community College Initiative Program: The First Ten Years.

The Community College Initiative Program: The First Ten Years shares the inspiration for the program’s creation, a snapshot of facts and figures, as well as personal narratives from college leaders, community members, and individual alumni about the program’s impact in the United States and abroad.

The CCI Program has made a global impact by providing technical and leadership training to more than 2,800 participants from 21 countries. These young leaders have honed their hard and soft skills in the United States and have returned home with a new spark of enthusiasm to share what they have learned with others, to build their local communities, and to contribute to their home countries’ economies.

The program has strengthened U.S. communities by helping 75 community colleges to internationalize their students’ learning experiences and by building life-long relationships between U.S. students and their international peers. CCI fellows also contribute to their American host communities, through nearly 50,000 volunteer hours collectively over just one year.

This month, the CCI Program welcomes its newest cohort of nearly 150 international students who will study at 10 community college campuses during the 2018-2019 academic year. Like their predecessors, these CCI participants, many from underrepresented and underserved communities in their home countries, will enroll in non-degree academic-year programs at U.S. community colleges. Participants will build their technical skills in applied fields through classroom study and internships. They will engage with their local community members through culture sharing and service learning activities. They will strengthen their proficiency in English, practice their leadership skills, and learn about American culture through experiencing day-to-day life in the United States.

Visit the CCI Program’s website to read the Community College Initiative Program: The First Ten Years or to learn more about this State Department exchange program.

The University of Montana, in partnership with Salvadoran NGO FUSALMO, implemented a program focused on working with youth who are susceptible to gangs and crime from July 15 – 23, 2018. The university sent 21 American participants, eight young adults and 13 coaches and administrators, to San Salvador and Santa Ana, El Salvador. The participants from Montana included individuals from three Native American reservations from around Montana.

The exchange between the U.S. and El Salvador employed basketball and Native games to provide youth and youth influencers with concrete skills to address issues related to sport for social change.

Nearly 135 participants from El Salvador learned leadership skills, teamwork, and communication from the U.S. group through sports clinics and workshops. The power of sport once again demonstrated that it can create sociocultural ties through the shared passion for play!

The Utah-based National Ability Center sent an American-based training team to Seoul and PyeongChang, South Korea to conduct a training program for coaches and youth with disabilities in the sports of alpine skiing and snowboarding.

In addition to the training team, a group of 12 American youth with disabilities that are skilled skiers and snowboarders and four chaperones traveled to South Korea to join the Korean youth group and coaches to serve as role models and peer partners.

Korean ski instructors and coaches received four days of training in the various techniques of adaptive skiing and snowboarding. Following the training, Korean youth with disabilities received three days of ski or snowboard lessons from the newly trained Korean instructors with the assistance of the American team. The program took place during the PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games with the group of American and South Korean participants attending the Opening Ceremonies and sports competition, in partnership Yonsei University.

World Learning, in partnership with A World Fit for Kids!, brought nine adult coaches and administrators from Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia to Los Angeles for a two week program from January 28 – February 10, 2018.

The exchange included educational workshops, school and sports program site visits, and coaching, mentoring, and teaching opportunities. The participants were able to engage in sports and recreational activities and enjoy healthy meals and entertainment!

World Learning’s sub-award partner, A World Fit for Kids!, is a recognized leader for innovative physical activity and nutrition professional development training, exemplary personal empowerment and mentoring strategies, and is an advocate on behalf of policies that improve the health and well-being of children and youth.

For the reciprocal part of this exchange and to maintain longevity of the program, A World Fit for Kids! sent ten American coaches and administrators to Bahrain for a one-week program from July 21 – 28, 2018 to strengthen the recent training initiatives and continue to build their working contacts.

More than one million international students study in the United States each year -- a testament to the unmatched quality of American higher education. International students diversify American campuses and communities, build lifelong relationships with their American hosts, and contribute to American economic prosperity. The State Department’s EducationUSA Forum will convene approximately 500 U.S. university representatives, together with dozens of government officials and EducationUSA international education experts from around the world. Speakers include U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education, Dr. Mick Zais and senior U.S. State Department officials. The annual EducationUSA Forum in Washington, D.C. provides an opportunity for the Department and representatives of the U.S. higher education sector to share strategies for increasing recruitment and retention of international students on U.S. campuses and further internationalizing the American higher education sector.

