What Does John Kerry's Confirmation as U.S. Secretary of State mean for International Educational and Cultural Exchange?

Confirmed with a 94 to 3 vote, John Kerry will be sworn into office as the next Secretary of State of the United States on Friday, February 1, 2013.

Secretary Clinton was a strong advocate for international educational and cultural exchanges.  It will be interesting to see how he will lead (or not) in this area.

What are your thoughts?

For me, I feel he will be a champion of international education.

On February 1, 2001 (12 years to the day of his scheduled swearing in ceremnony) Senator Kerry introduced S.Con.Res.7 - Concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should establish an international education policy to further national security, foreign policy, and economic competitiveness, promote mutual understanding and cooperation among nations, and for other purposes.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton remarks at launch of the 100,000 Strong Foundation

Text of her remarks available on the State Department website.

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs enhances website and digital outreach

The Latino Cultural Academy of Chicago

I recently learned of the Latino Cultural Academy (LCA) here in Chicago and it peaked my interest.  LCA is a new all Spanish Latino cultural program for kids (5-7 and 8-10 years of age) based out of the Rafael Cintrón Ortiz Latino Cultural Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  A brief description of the program from their website follows:

"We provide a cultural program focused on helping children develop an understanding of what it means to be Latino in a personally relevant way. Our approach focuses on creating a fun and engaging environment where children feel safe acquiring and retaining the Spanish language, as well as gaining an appreciation for the similarities and differences amongst the various Latino cultures. Our goal is to assist in the preservation of the Latino identity, culture and language in young children by sharing rich cultural traditions.  The Latino Cultural Academy is in residence at UIC’s Latino Cultural Center."

You can learn more program details via the LCA website.

The LCA will  be holding two open houses where parents can meet staff, learn about the programs and view the facility.  The specifics for the open houses follow:

Saturday, January 12 and Saturday, January 19
10:00am - 12:00pm
Rafael Cintrón Ortiz Latino Cultural Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago
803 S. Morgan St., Lecture Center B2
Chicago, IL  60607

Parents who register their first child at the open house receive 10% off enrollment.

More information is available via their website at LatinoCulturalAcademy.com or at contactus@latinoculturalacademy.com and 312.324.4909

Top 17 IHEC Blog Posts of 2012

Long time readers of IHEC Blog have noticed a variety of changes here over the years.  One noticeable change has been in the way I post.  Like many, my life is crazy busy.  I have a family of three young children, a full-time job, trying to finish my dissertation, on the editorial board of the Journal of Studies in International Education, I edit and publish IHEC Blog as well as manage several related internet properties, and occasionally I try to find some time to relax.  As a result, my blog posts have changed over the years and often times I only have enough time to embed a video that may be of interest to readers.  I also have significantly decreased the number of times I post to IHEC Blog (from a high of 282 posts in 2009 to 61 posts in 2012).  Despite all of this, IHEC Blog had a good year in terms of readership and when analyzing the various analytic tools and data available to me (and factoring out SPAM, bots and other non-interested visitors) it appears to be a worthy endeavor.

Following are the top 17 most visited IHEC Blog posts in 2012.

Studying Abroad over Thanksgiving Break?

Future Conference Sites of U.S. Based International Education Organizations

Quotes by U.S. Presidents on the Importance of International Exchanges and the Fulbright Program

Tips for Getting into the International Education Field

Portrayal of Exchange Students in Movies and on TVin the U.S.

At What Age Can Someone Study Abroad?

Describing International Education in 134 characters

The Climate for Innovation

A List of all the Free International Education Resources I Utilize

List of Movies/Television Programs where the Characters go Abroad

How Studying Abroad in Florence, Italy and a Vacation in Mexico Lead Kevin Systrom to Start Instagram

We need students. For each student you bring us, we give you a 100 euros commission

The internationalization of Room 404 [a 3rd grade class at The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools]

Bibliography of Select Articles & Resources to Help International Educators Establish a New Media Presence

Question about Advanced Degrees for International Educators

French Fries, French Dressing, French Bread and to drink, Peru

The Middle, episode: “Foreign Exchange” (s02e05)

If you are interested you can link the top posts of 2011, 2010 and 2009 (didn't produce a list for 2008).  You'll notice some overlap between the years with popular posts.  Perhaps a Top 10 (or Top 23) all time most popular post compilation is due...but that won't happen until things slow down!