For more than 90 years, World Learning has equipped individuals and institutions to address the world’s most pressing problems. We believe that, working together with our partners, we can change this world for the better.
On my travels, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with many of those who have joined us in this mission. In Baghdad, we’ve trained more than 2,300 Iraqi youth who are already giving back at home. In London, our partners in the TAAP Initiative strongly believe that we are all responsible to practice inclusion. And in Vermont, our Experiment in International Living and School for International Training participants prove every day that they have the tools and the determination to change the world.
Please join us in our pursuit of a more peaceful and just world.
When aerospace giant Boeing sought to cultivate a modern workforce in Algeria and Egypt, World Learning was ready to heed the call. Between Boeing’s background in STEM education—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics—and World Learning’s expertise in contextualizing curricula to meet local needs, the stage was set for a successful partnership.
Now, World Learning and Boeing are engaging hundreds of students of all ages in both countries, ensuring that the next generation workforce possesses the technical expertise and soft skills to succeed in today’s rapidly evolving job landscape.
CREATING AN INCLUSIVE NEXTGEN WORKFORCE IN EGYPT
In Egypt, Boeing and World Learning are teaming up to introduce the Boeing-supported “Curiosity Machine” curriculum to students nationwide.
The project-based platform is a perfect match for World Learning’s experiential learning philosophy: It presents students with real-world engineering design challenges, and encourages them to learn by discovering solutions in partnership with professional trainers and science teachers. This hands-on approach not only engages students—pushing them to learn both the how and the why of engineering—but it also links schoolwork more closely to professional work.
World Learning was well-positioned to introduce the Curiosity Machine in Egypt, having worked with the Ministry of Education for more than five years to open STEM-focused public secondary schools across the country. This past summer, World Learning launched the Curiosity Machine at 11 public STEM school summer camps in Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Daqahleya, Assiut, Kafr El Sheikh, Ismaleya, Luxor, Red Sea, Menoufeya, and Gharbeya.
Boeing and World Learning are also working together to connect some of Egypt’s most marginalized populations with job opportunities. With a Boeing grant, World Learning is building the capacity of a local grassroots nonprofit, Light and Hope, to increase opportunities for people with sight disabilities. This program includes direct training for visually impaired people and their caretakers, plus training for the Light and Hope’s staff and board members, who will sustain the work in the years to come.
CURIOSITY RISING IN ALGERIA
Boeing’s Curiosity Machine was a fit for World Learning’s STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) center in Algiers, Algeria. Structured around real-world problems, the STEAM Center helps students make connections between school, community, and the global world of work.
Since it launched in April 2016, the STEAM Center has trained more than 900 students (including 150 who regularly participate in activities), and has taught 25 teachers across Algeria to bring interactive STEAM teaching approaches to their own classrooms. In July 2017, it sent a team of young tech enthusiasts to the US to participate in the FIRST Global Robotics Challenge.
Boeing’s support and cutting-edge learning platform is at the heart of the center’s success. Yakdane Bakelli, Curiosity Machine Head Mentor, says the program quickly became one of the STEAM Center’s more popular offerings. “It adds a high value of creativity and engineering to students,” he says. “Even when we have a break, some students refuse to rest, preferring to work to find a solution. Generally, those students are the ones who were reserved at the beginning of the workshop.”
Bernard Dunn, president of Boeing Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey, says the company is proud to bring the Curiosity Machine to classrooms:
“By investing in high-quality, engaging education, Boeing is committed to empowering and inspiring a new generation to explore the fields of STEM and aerospace engineering.”
Reducing conflict is a top priority for Mohand Arezki Lahidiri, who dreams of building a school based on peace and tolerance in Algeria.
The English teacher from Tizi Ouzou took part in the Leaders for Democracy Fellowship(LDF), a program that brings emerging leaders from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions to the U.S., with the goal of teaching his own community about tolerance and religion, a salient issue in Algeria following years of violence and unrest.
The early nineties marked the start of a violent rift between the Algerian government and various rebel groups, following the Islamic Salvation Front party’s electoral win. It was the beginning of the almost decade long Algeria Civil War.
This violent past prompted Arezki to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a teacher, and to advocate against violence in school and in the community.
“My work focuses first on civic education,” he says. “We try to teach people and inspire them to participate in the community. The most important thing is to teach them to be tolerant, respectful and patient, and to be able to peacefully resolve problems.”