Sessions during the event provide insights into the following:

  • Ways to better engage international students and ensure their success on American campuses
  • Strategies to build an inclusive, diverse population of international students as part of a comprehensive approach to internationalize U.S. higher education
  • Emerging trends in student mobility, including foreign government scholarships, community college outreach, and online models of good practice

The U.S. Department of State’s EducationUSA network operates over 425 student advising centers in 180 countries overseas. These centers provide prospective students with accurate and unbiased information about opportunities to study at accredited U.S. colleges and universities and offer guidance to American institutions of higher education.

Visit our EducationUSA website to register here and follow the conversation on Twitter at #EdUSAForum

The Cultural Property Advisory Committee will meet July 31-August 2, 2018, to review Algeria’s request for U.S. import restrictions on archaeological and ethnological material. The Committee will also consider the proposals to extend the U.S.-Bulgaria cultural property agreement and the U.S.-Honduras cultural property agreement. The Committee invites written public comment on the request and extension. The public may also participate in the virtual open session of the meeting on July 31, 2018, from 10:30 am -12:00 pm EDT.

Algeria Request

The Government of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria has requested U.S. import restrictions on archaeological and ethnological material from Algeria. This request was submitted pursuant to Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property as implemented by the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (the CPIA). A summary of Algeria’s request is available here.

Bulgaria Extension

An extension of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria Concerning the Imposition of Import Restrictions on Categories of Archaeological and Ecclesiastical Ethnological Material of the Republic of Bulgaria has been proposed. A history of U.S. actions concerning the agreement can be found on the Bulgaria Country Page.

Honduras Extension

An extension of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Honduras Concerning the Imposition of Import Restrictions on Archaeological Material from the Pre-Columbian Cultures of Honduras and Ecclesiastical Ethnological Material from the Colonial Period of Honduras has been proposed. A history of U.S. actions concerning the agreement can be found on the Honduras Country Page.

The Review Process

The State Department will decide whether to enter into or extend a bilateral agreement that creates U.S. import restrictions based on four determinations. Before making a decision, the Department will consider the findings and recommendations of the Committee.

The four determinations (summarized):

  1. The cultural patrimony of the State Party is in jeopardy from pillage of its archaeological or ethnological materials;
  2. The State party has taken measures consistent with the Convention to protect its cultural patrimony;
  3. Application of import restrictions, in the context of a concerted international effort, to archaeological or ethnological material of the State Party would be of substantial benefit in deterring a serious situation of pillage, and less drastic remedies are not available; and
  4. Application of import restrictions in the particular circumstances is consistent with the general interest of the international community in the interchange of cultural property among nations for scientific and educational purposes.

 

Public Comments

For Algeria’s request and the proposed extensions of the agreements with Bulgaria and Honduras, public comments should focus on the four determinations. All comments must be submitted in writing no later than July 15, 2018, at 11:59 p.m. (EDT). Use regulations.gov, enter docket DOS-2018-0022, and follow the prompts to submit written comments.

Participate in the Virtual Open Session

The virtual open session of the Committee meeting will be held on July 31 from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm EDT using Zoom, a web conferencing service. Anyone may attend and/or participate. If you are new to Zoom, these tips will help you get started. If needed, please request reasonable accommodation not later than July 15 by contacting the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at culprop@state.gov. Requests made after that date will be considered, but it may not be possible to fulfill them.

To make an oral presentation

If you wish to make oral comments during the virtual open session, you must pre-register and submit written comments via the regulations.gov meeting docket. You must pre-register by phone, (202) 632-6301, or email: culprop@state.gov by July 15. After you pre-register, you will be provided with instructions on how to participate as a presenter.

To observe
It is not necessary to pre-register. The webinar will include a chat space for conversation among observers. The chat space will not be monitored by the Committee and will not be incorporated into the record of the meeting.

To join as an observer:

Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://eca-state.zoom.us/j/658302735

Or iPhone one-tap:

US: +16699006833,,658302735# or +16468769923,,658302735#

Or Telephone:

Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 876 9923

Webinar ID: 658 302 735

International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/dVaN9c64w

Law enforcement and cultural heritage experts from across the U.S. government recently partnered in Lima for a series of workshops that trained more than 70 representatives from the Peruvian National Police, government, cultural entities, and church archdioceses on enforcing cultural heritage law.  Read more... 

