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Dr. Sara Al-Reefy
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Content created by Virtual Intern Nayantara Arora
Dr. Sara Al-Reefy is a breast and oncoplastic surgeon who owns and leads the London Breast Care Centre located in Bahrain. As a general surgery resident in Bahrain, Dr. Al-Reefy observed firsthand the shockingly high mortality rate of young women to breast cancer due to cultural norms and shame surrounding cancer diagnosis and treatment. In November 2007, Dr. Al-Reefy traveled to the United States on an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) titled “Breast Cancer Awareness and Community Outreach.” Her visit to the MD Anderson Hospital and the Susan G. Komen Charity opened her eyes to the importance of yearly breast cancer screening and oncoplastic breast surgery. Inspired, Dr. Al-Reefy traveled to London to specialize in breast cancer surgery at St. George’s University Hospital. Three years later, she returned to Bahrain equipped with “advanced oncoplastic surgery techniques.” Reflecting on her IVLP experience, Dr. Al-Reefy writes, “it was that trip that saved the lives of so many women in my kingdom.”
Over the next five years, Dr. Al-Reefy established the first One-Stop Breast Clinic within the Gulf Cooperation Council and the first private medical center specializing in breast cancer screening and treatment. In 2016, she was awarded a $100,000 grant by the Crown Prince of Bahrain that allowed her to purchase her clinic's first 3D Hologic Mammogram. Since then, Dr. Al-Reefy has launched the first mobile breast screening unit, making breast cancer screening accessible to women in Bahrain's villages, and established a clinical branch in Kuwait.
Dr. Sara Al-Reefy’s tireless efforts and innovative initiatives have resulted in the diagnosis and treatment of 3,000 women with breast cancer in the region. She is changing the current management of breast cancer in the Arab world.
Edited by Virtual Interns Regina Navarro-Gomez and Kristin Mitra
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Al-ReefyIVLP Alumni
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Patricia Spadaro
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Content created by Virtual Intern Nini Vo
Patricia Spadaro, a courageous journalist, was the editor in chief for El Nacional, Venezuela's largest national newspaper, until its final printed edition in 2018. The paper stopped issuing a printed edition due to the high cost of supplies. Referring to the media situation in her home country, Spadaro says, "Social media has now taken the place of traditional news outlets due to the current information blackout."
In 2000, Spadaro joined a group of Latin American journalists to participate in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) project titled "The Role of the Media in a Free and Democratic Society." During her IVLP, Spadaro visited several newsrooms, including the Washington Post, the Oregonian, and CNN, and discussed the importance of local journalism, the decline of printed media, and the evolving digital era.
Spadaro says, "The exchange between the U.S and Latin American colleagues enriched our understanding of the challenges journalism was facing at the moment." In 2018, Spadaro returned to the United States through an invitation from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) to share direct experiences of oppression and limitations on press freedom in Venezuela.
As an advocate for freedom of the press and speech, Patricia Spadaro continues her efforts to keep Venezuelans informed through her current work with Reporte Ya, a prominent citizen-based journalism network.
Edited by Virtual Interns Regina Navarro-Gomez and Kristin Mitra
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SpadaroIVLP Alumni
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Kamel Daoud
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Content created by Virtual Intern Kristin Mitra
An Algerian journalist and writer, Kamel Daoud's contributions to literature and journalism have made a significant impact on Algerian cultural awareness. In 1996, Daoud began writing for Le Quotidien d'Oran, a French-language Algerian daily paper, and has also contributed to the New York Times.
Daoud's 2005 visit to the United States for the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) changed the way he looked at journalism. "This trip made me think about how I write and how to change things in my country." As a current affairs reporter, he realized that he needed to consider all points of view in his reporting. He became more aware of the distinction between opinion and information, which liberated him as a columnist and allowed him to distinguish, at times, the challenges of journalism in Algeria.
During his IVLP Daoud also learned more about the American political system; it was much more complex that he had realized. Being from a generation directly influenced by the propaganda and ideology of pan-Arabism, his IVLP experience taught him to conceptualize the idea of "the Other," a point of view that he had not previously incorporated into his work. When he arrived to the United States, he realized that his preconceived notions of what an American looked like were false. Daoud describes his prior worldview as being distinctly Franco-Algerian: "Algerians perceive the West through France and decipher it through French culture or colonial trauma." In his current work as an opinion columnist, he helps Algerians try to understand the world from all perspectives.
Kamel Daoud is a popular columnist who works to break down stereotypes and expand the worldview of the Algerian public.
Edited by Virtual Interns Regina Navarro-Gomez and Kristin Mitra
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DaoudIVLP Alumni
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Anthony Blair
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Content created by Virtual Intern Erinn Heffes
Anthony (Tony) Blair, served as Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1997 to 2007 - the only Labour leader in the party’s 100-year history to win three consecutive elections. He had never been to the United States prior to participating in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) in the 1980s and was able to get a glimpse of an entirely different side of the United States of America.
During his time in Downing Street, Blair implemented a major domestic reform agenda, transforming the UK’s education and healthcare sectors. Overall crime was reduced by a third, and the first ever national minimum wage was introduced. As Prime Minister, Blair was also a central figure on the global stage. He helped bring peace to Northern Ireland, securing the historic Good Friday Agreement in 1998. He was a passionate advocate of an interventionist foreign policy, creating the Department for International Development, tripling the UK’s foreign aid to Africa, and introducing landmark legislation to tackle climate change.