Mr. Arezki decided to participate in the LDF program, which is run by the non-profit World Learning and funded by the U.S. Department of State, after hearing about it from a colleague.
“I thought that the program was interesting because it focuses mainly on leadership, and it teaches methods such as how to implement a new project. It helps you to be part of society and to be a leader.”
He says the program gave him a clearer understanding of different cultures and ethnicities.
Algeria is home to a mix of ethnicities, including Berbers, Arabs, and many others, and Arezki believes that it is important to work with everyone.
“One thing that ties [together] all the people is our country Algeria. We share the past and we live together in Algeria,” he says.
The first part of his fellowship focused on academics; participants studied leadership, politics, communications, and advocacy at the University of Virginia.
“We learned about conflict based on identity, region, borders, and politics. I also learned how resolutions help mitigate and resolve conflicts.” Arezki says working with a U.S. organization offered great networking experience, and has enabled him to start planning his conflict resolution school in Algeria working with a professor he met at George Mason University.
“We agreed together to set up a very important project based on conflict identity, where she will teach people about identity and train teachers about religion-based conflict. [We will] teach how ethnicity leads to conflict, but also how ethnicity can mitigate conflict,” he adds.
The Algerian robotics team looked worried as they huddled around their boxy machine. It was the opening day of the First Global international robotics challenge — which brought youth from 160 countries to Washington, D.C. in July to compete and test their mechanical engineering skills — and the robot had gone offline with minutes to go before their first match.
“There’s nothing we can do,” said Sara Narimene Boukais, an 18-year-old student from Algiers. The robot had disconnected from the patchy Wifi in the D.A.R. Constitution Hall; the team would just have to wait for it to reconnect. Accepting that reality, the four team members picked up their robot and carried it into the cool, dark auditorium.
Frustrating, yes. But this ordeal was exactly the point of the inaugural First Global Challenge. Officially billed as an exercise to “ignite a passion” for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) among the world’s youth, the Olympic-style competition has an even loftier aim: to encourage the next generation to collaborate toward resolving critical global issues using their STEM skills. Dealing with stress, working together productively, solving problems — and even just realizing when to move on to a different problem — are just as much a part of the competition as scoring points. “Those are called learning opportunities,” explained volunteer and head judge Andy Marshall.
Participants and organizers alike believe this event is poised to spur global transformation. In Algeria alone, the competition’s emphasis on STEM skills could create new opportunities for a workforce facing serious challenges. But the hope is that positive local changes in Algeria and elsewhere will ripple out across the world, strengthening diplomacy and cooperation, and inspiring innovation with a moral bent.
Supporting communities with STEM education
Team Algeria works to get their robot online moments before their first match at the First Global international robotics challenge.
None of the members of Team Algeria had experience in robotics before preparation for this competition got underway. Some had dabbled in coding and computer science, but the principles of mechanical engineering and real-world applications of computer science were as opaque to them as the next person. Yet they had only months to build a robot that could move across a field, pick up small blue and orange plastic balls, sort them by color, and drop them into the correct bin.
“We didn’t know that [color sensors existed] six months ago,” said Cyrine Souffi, 17. Now, though, the team has the capacity to troubleshoot why the color sensor stopped working in their first match. They’ve learned these skills and more throughout their months of working together at the Algier’s STEAM Resource and Training Center, a community center run by the nonprofit World Learning where students can work on real-world problems using an interdisciplinary approach incorporating Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM).
STEAM skills have been increasingly seen as critical to international development, particularly in countries like Algeria, which has grappled with unemployment for years. According to Al Jazeera, one young person in three is unemployed in the North African country. To help alleviate the unemployment crisis, Algeria is turning to STEAM education. Last year, World Learning opened its STEAM center to prepare Algeria’s young people for careers in modern industry. The center offers workshops in everything from coding to leadership skills to more than 300 students — and it also assembled Algeria’s first-ever robotics team for the First Global Challenge.
“The STEAM center shows you what you’re really passionate about,” Souffi said. Though Souffi was originally attracted to the STEAM center to learn the real-life applications of coding — having previously participated in Code Academy and Tech Girls — she joined the robotics team on a whim. It was there that she learned she has a flair for robotics. Such was the case as well for Rafik Amrani, the 17-year-old team captain who also came to the STEAM center as a coder. “With robotics, I saw why we code,” he said.
