Alliance Action Alert: Urge your Representative to sign letter to House appropriators in support of FY15 exchange funding!

The following is a copy and paste of an e-mail I received from the Alliance for International Educational & Cultural Exchange (posted with permission):


It’s appropriations season again and in this intense budget climate, it is more important than ever that we raise our voice in support of State Department exchange funding.

The Alliance is currently working with Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA)’s office to send a Congressional sign-on letter to House SFOPS appropriations subcommittee Chairwoman Granger and Ranking Member Lowey, asking for robust exchange program funding in FY 2015.

In a similar effort in 2012, we were able to obtain 52 Congressional signatures – our goal this year is to exceed that number!

And we need your help in gathering as many signatures for this letter as possible! 

Please act today and send a letter to your Representative, urging him or her to sign Rep. Johnson’s letter in support of the highest possible funding level for State Department exchanges in FY 2015. 

A pre-written letter is available here: http://capwiz.com/alliance-exchange/issues/alert/?alertid=63106071

You can send this letter as is, or better yet, strengthen its impact by personalizing it and demonstrating the local impact of exchanges in your home community. Please also call on your contacts – family, friends etc. – and ask them to write their Representatives as well.


You can learn more about the great work the Alliance for International Educational & Cultural Exchange is doing by visiting their website!

Write to your Members of Congress and urge them to support robust FY14 funding for Department of State exchanges at $625 million

The following IHEC Blog post is a copy and paste of an e-mail I received from Lisa Heyn, Policy Specialist at the Alliance for International Educational & Cultural Exchange, and it is re-posted with her permission.  Please take a moment to review the information and if you support this effort then please take a moment to send a letter as it literally takes less then one minute to submit the templated message the Alliance has prepared if you don't have time to write your own letter!

The Senate State-Foreign Operations appropriations subcommittee will hold its first hearing on FY14 funding tomorrow (Thursday, April 18th) which is why it is critical that we boost our efforts today and spread our message far and wide via Twitter and letters to Congress!

So far, 161 letters have been sent. While this is a great start, we need to have many more letter sent to lawmakers today, especially to House and Senate appropriators!  Our goal is to have at least 500 letters sent by the end of today!

An editable sample letter is available on the Alliance Action Legislative Alerts and Updates webpage. If possible, please include specific examples demonstrating the (economic) impact of exchanges in your community. You can find your Members of Congress here.

Tweet #ExchangesImpact

We also need to gather as many Tweets as possible today using the hashtag #ExchangesImpact – please take our message to Twitter and tweet your Members of Congress about the importance of international exchanges, using their individual Twitter handles. For a complete list of Member Twitter handles, refer to these House and Senate lists. Sample tweets are included below for your use.

Thank you for taking action today by tweeting about #ExchangesImpact, and for helping us reach our goal of having at least 500 letters sent to Congress in support of FY14 funding for Department of State exchanges at $625 million.

Sample Tweets

·         Support FY14 funding at $625 million for Dept. of State exchanges, a proven and cost-effective PD and smart power tool #ExchangesImpact

·         Leadership, cultural learning & language study: International exchange programs prepare Americans for the global economy #ExchangesImpact

·         Exchanges teach Americans critical skills and enhance U.S. global competitiveness #ExchangesImpact

·         Exchanges are a cost-effective investment, expanding the vision of current & emerging leaders across the globe #ExchangesImpact

·         International exchanges enhance U.S. national security & smart power by engaging future leaders across the world #ExchangesImpact

·         Exchanges change lives and minds, creating a vast reservoir of goodwill toward the U.S. across the globe #ExchangesImpact

Photo credit:  studentofrhythm

Follow Today's #NoMoreCuts to #InternationalExchange Twitter Campaign

Tweets about "#InternationalExchange"

Reminder: Tweet #NoMoreCuts to exchanges today!

Today is a day of action on Twitter to oppose more cuts to non-defense discretionary (NDD) programs, like international exchanges. 

Throughout the day, tweet directly to your Members of Congress, and ask them not to cut exchanges and other NDD programs any further. Encourage your members, volunteers, followers, and friends to do the same. Make sure to use the hashtag #NoMoreCuts.

Included below are sample tweets for your use. Include the Twitter handle of the Member you are tweeting in your message. This ensures that the Member will get a notification of being “mentioned” in your message and will see what you’ve sent. [For a complete list of Members and their twitter handles, please see these House & Senate lists. To find your Members of Congress, enter your zip code here. ]

Thank you for taking action on this important issue!

Sample Tweets

• Leadership, cultural learning, & lang study: #InternationalExchange prepares Americans for global economy, [insert member twitter handle]. #NoMoreCuts!

• #InternationalExchange enhances US natl security & smart power. [insert member twitter handle] make sure there are #NoMoreCuts! #sequester

• A secure #America needs more than #military might! [insert member twitter handle] #NoMoreCuts to #InternationalExchange! #sequester

• #InternationalExchange is an investment in the future, expanding the vision of current & emerging leaders. [insert member twitter handle] #NoMoreCuts! 

