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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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Ibrahim Jalloh
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Content created by Virtual Intern Shayna Canty
Ibrahim Jalloh was an educator and the founder of the Volunteer Action Network (VAN), a non-profit organization that helped bring the concept of volunteerism to the general population in Sierra Leone.
Jalloh's first exposure to the United States was on an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) in 2017. He traveled with youth leaders from 22 countries and gained exposure to youth engagement and leadership activities in the United States. Jalloh said that the IVLP exposed him to many diverse ideas to develop a civically engaged society.
Jalloh's IVLP experience provided ideas to build the leadership capacity of youth in his home community. Shortly after returning to Sierra Leone, he was inspired to create VAN as an organization to help youth. VAN helped distribute school supplies to youth in need, equipping them with the tools to continue their education. The organization also implemented two non-violence campaigns that provided youth across the region with opportunities to engage their own communities.
Prior to his passing in 2021, Ibrahim Jalloh was a community leader who improved the livelihoods of hundreds of families in Sierra Leone and developed a culture of community service through volunteerism. He exhibited remarkable passion and leadership during his lifetime and fostered the ongoing spirit of volunteerism in Sierra Leone.
Edited by Virtual Interns Regina Navarro-Gomez and Kristin Mitra
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JallohIVLP Alumni
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Pamela Calletti
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Content created by Virtual Intern Erinn Heffes
Pamela Calletti currently serves as the Legal Advisor to the Governor of Argentina's Northwestern province of Salta. She previously served in Salta as Argentina's only female Provincial Minister of Justice and Human Rights. As Minister she was responsible for setting policy and overseeing programs for judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers in her province.
In 2016, Calletti participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) project titled "Administration of Justice and Combating Organized Crime." Calletti said, "Without a doubt participating in the IVLP had a positive impact on both my professional and personal life. I took the opportunity to bring what I learned back to Salta." During her program, she noted how federal and state judges and prosecutors in the United States worked together and attempted to duplicate that cooperation in Argentina.
Following her IVLP, Calletti worked with colleagues to incorporate her province to the Federal System of Police Communications (SIFCOP). Through SIFCOP, Calletti has significantly impacted the fight against drug trafficking by better allowing law enforcement to learn about criminal networks.
As a legal advisor, Pamela Calletti builds bridges between all actors in the criminal justice system and seeks to improve criminal prosecution in the Argentine province of Salta.
Edited by Virtual Interns Regina Navarro-Gomez and Kristin Mitra
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CallettiIVLP 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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Marie-Elise Gbèdo
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Content created by Virtual Intern Celeste Lan
Marie-Elise Gbèdo, a human rights lawyer at Barreau du Bénin (Benin Bar), fights domestic violence, female genital mutilation, sexual harassment, and other injustices. Gbèdo is President of the Association of Female Lawyers of Benin and has received awards including the “Grand Officer” title in the National Order of Benin.
Gbèdo credits her 1997 International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) as a key influence on her career. In 2001, Gbèdo became the first woman to run for president in Benin, a decision inspired in part by meeting female politicians during her IVLP. In 2011, she participated in the launch of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Women in Public Service Project.
Gbèdo serves as a mentor to female political candidates. She empowers women through “You Can Do It Too,” a leadership and career training initiative of the US-Benin Women Alumni Association.
Marie-Elise Gbèdo emboldens women and girls and champions their rights.
Edited by Virtual Interns Regina Navarro-Gomez and Kristin Mitra
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GbèdoIVLP Alumni
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Francisco Ussene Mucanheia
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Content created by Virtual Intern Nayantara Arora
Mozambique Parliamentarian Francisco Ussene Mucanheia is a prominent advocate for environmental stewardship who has held various government positions, rising from a junior administrative officer to a member of parliament.
As a junior officer he visited the United States on an International Leadership Visitor Program (IVLP) in 1994, after Mozambique emerged from civil war and shifted to a new democratic constitution. During his IVLP, Mucanheia visited municipal governments and witnessed a mayoral election that profoundly influenced his understanding of local politics. During his IVLP, Mucanheia saw the importance of decentralized governance and he is proud to say the IVLP formidably impacted his career.
Since returning to Mozambique, Mucanheia has attempted to work in a bipartisan manner to reach consensus on important issues. His successes include the ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement and passage of the Conservation and Biodiversity Protection Law. Mucanheia supervises the approval of all national plans of action for the environment and natural resources management in Mozambique.
Francisco Ussene Mucanheia's successful political career has positively impacted communities and improved environmental policies in Mozambique.
Edited by Virtual Interns Regina Navarro-Gomez and Kristin Mitra
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MucanheiaIVLP Alumni
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Samanta Olivero Pacheco
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Content created by Virtual Intern Shayna Canty
Samanta Olivero-Pacheco brings art to at-risk and underserved youth in the Dominican Republic as a director of the nonprofit Proyectarte. When the U.S. Embassy of Santo Domingo's Cultural Section began planning a dance program for underserved youth, Olivero-Pacheco was asked to participate to ensure the dance program's success.
In 2017, she participated in an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) project, "Addressing the Needs of Underserved and At-Risk Youth." She traveled to several cities where she was able to fuel her passion for volunteerism and engaging communities through the arts. With that knowledge and inspiration, she returned to the Dominican Republic and established ProyectArte Cultural, a nonprofit that creates a bridge to allow people to view art in public spaces.
Olivero-Pacheco built a strong network with fellow IVLP participants. After her IVLP, she partnered with alumni from Costa Rica, Honduras, and elsewhere in Latin America on art education and social inclusion projects.
Olivero-Pacheco continues to work with social, educational, and cultural institutions to transform art. Samanta Olivero-Pacheco advocates for the needs of underserved communities, promotes a sense of place by conveying its history through the arts, and is committed to using art to help underserved youth build life enhancing skills.
Edited by Virtual Interns Regina Navarro-Gomez and Kristin Mitra
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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