These kinds of opportunities are new to Algeria, says Mohamed Ould Sad Saoud, education specialist for World Learning Algeria. He wants to make sure the next generation and those to come will continue to have opportunities to explore the various fields of science and technology, find their own passions, and broaden their perspectives on the world. “It makes me happy seeing these opportunities happening now,” he said. “I see it as my contribution to make the world a better place.”
Fostering global cooperation
While his team got into place for their second match, Nabil Dabouz stood with Team Lebanon — who were clad in rainbow afro spirit wigs — discussing strategy for working together. Just before the buzzer signaled to get started, they slapped hands in agreement and he rejoined his team.
Team Algeria works to get their robot online moments before their first match at the First Global international robotics challenge.
It was perhaps an unlikely development for the 18-year-old from Algiers, who says he struggled to communicate with his own team at the start of their robotics journey. With a background in computer science, Dabouz tended to fixate on perfecting small aspects of the robot’s design; he found it frustrating when the rest of his team wanted to move on to bigger problems. But those disagreements never became contentious and, over time, communicating became easier. Before departing for D.C., the team appointed him their chief strategist to work with other teams in the competition.
Collaboration is baked directly into the design of the First Global Challenge. Students must build robots to meet certain specifications and abilities, yes, but they also must learn to work together to win points. Upon arrival in D.C., teams are sorted into two major international alliances; each match pits three times from each alliance against one another, making strategic cooperation a valuable aspect of gameplay. One team’s strength could compensate for and complement the shortcomings of an alliance member.
Team Algeria’s robot competing on the floor at the First Global international robotics challenge.
That’s been important for Team Algeria. As the team learned upon arriving in Washington, their robot had a few shortcomings. With baccalaureate exams falling in the middle of the preparation period, they hadn’t had time to build a replica of the field that the Challenge would be using: a river with a bridge running over it and plastic balls representing clean and contaminated water throughout. It wasn’t until it was too late that Team Algeria discovered problems like the fact the bridge was too steep for their robot to climb. Another member their alliance would have to take on that task for them.
That was no problem. A strong Hall of Nations vibe pulses through the hallway that runs the perimeter of the Constitution Hall auditorium. Teams from Cyprus and Croatia take selfies together while it seems nearly every student spends free moments collecting signatures from around the world as souvenirs. Some teams hand out actual souvenirs, too, like the batik picture frame that a member of Team Indonesia brought to the Algerian team. “The event is about this,” Saoud says, gesturing around him. “Not that,” he adds, pointing to the auditorium doors.
His students agree. For most of them, this is their first time traveling abroad. Boukais had never traveled at all before and admits to having felt a little apprehensive about the trip before she left. She had assumed people who grew up elsewhere were too different from her and that they could never live together the way they were about to do. “But we actually can,” she said. “I didn’t know it was like this.”
Even Souffi, who visited the U.S. on a cultural exchange last summer, learned something new. “This experience has shown me how big the world is, how different our cultures are, and how exciting it is to discover this world,” Souffi said. “But I’ve also learned that we are all the same, even if we are from different countries and talk different languages. We’re still humans. We’re still standing up with each other. And we’re all here for one thing, which is robotics.”
Inspiring a better kind of technological revolution
Team Algeria.
On the last day of the competition, teams of teenagers flooded the floor of the auditorium clad in bright colors and waving their national flags in the air. They had gathered for the closing ceremony, eager to learn the winners of the First Global Challenge — which were not just for robotics skills, but also qualities like unity, courage, and a team’s personal journey. Despite winning their last match, Team Algeria wasn’t up for any awards. But they weren’t too disappointed. “We won the experience,” Amrani said.
Then World Bank President Jim Yong Kim took the stage to deliver the keynote address. “Watching the machines that you’ve built was so impressive to me,” he began. “But the estimates of our economists and scientists at the World Bank suggest that automation, technology, and artificial intelligence will eliminate half to two-thirds of all the existing jobs in developing countries.” The problem is grave, he said. But the solution might be in that very auditorium.
“You can be the generation that solves the most difficult problems in the world,” Kim said. “But you can only do it if you study science, technology, engineering, and math and then link that with the moral vision of giving everyone in the world the opportunity to live the kind of life that they want.” He encouraged them to use their STEM skills to create new jobs for the world’s poorest people and to address crises like climate change. “Water is going to be the issue that literally kills people because of climate change,” he said.“You guys can solve that problem.”