Law enforcement and cultural heritage experts from across the U.S. government recently partnered in Lima for a series of workshops that trained more than 70 representatives from the Peruvian National Police, government, cultural entities, and church archdioceses on enforcing cultural heritage law. Sponsored by the Department of State’s Cultural Antiquities Task Force (CATF), the workshops were a joint effort between the U.S. Embassy in Lima and Peru’s Ministry of Culture, within the framework of a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the protection of cultural heritage, in force since 1997 and renewed until 2022.

The “Cultural Property Crimes Law Enforcement Workshops” trained two groups between May 7 and 16, 2018. Participants included 17 individuals from the Peruvian National Police and 57 stakeholders from the National Library and Archives, archaeological sites, the Catholic archdiocese, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the postal service. Topics included the U.S. and Peruvian legal systems, the bilateral cultural property MOU, the global antiquities market and looting, case studies and hands-on activities like proper handling of art and cultural artifacts.

The workshops were co-led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the U.S. Forest Service.

“Protecting cultural patrimony is everybody's job. That is why these workshops are valuable opportunities to share experiences and improve coordination between institutions in Peru and with our colleagues in the United States,” said Leslie Urteaga Peña, Director General for Protection of Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Culture of Peru.

“The Memorandum of Understanding allows U.S. law enforcement agencies to support import restrictions on Peruvian cultural heritage,” added Natalia Molano, Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Peru. “Our collective objective is to keep cultural property in its original context and to hinder the operations of transnational criminal organizations.”

About the Department of State’s Cultural Antiquities Task Force 
Established by the U.S. Congress in 2004, the CATF is led by the State Department’s Cultural Heritage Center within the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. It comprises federal agencies that share a common mission to combat trafficking in antiquities in the United States and abroad. Along with coordinating activities among member agencies, the CATF focuses on training law enforcement and customs officials, as well as supporting local governments, museums, and preservationists around the world in the protection, recovery and restoration of cultural antiquities. Since its creation, the CATF has supported more than 75 international and domestic cultural property training programs.

In an era of rapid social and environmental change around the world, stronger networks of health experts are essential to understanding the risks we face and the strategies we can use to mitigate them. An International Visitor Leadership Program group of nine researchers from member countries of the Arctic Council will meet in the United States over the next 10 days to address public health, medical research and Arctic science issues.

The program will open in Minneapolis before the cohort travels to Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska to meet with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Arctic Investigations Program (AIP) and partners to learn about One Health innovations around processes, technology and education in the United States.

As the health experts from abroad learn about life and culture in Alaska, they will also work with their U.S. counterparts to use the One Health approach to address zoonoses, which are diseases that can be transmitted between animals and humans. Because most new infectious diseases spread to people from animals, the One Health approach is increasingly recognized as a key way to curb infectious disease threats to our communities.

One Health is a collaborative, multisectoral, and trans-disciplinary approach -- working at the local, regional, national, and global levels -- with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment.

The IVLP group will have the opportunity to discuss and share One Health best practices with U.S. federal government Agencies, the State of Alaska, Alaska Native Tribal Health organizations and the University of Alaska. Topics will include infectious disease monitoring and studies of zoonotic disease prevalence in Alaska, environmental and animal health, and laboratory diagnostic tools.

Addressing Arctic issues requires global solutions. Follow #IVLP and #OneHealth for updates on social media and to find out more about public events related to this project,

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FY-15 Fulbright ETA Abby Dennison with Lycée Edmond Rostand Students
“And our education and cultural exchange programs serve as a foundation for fostering the deep people-to-people ties that bind the United States and France so closely. We are proud that the hallmark educational program between our two countries, the U.S.-France Fulbright, is one of the oldest and largest in Europe. The program just celebrated 70 years of engagement and has provided 20,000 American and French students with the opportunity to study, teach, or conduct research in each other’s country. Of course, we know that our partnership is not just about the past; it’s about the future. We look forward to working with President Macron to address the global challenges that lie ahead.”– Acting Secretary of State Sullivan at State Luncheon Remarks

The United States and France are marking the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-France Fulbright Program this year with a permanent increase in funding for the program, underscoring the diplomatic importance of this international academic exchange between the two countries.

The Fulbright Program supports the exchange of U.S. and French students, scholars, higher education administrators, teachers, and researchers. The program serves as a foundation for strong relationships between our higher education communities and future leaders.

Recognizing joint priorities, this increase in funding constitutes additional support for the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, and support for additional U.S. Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (ETAs). Fulbright ETAs in France are placed in secondary schools that have been identified as priority education areas with high levels of minority and immigrant populations.

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