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From Exchange Student to Doctor after Host Family Experience
Learn how Muawi’s host family forever changed his life.
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Margaret Thatcher, "The Iron Lady"
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Content created by Virtual Intern Nayantara Arora
Margaret Thatcher served as Britain’s first female Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. Her confidence, resilience, and uncompromising leadership style led her to reshape almost every aspect of British politics, from foreign policy to domestic economy.
Thatcher’s first exposure to the United States was through the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). The IVLP served as a vital experience for Thatcher as she began her career.
A 1990 handwritten note from 10 Downing Street – "Forever more I shall be a friend to the United States" – indicates a friendship that started with an IVLP experience.
Content edited by Sallie Bestul, Regina Navarro-Gomez, and Jenna Williams
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ThatcherIVLP Alumni
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Second Generation of the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs Graduates in Costa Rica
A group of 27 Costa Rican women entrepreneurs graduated from the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE).
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IVLP Recognizes Peace Corps 50th Anniversary
In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the PeaceCorps, emerging leaders from 50 different countries were nominated to take part in a special initiative of the International Visitor Leadership Program called "The Spirit of Volunteerism."
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People to People: Design Thinking at State Department
By looking at exchange programs through a participatory lens based on user design and design thinking principles, we create a culture of creativity and innovation in the workplace.
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Jalal Naser
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Content created by Virtual Intern Meghan Crowley
Jalal Naser is a prominent figure in the Bahraini nonprofit community and a resource management consultant. His volunteer work has benefited many people in Bahrain, from students who receive eyeglasses to organizations who benefit from his advocacy efforts.
In 2013, Naser developed many skills that he uses in his work today as an IVLP participant. He believes that the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) experience gave him more confidence in his client presentations. He credits his IVLP for allowing him to quickly receive a promotion. Naser also gained an appreciation for the importance of a global perspective, and he increased the global reach of the Bahrain Statistical Society by including non-Bahrainis as friends of the society. Through the IVLP he was able to reach statisticians in Jordan and Algeria. Since 2018, Naser has been an active researcher for the DC-based Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). He developed a policy paper that was utilized as part of the Bahraini national agenda and was a member of CIPE’s steering committee for a CIPE-sponsored private sector initiative.
One of Naser’s proudest achievements is becoming a founding member of the Bahraini IVLP Alumni Association (B-IVLP). He worked with fellow IVLP alumni and created the organization in 2019. B-IVLP is connecting IVLP alumni in Bahrain to provide opportunities to leverage their IVLP experiences. B-IVLP also provides resources to Bahrainis who are selected for an exchange program so they are well informed and can gain maximum benefit from their experience. Jalal Naser is a civil society leader who is building global awareness on a daily basis and connecting Bahrain to contacts around the world.
Content edited by Sallie Bestul, Regina Navarro-Gomez, and Jenna Williams
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NaserIVLP Alumni
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Virtual Fitness Session with Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) Alumna, Tracy Sena Yeboah!
“We are very grateful to the AWE program for giving us a platform to improve our business strategy and becoming a successful brand” – Tracy Sena Yeboah, AWE Alum Ghana 2019
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José Aguilar Berrocal
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Content created by Virtual Intern Radha Varadan
“Solidarity cures us,” says José Aguilar Berrocal, a former International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) participant from Costa Rica and Founder and President of the Board of the Youth Action Foundation. His tireless work tackling the educational and emotional issues that at-risk youth in Costa Rica face stems from his own challenges growing up. The support of mentors put him on the path to success and instilled in him the desire to serve others.
Aguilar founded the Youth Action Foundation in 2006, an organization that works hand-in-hand with the Costa Rican Ministry of Education to connect at-risk students with mentors and tutors while requiring the students to volunteer in their communities. Through its programs, the Foundation has engaged more than 22,400 students and teachers in community service. “The most wonderful feeling that a person can experience is to bring hope,” Aguilar says. He credits the IVLP with showing him the significance of civic engagement and community service in others, and the benefits it brings.
Aguilar previously led Public Horizons, a collective that tackles the human development gap by building partnerships. He also founded Strategic Human Development (Desarrollo Humano Estratégico), which aims to provide food to unemployed families in rural Costa Rica in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through his work to mitigate the challenges faced by vulnerable populations in Costa Rica, José Aguilar Berrocal brings hope and support to those in need.
Edited by Virtual Interns Regina Navarro-Gomez and Kristin Mitra
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Aguilar BerrocalIVLP Alumni
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The Academy for Women Entrepreneurs Helps Business Owner Grow Her Company in Kenya
Pauline Otila Kamwara, Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) graduate from 2019, is the managing director of Apiculture Venture in Kenya. Her social enterprise employs women and young people committed to sustainable beekeeping. They sell honey to farmers, cosmetic shops, hotels, and more. Pauline started her business when she saw that women weren’t represented in beekeeping in Kenya.
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Crowd-sourcing Diplomacy
Middle school children may seem like unlikely ambassadors, and even less likely global health advocates. However, an international, collaborative interagency initiative, called the Zika Education and Prevention Project, is empowering school children around the world to combat disease outbreaks.