Just as cooperation was integral to the First Global Challenge, so was the incentive to address the coming water crisis. Each robot’s purpose was to decontaminate the river in the playing field and provide clean water to the villages on either side of the embankment. That focus taught Team Algeria how to use their STEM skills for the greater good even before Kim’s keynote address. “I saw how powerful robotics are,” Boukais said. “We can do a lot with robotics. We can improve others’ lives.”
This is just the beginning for robotics in Algeria. The team will give presentations on their experience to younger students involved in summer programs through the U.S. Embassy. Saoud says World Learning and the STEAM center are determined to reach people outside of the capital; he’s hoping they’ll be able to launch a national robotics competition so that next year’s team at the First Global Challenge in Mexico City will be composed of teenagers from all regions of the country.
It seems they’ll have the help of this year’s crop of students. “Our main goal is to help our community so as to make a better life,” Boukais said. Souffi agrees. She and a friend from home have already been discussing ways to reach out to youth across Algeria to teach them robotics. “I want to show the youth we can do a lot more,” Souffi said. “We have to think globally.”
Abderrahmane Harbi wants to bring innovation to Algeria.
The business consultant from Blida, Algeria, says the country’s 10-year civil war is largely responsible for the high rate of unemployment — which hovers over 10% — and economic stagnation.
The best way to move forward, he says, is by creating new and long lasting enterprises, which he says will help diversify Algeria’s economy.
“It’s very exciting to be able to create something and help people to create something …and see the result of what you’re doing instantly,” he says.
Harbi recently participated in the Leaders for Democracy Fellowship (LDF), a program providing emerging and mid-career civic leaders from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) an opportunity to develop leadership skills in the U.S. Funded by the U.S. Department of State and implemented by the non-profit World Learning, LDF also offers fellows the opportunity to meet other young leaders from the region, exchange ideas and share experiences. He says that after speaking with fellows about the influx of Syrian refugees from Jordan, he was inspired to help Malian refugees in Algeria.
Harbi says in comparison to other MENA countries, Algeria is lagging in enterprising business.
“When Algeria was a colony it was one of the greatest exporters for agricultural product,” he says. “Now in terms of innovation, Algeria is not a leader. There are so many countries that are advanced in technology and innovation that are so far ahead of us,” adds Harbi.
During the program, Harbi interned at the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), which seeks to strengthen democracies through private enterprise and market-oriented reforms.
“Even before I came to the U.S. I wanted to work for CIPE because I share the same values as them,” he says.
Now back in Algeria, Harbi is planning to work closely with a company that developed a bracelet used to track and locate kidnap victims.
“In Algeria people don’t know that they have the power to change things,” he says. “Not unless they try.”
The AEEP project succeeded in engaging 168 private and public sector stakeholders in discussions on economic opportunity and business growth acceleration, garnered 38 employment agreements, trained 368 youth in soft skills or technical skills—93.2% of whom improved their skills, their economic status, or both during the program—and successfully supported 18 youth-led enterprises.
Participants are alumni of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs and vary in age and level of expertise, but all will be engaged in the seminar topic and highly motivated to create change in their communities.
Please consult the list of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs below.
Alumni TIES participants who are not U.S. citizens are nominated by the U.S. Embassies or Consulates in their countries. Please contact the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your country to learn how you can participate in Alumni TIES. Potential Alumni TIES participants who are living in the United States can apply for specific seminars managed by World Learning. The web link to the online application will be distributed widely by the Office of Alumni Affairs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
All participants for Alumni TIES seminars are selected by the U.S. Department of State.
Program Design
Alumni TIES seminars take place in six world regions and the U.S.; each seminar is three to four days for small groups of alumni. The seminars include speakers, capacity development trainings, and alumni networking activities. Through the small grants initiative, alumni have the opportunity to take action and make a positive difference in their communities.
Alumni TIES is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and supported in its implementation by World Learning, in partnership with the Office of Alumni Affairs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).
At the conclusion of the program’s third year, the CCH team opened the Communities Connecting Heritage Small Grants to organizational and community member alumni from all three CCH cycles. The following projects were selected for CCH Small Grant implementation.