Since leaving public office Tony Blair established the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change to address some of the challenges in the world today, believing that real leadership has never been more necessary or more difficult. Currently, teams from the Institute are directly supporting leaders across the globe in their fight against Covid-19, delivering analysis and advice to help countries mitigate the economic impact, to harness the power of technology and to better position themselves for the rebuilding to come.
Edited by Virtual Interns Regina Navarro-Gomez and Kristin Mitra
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BlairIVLP Alumni
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Michael Zantovsky
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Content created by Virtual Intern Helen Zeidman
Michael Zantovsky is a Czech diplomat, politician, and author who leverages the power of words to advance international understanding. Zantovsky became the press secretary and spokesperson for Czech president Vaclav Havel after the Velvet Revolution. In 1990, when President George H.W. Bush visited Prague, Zantovsky met the White House press secretary which laid the foundation for Zantovsky's exchange experience in the United States.
In 1991, Zantovsky traveled to the United States through the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) to learn about American media relations. "My still largely intuitive and improvised press operation back home was a far cry from the well-organized and systematic manner in which the White House media message was elaborated and processed, and the various talking points prepared," he said. During his IVLP, Zantovsky said that "I had access everywhere and could speak to everyone. In the ten or so days I spent there, I learned a whole lot. It was something between sitting in a front row at a world class boxing match and going back to school."
Zantovsky later became Ambassador to the United States, Israel, and Great Britain and after serving as a diplomat, he wrote Havel: A Life, a biography of Vaclav Havel that was popular in both Czech and English. In 2015, Zantovsky became the Executive Director of the Vaclav Havel Library in Prague, and through conferences and events, the library and its archives shares the life of Havel with the people.
Michael Zantovsky advocates for international diplomacy on and off the page and for increasing access to information through literature.
Edited by Virtual Interns Regina Navarro-Gomez and Kristin Mitra
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ZantovskyIVLP Alumni
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Announcing the Cultural Heritage Game Jam
The Cultural Antiquities Task Force (CATF) in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) is diving into the world of video games.
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AWE Alumni Turns Farming Into a Cooperative Practice
Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) alumni Anapidédé Kibandou Betema in Togo is helping empower women in her community to earn their own income with her farm business SCOOPS-BC.
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AWE Alum Recasts Social Issues in Cuban Film
Filmmaker Diana Moreno is using her production company, Wajiros Films, to redefine what it means to be Cuban – and train the next generation of filmmakers.
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AWE Alumni Makes Waves in Sustainable Tech
Through her innovative startup, Blue EcoTech, Dr. Alexia Massa-Gallucci is creating value from marine waste and more.
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Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim
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Content created by Virtual Intern Ingrid Liu
An indigenous woman from the Mbororo pastoralist community in Chad, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim is a human rights champion for her community and other marginalized communities. Ibrahim participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program's (IVLP) “Youth Leadership and Civic Engagement in the U.S.” project in 2012 that provided an opportunity to visit a Native American reservation. Ibrahim was able to compare the sovereign nature of the indigenous communities in the United States to her own community’s situation. It was eye-opening for her to see how the education system on the reservation allowed the Native American students to maintain their indigenous identity.
As a direct result of her IVLP, Ibrahim now serves in a number of regional and international leadership positions. She is a member of the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee and served as co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change during the historic UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris. As a climate activist, she has received recognition as a part of the BBC's 100 Women Project and was awarded the Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award.
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim is a leading voice for environmental stability and is effectively empowering indigenous voices.
Content edited by Sallie Bestul, Regina Navarro-Gomez, and Jenna Williams
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Memories from Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim’s IVLP
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim vividly remembers her 2012 International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) experience, the people she met, and the places she visited. Per the purpose of this program - to be involved with the local youth civic actions and responsibilities - Ibrahim saw civil society in the United States up close. She came away with a network of friends and colleagues that she still corresponds with today.
In North Carolina, Ibrahim witnessed how the election process worked at a voting booth. Outside of the voting area, she saw people openly debate which candidate and issues they were supporting, and inside she saw all the facilities and tools used for voting, such as the computerized voting booths. Being able to see the logistical process of elections allowed Ibrahim to better understand election outcomes in U.S. and compare them to her home country.
One person in particular that Ibrahim remembers meeting was a 22-year-old woman running for office in New Mexico. When talking to her, Ibrahim learned that even in the United States, young women like herself, face discrimination. Seeing a young woman run for office despite her challenges was inspirational, she said.
Ibrahim not only saw similarities in herself and the woman from New Mexico, but she also saw similarities in culture when she went to an Indian reservation. As Ibrahim is part of an indigenous group, she felt that the culture of Native Americans was similar to her community. Seeing the school system be supportive and responsive to the Native American community was eye-opening for her as these students were able to keep their indigenous identity. She still keeps a necklace and earring given to her by an elder she met on the Indian reservation.
Lastly, perhaps the most obvious takeaway was from meeting her fellow participants and her interpreter. Ibrahim has kept in contact with them to this day and often connects with them through social media. She became close friends with one participant in particular who even named his son after her husband. In addition to friendship, Ibrahim and her fellow IVLP participants have built an ever-expanding network that has helped them further their causes.
Continuing to use the principles of democracy and self-government she learned in the U.S., Ibrahim has collaborated with both UNESCO and Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee in the development of a scientific tool to empower indigenous voices while increasing environmental sustainability. She has also greatly improved her English since her visit, as she wanted to be able to communicate directly with others internationally instead of through an interpreter. Ibrahim is currently working on a local project in Chad involving empowering women through generating revenue, which is then used to send children to school.
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IbrahimIVLP Alumni