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July 7, 2016: Bishkek #Dean525
Dean arrived in Bishkek on July 7 where he started the day by visiting the Shopokov English Access program. The students were happy to practice their English with him, and even happier to run with him for a few hundred yards.
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273rd Quarterly Fulbright Board Meeting
Florida International University (FIU) hosted the 273rd quarterly meeting of the Board, November 16-17 in Miami, Florida, in celebration of International Education Week and the 70th Anniversary of the Fulbright Program.
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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.
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Vered Cohen-Barzilay
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Vered Cohen-Barzilay" src="https://eca.state.gov/files/bureau/Participant-headshot/ivlp_profiles_barzilay.png" width="1126" height="1164" />
Content created by Virtual Intern Bridget Raymundo
Vered Cohen-Barzilay is an Israeli-born social entrepreneur and tenacious advocate for aviation, space and science education. The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) inspired Cohen-Barzilay, a journalist and women’s rights activist, to change career paths and focus on building religious and cultural bridges through innovation and education. Upon her return to Israel, she founded the nonprofit “Out of the Box” to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), space education, and entrepreneurship for youth in Israel.
Cohen-Barzilay runs the Science Accelerator, a program that has had over 350 student participants. The program is a partnership between many stakeholders, including American iLEAD Charter Schools, the NASA Ames Research Center, U.S. Embassy Jerusalem, the Israeli Ministry of Science, and the Israeli Space Agency. Through lectures and interactive lessons, Israeli and American students interact with space and science experts and entrepreneurs, acquiring the skills to effectively utilize high-tech tools and to pitch and promote their innovative ideas.
Vered Cohen-Barzilay’s passionate promotion of STEM and space education inspires youth in Israel to reach for the stars.
Content edited by Sallie Bestul, Regina Navarro-Gomez, and Jenna Williams
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Cohen-BarzilayIVLP Alumni
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Anouk Vos
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Content created by Virtual Intern Benjamin Bosland
Anouk Vos works as a cyber security and innovation leader at a Dutch consulting firm focusing on high-tech issues. In addition, she serves as chair and co-founder of Cyberworkplace, a nonprofit in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, dedicated to helping vulnerable youth develop the skills they need for finding cybersecurity positions, internships, and training.
After an introduction during her International Leadership Visitor Program (IVLP), Vos now collaborates with Cultivating Coders, an organization based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Together, the two organizations created an in-depth ethical hacking course called "Cyberheroes," which brought American students to the Netherlands to learn about cybersecurity best practices. They are working on several follow-up projects to train additional trainers and students from New Mexico and increase their impact in Albuquerque and with youth from the surrounding Navajo nation.
Vos has won multiple awards, including the Lof Spotlight Prize for Female Leadership in 2015 and was voted one of the 50 most influential women in cyber security by SC Magazine.Anouk Vos is a Dutch cyber security specialist committed to ensuring that women and vulnerable youth can obtain valuable 21st century skills.
Content edited by Sallie Bestul, Regina Navarro-Gomez, and Jenna Williams
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Magdalena Waleska Aldana Segura
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Content created by Virtual Intern Radha VaradanGrowing up in Guatemala, Magdalena Waleska Aldana Segura was often the only female in her physics class. She took her love of science and built a successful career as a university professor teaching physics and mentoring students interested in science-related careers.
Through workshops that have been attended by more than 4,000 high school students and 350 professors, she encourages women’s involvement in fields where they are underrepresented. Aldana Segura credits the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) as a driving force behind her recent activism. She took part in the 2017 #HiddenNoMore IVLP project that connected her with nearly 50 like-minded women in STEAM fields. These contacts from her IVLP have helped take her workshops to the next level, allowed her to organize conferences for children, and provided an opportunity to speak at a prestigious STEAM conference in Chicago.
Her involvement in the Guatemalan Women in Science association (GWSA), the Association for American Advancement of Science (AAAS), and her long career as a university professor ensures that Magdalena Waleska Aldana Segura is illuminating the future of STEAM education by empowering one woman at a time.
Content edited by Sallie Bestul, Regina Navarro-Gomez, and Jenna Williams
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Aldana SeguraIVLP Alumni
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Dr. David Tawei Lee
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Content created by Virtual Intern Shayna Canty
A long-serving diplomat, Dr. David Tawei Lee was appointed Secretary-General to the President of Taiwan on August 3, 2020. Lee also served Taiwan as Minister of Foreign Affairs between 2016 and 2018 and as Secretary-General of the National Security Council until May 2020. He has been known for his close ties with the United States.
He started his international affairs career at the age of 21 as a foreign affairs major from the National Taiwan University. During his collegiate career he was selected as one of 12 students to take part in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) on the East-Asia Student Leaders Program in 1972. He said, "the experience was mind-opening... I learned so much during my time in the program." He indicated in a speech that “it was an impressive experience that led me to decide to dedicate my career to international affairs.”
After the IVLP, he went on to receive his M.A. and Ph.D. in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. Lee also served as Taiwan's senior representative to numerous countries including Australia, Canada, the European Union, and the United States.
Dr. David Tawei Lee is a scholar and career diplomat who has helped build bilateral connections around the world.
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A Progressive Teacher for Uzbekistan
Feruza Masharipova shares the knowledge, skills, and experience she has gained from her exchange programs with teachers and students in Uzbekistan.
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Learn Arabic in Morocco!
Kalyn and Nathan, National Security Language Initiative for Youth students in Marrakech, Morocco, describe how their experiences learning Arabic in the classroom, speaking with locals in the country's native language, and making personal connections with the people they meet have positively impacted and enriched their lives.