Kristina Llane (Albania) Title of Project: Beekeeping Tradition as and Educative Tool
This project aims to preserve and share the importance of local beekeeping traditions in the Gjirokastra community of Albania. Kristina will work with elementary school students to cultivate youth interest in beekeeping’s cultural role in their community. Throughout the project, students and teachers will contribute to an educational book on beekeeping to that will equip teachers to continue sharing with future classrooms. The project will conclude with a panel discussion focused on protecting and preserving culture, tradition, and the environment in Albania.
Kalpana Gagdekar (India) Title of Project: Connecting Community with Their Traditional/Heritage Cuisine
This project will explore and document the Chhara community’s traditional cuisines, which are experiencing a disappearing effect under modern global influences. Kalpana aims to document the rituals and heritage of Chhara cuisine through seven video interviews with Chhara women elders. The project combines modern technology with traditional food heritage and welcomes Chhara members of all ages to reclaim and rediscover their own heritage.
Mandala Theatre (Nepal) and Creative Connections (Connecticut, U.S.) Title of Project: Hamro Sanskriti: Preserving Cultural Heritage through Participatory Theatre
The goal of this project is to provide youth in Connecticut and Nepal with a deeper connection to their own culture through student-led virtual workshops. The workshops – spearheaded by theater trainers in Nepal and Connecticut – will teach participatory theater techniques to 250 high school students and conclude with a model forum theater piece produced by students for the public.
Athar Lina (Egypt) Title of Project: Rawya: The Water Women
Rawya: The Water Women is a Cairo-based project aimed at restoring the historically significant Sabil Um Abbas, a 19th century religious building and gathering place, into a usable community space once more. In addition to restoring aspects of the building, the project will connect U.S. and Egyptian women storytellers Donna Bryson and Chirine El Ansary to curate a storytelling experience of powerful 19th century women from their respective countries. Their work will culminate in a video exhibition that will be on display in the newly renovated Sabil Um Abbas for the local community to experience.
Bhasha Research and Publication Centre (India) and University of Northern Colorado (Colorado, U.S.) Title of Project: Reclaiming Heritage II: Building Social Bonds and Bridges with Cultural Heritage
This project will utilize digital library resources at UNC to create and share cultural heritage “snapshots” with the broader community. These short videos will help immigrants and refugees in Colorado and indigenous peoples in India share their cultural heritage while building bonds with their local communities. The project will provide its participants with the ownership and platform to share their own heritage while paving a pathway for integration with others in their community.
Outside the Lens (California, U.S.) Title of Project: Youth Tellers
Youth Tellers is a cross-cultural collaboration between Latinx youth in California and Bosnia-Herzegovina, relying on the concepts of past, present, and future to explore students’ complex cultural identities. Using digital media tools including photography, videography, and youth-facing communication forums like Discord, the project will culminate in a virtual exhibition showcasing the participants’ cultural heritage exchange with one another.
Explore the Story section on the right to learn more about the unique cultural heritage projects implemented since 2018.
Four selected CDCs/EIs deepened their skills in analysis, outreach, and training design and developed community-based action plans for economic development.
600 job seekers trained in workplace skills and values.
30 entrepreneurs equipped with business plans.
80% of beneficiaries gained new employment or initiated entrepreneurial projects.
Women were better informed of opportunities in their communities for employment or entrepreneurship.
CDCs and EIs developed a mentorship model for job seekers and entrepreneurs that become long-term relationships.
A program of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Fulbright Specialist Program is a unique opportunity for U.S. academics and established professionals to engage in two- to six-week consultancies at host institutions across the globe. Host institutions, including universities, non-profits, and other organizations, develop and submit projects for approval by the U.S. Embassy or Fulbright Commission in their country in wide-ranging academic and professional fields that build capacity and promote long-lasting linkages between individuals and institutions in the U.S. and abroad.
Why?
Address Priorities and Build Institutional Capacity at Institutions Around the World
An important companion to the traditional Fulbright Scholar Program, the Fulbright Specialist Program differs by providing short-term exchange experiences that tackle discrete, sometimes rapid response, projects. The Fulbright Specialist Program encourages participation of both university faculty and highly experienced non-academics, including legal experts, business professionals, public health practitioners, scientists, IT professionals, artists, and journalists. The program is a mutually beneficial opportunity for the Specialist who may not be available to leave their position for an extended period of time and the host institution which needs an experienced partner to jointly tackle a problem or examine an issue on a short-term basis.
How?
