• Civil Society and Governance
  • Civil Society and Governance Overview
  • Institutional Capacity Building
  • Civic Education
  • Citizen Participation
  • Advocacy
  • Democratic Governance
  • Grants Solicitation and Management Capacity
  • Women's and Minority Rights
  • Disenfranchised Groups
• Education
  • Education Overview
  • Basic Education
  • Higher Education
  • Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
  • Education for Vulnerable Groups
• HIV/AIDS
  • HIV/AIDS Overview
  • HIV/AIDS Prevention
  • Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC)
  • Grants Solicitation and Management Capacity
  • Institutional Capacity Building
• International Exchanges
  • International Professional, Academic, and Cultural Exchanges Overview
  • Undergraduate and Graduate Academic Exchanges
  • Professional Exchanges
  • Youth Exchanges
• Capacity Development and Training
  • Capacity Development and Training Overview
  • Participant Training
  • Institutional Capacity Building
  • Undergraduate and Graduate Academic Exchanges
  • Grant Solicitation and Management Capacity
  • Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

International Professional, Academic, and Cultural Exchanges

Professional Exchanges

Each year over 1,500 professionals from more than 140 countries participate in short term exchange programs in the United States arranged by World Learning's Visitor Exchange Program and Capacity Building Services divisions under grants provided by the US Department of State and USAID.   Through site visits, office meetings, panel discussions, internships, volunteering, and other experiential activities, our visitors discover the dimensions and context of their own professions in the US, make lasting contact with their colleagues here, and share insight about their activities at home.  All of World Learning's programs also include extensive opportunities for participants to experience America through cultural and outdoor activities, sporting events, home stays and home hospitality.  As Citizen Diplomats, these visiting professionals and the Americans they meet create bridges of intercultural understanding that enhance the capacity and commitment of individuals, institutions, and communities to create a more peaceful and just world.

Our current programs include:

International Visitor Leadership Program
Launched in 1940, the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) seeks to build mutual understanding between the United States and other nations through carefully designed professional visits to the US for current and emerging foreign leaders.  The IVLP is funded by the US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of International Visitors. 

Since 1986, World Learning Visitor Exchange Program has designed and implemented programs for IVLP participants—currently over 700 per year—from all over the world who are selected by U.S. embassies to travel to the US to meet and confer with their professional counterparts.  Visitors represent government, politics, the media, education, non-governmental organizations, the arts, public health, international security, business and trade, and other fields.  Over 225 current and former heads of government and state and many other distinguished world leaders in the public and private sectors have participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program.

Young Turkey/Young America – A New Relationship for a New Age
Sponsored by the US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of Citizen Exchanges, Young Turkey/Young America – A New Relationship for a New Age is designed to support and to promote the participation of young Turkish leaders in a transatlantic dialogue on foreign policy issues. This customized, in-depth, five-part program emphasizes professional training and adult experiential learning. Through the program, 14 young emerging leaders from Turkey and 14 young emerging leaders from the US will gain knowledge and leadership skills to become more engaged in their communities, and get to know each other’s country, as well as learn about each group members’ ethnically, religiously, and nationally diverse background.

Outreach and Integration of Marginalized Populations in Denmark
In 2008, the World Learning Visitor Exchange Program was awarded a two-year grant by the US Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of Citizen Exchanges, to administer an exchange program on Outreach and Integration of Marginalized Populations in Denmark.  The program calls for a total of four exchanges between Denmark and the United States in 2009 and 2010.

The program encourages participants to examine Danish and American models on integrating and empowering minority and marginalized communities and developing dynamic new policies to meet rising expectations.  In doing so, the objective is to harness the creative energies not only of the participants but also of the wider communities in which they live and work.

Legislative Fellows Program
The Legislative Fellows Program is a two-way exchange for professionals and young leaders from Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Pakistan and the US. World Learning Visitor Exchange Program has been awarded the two-year grant by the US Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of Citizen Exchanges to strengthen the understanding of the U.S. legislative process and civil society’s role in the political process, and foster relationships among Asian and American institutions, Through a series of four exchanges in 2010 and 2011, participants will devise ways of improving institutional capacity for promoting democratic ideals and good governance.

USAID Community Connections Program
In 2005, World Learning Capacity Building Services was awarded a five-year contract to manage the USAID Community Connections Program. The Community Connections Program is designed to promote public diplomacy via exchanges of entrepreneurs, local government officials, legal professionals, non-governmental organization leaders, and other professionals. Participants come from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

Every participant stays with an American family while visiting and receives professional training and exposure to the American free market. Over time, the program is designed to encourage public-private partnerships in Europe/Eurasia and create more robust links between American and European/Eurasian regions and communities.