Become a Fulbright Specialist: Apply to Join the Roster
Fulbright Specialists are a diverse group of highly experienced, well-established faculty members and professionals who represent a wide variety of academic disciplines and professions. In order to be eligible to serve as a Fulbright Specialist, candidates must have significant experience in their respective professional field and be a U.S. citizen at time of application. Eligible disciplines and professional fields supported by the Fulbright Specialist Program are listed below.
Agriculture
American Studies
Anthropology
Archeology
Biology Education
Business Administration
Chemistry Education
Communications and Journalism
Computer Science and Information Technology
Economics
Education
Engineering Education
Environmental Science
Law
Library Science
Math Education
Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies
Physics Education
Political Science
Public Administration
Public/Global Health
Social Work
Sociology
Urban Planning
Interested candidates can find more information about the Fulbright Specialist Program and apply to serve as a Specialist atfulbrightspecialist.worldlearning.org. Candidates who meet all eligibility requirements will have their full applications reviewed by a panel of their professional peers. Candidates who are approved by the peer review panels will then join the Fulbright Specialist Roster. Individuals remain on the Specialist Roster for a three-year term and are eligible to be matched with a host institution’s project abroad during that tenure.
The following costs are covered for those Fulbright Specialists who are matched to a project: international and domestic airfare, ground transportation, visa fees, lodging, meals, and incidentals. A daily honorarium is also provided.
Become a Host: Bring a Fulbright Specialist to Your Institution
The Fulbright Specialist Program allows universities, cultural centers, non-governmental organizations, and other institutions abroad to host a leading U.S. academic or professional to work on diverse, short-term collaborative projects where the Specialist conducts activities which may include, but are not limited to:
Delivering a seminar or workshop
Consulting on faculty or workforce development
Developing academic or training curricula and materials
Lecturing at the graduate or undergraduate level
Conducting needs assessments or evaluations for a program or institution
Institutions interested in hosting a Fulbright Specialist should contact their local Fulbright Commission or U.S. Embassy for country-specific requirements and deadlines.
For more information or questions about the Fulbright Specialist Program, please email [email protected].
The Fulbright Specialist Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by World Learning.
Chosen by U.S. embassies worldwide to participate, distinguished professionals include:
parliamentarians
government officials
entrepreneurs
NGO leaders
journalists
academics
arts administrators
mid-career professionals
Programs focus on policy issues in areas such as:
government
international security
foreign policy
entrepreneurship
economics and trade
media
women’s leadership
education
public health
arts
agriculture
disability rights and inclusion
World Learning staff members design national itineraries, arrange logistics, set up meetings in Washington, DC, and coordinate the collaboration of U.S. Department of State program officers, interpreters and International Visitor Liaisons, and more than 85 community-based member organizations from the Global Ties U.S. Network who arrange local programs nationwide.
Participants
Most participants are mid-career professionals and emerging leaders, and for many, this is their first visit to the U.S. Groups are of varying sizes, from single visitors to groups of 25 or more. World Learning program staff work closely with their State Department counterparts to design a program customized to the project objectives and the visitors’ interests.
Participant Selection
IVLP candidates are selected solely by U.S. embassy personnel in each country. There is no application form. World Learning is a private sector partner of the U.S. Department of State; our role is limited to designing programs for participants once they arrive in the U.S. For further information regarding the program, please consult the U.S. Department of State’s website.
Program Design
A typical project includes up to a week of meetings in Washington, DC, to provide an orientation and overview of the theme and to introduce visitors to federal officials and agencies, national organizations, academics and think tanks, nonprofits and NGOs, and professionals in their specific field of interest. All projects include a briefing on the US federal system of government. Meetings may include panel discussions, site visits, workshops, individual interlocutors, job shadowing, or service opportunities. Visitors typically travel to an additional three or four cities in geographically diverse regions of the country; the itinerary may include a state capital and a small town to provide first-hand exposure to the great diversity that exists in the U.S. Also included in the program design are hospitality dinners, school visits, community service activities, and cultural events such as rodeos, state fairs, festivals, visits to national parks, or events that highlight some unique aspect of the region visited.
Participant Experience
“My recent experience in the IVLP program is so far the deepest ever for me to see and understand the full picture of what America as a country is like. I strongly believe this program will have a very long-term impact on my views about America and the world and to some extent it has already helped me to understand many long-time questions.” – Journalist from China
The International Visitor Leadership Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by World Learning.
Harbi recently participated in the 