• #InternationalExchange teaches Americans critical skills and enhances US global competitiveness. [insert member twitter handle] #NoMoreCuts! #sequester

• Discretionary cuts to #InternationalExchange harm the #economy! [insert member twitter handle] say #NoMoreCuts! #sequester

• #Sequestration means an 8.2% cut to #InternationalExchange funding in 2013. [insert member twitter handle] make sure there are #NoMoreCuts!

• Discretionary investments have already been cut by nearly $1.5 trillion. [insert member twitter handle] make sure there are #NoMoreCuts! #sequester

• Remember [insert member twitter handle], over 3000 groups want you to say #NoMoreCuts to discretionary investments! #sequester

Members of Congress need to hear directly from YOU, their constituents about the local impact of exchanges in their home states, districts, and communities. 

Tweet #NoMoreCuts to exchanges on Monday

The Alliance for International Educational & Cultural Exchange is engaged with a broad coalition (led by the Coalition for Health Funding) that opposes sequestration and further cuts to non-defense discretionary (NDD) programs, like international exchanges.

The NDD coalition is mobilizing a day of action on Twitter (using the hashtag #NoMoreCuts) this Monday, December 10, and we encourage you to be involved. Tweets are a simple but effective way of getting this message out to policy makers.

So what do you need to do? Simply tweet directly to your Members of Congress, and ask them not to cut exchanges and other NDD programs any further. Encourage your members, volunteers, followers, and friends to do the same.

Included below are sample tweets for your use. Make sure you include the Twitter handle of the Member you are tweeting in your message. This ensures that the Member will get a notification of being “mentioned” in your message and will see what you’ve sent. [For a complete list of Members and their twitter handles, please see these House & Senate lists. To find your Members of Congress, enter your zip code here. ]

Thank you for taking action on this important issue. We'll send a reminder on Monday, as well as begin tweeting ourselves!

Sample Tweets

• Leadership, cultural learning, & lang study: #InternationalExchange prepares Americans for global economy, [insert member twitter handle]. #NoMoreCuts!

• #InternationalExchange enhances US natl security & smart power. [insert member twitter handle] make sure there are #NoMoreCuts! #sequester

• A secure #America needs more than #military might! [insert member twitter handle] #NoMoreCuts to #InternationalExchange! #sequester

• #InternationalExchange is an investment in the future, expanding the vision of current & emerging leaders. [insert member twitter handle] #NoMoreCuts! 

• #InternationalExchange teaches Americans critical skills and enhances US global competitiveness. [insert member twitter handle] #NoMoreCuts! #sequester

• Discretionary cuts to #InternationalExchange harm the #economy! [insert member twitter handle] say #NoMoreCuts! #sequester

• #Sequestration means an 8.2% cut to #InternationalExchange funding in 2013. [insert member twitter handle] make sure there are #NoMoreCuts!

• Discretionary investments have already been cut by nearly $1.5 trillion. [insert member twitter handle] make sure there are #NoMoreCuts! #sequester

• Remember [insert member twitter handle], over 3000 groups want you to say #NoMoreCuts to discretionary investments! #sequester

 Members of Congress need to hear directly from YOU, their constituents about the local impact of exchanges in their home states, districts, and communities. 

With permission of The Alliance, this IHEC Blog post is a copy and paste job (with only slight modifications) of an e-mail message I received from them on Thursday, December 6th.  IHEC Blog thanks The Alliance for all of their advocacy efforts in the international education arena.

Semester at Sea LipDub Ship Tour

I'm not a big fan of the LipDub craze but the @SemesterAtSea LipDub Ship Tour is pretty sweet!

To the class of 2011, I wish you all the best and may you all travel to all corners of this world!

This past weekend I worked the 507th Convocation at The University of Chicago and found it to be a great experience.  As I watched the students receive their diplomas and heard their names called I recognized many from meetings I've had with them over the years to discuss the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, the DAAD, the Boren Scholarship, the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, the Freeman-Asia Scholarship or the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship among others.  Many students were successful in these competitions and many were not.  Regardless of the outcome, many students took a leap and applied to these funding opportunities (some students applied to several) to have a meaningful international educational experience.  It is this group of students that I will miss the most.  These are the students who want to leave the comforts of their high speed cable/satellite/smart phone/internet connections behind; to be challenged on their viewpoint and to learn about and consider a different perspective; to see the larger world that they have dreamed and read about; and, to make a difference in this world.  These are the students I want my children to become!

To the class of 2011 at The University of Chicago, and beyond, I wish you all the best and may you all travel to all corners of this world!

Calling all Illinois Constituents! Follow-up the Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange meeting with Sen. Kirk's Chicago office with a letter in support of exchanges!

I was invited to visit Senator Mark Kirk’s (R-IL) Chicago office last week as part of a small group of Illinois constituents to discuss the importance of Department of State exchange programs.  This meeting was coordinated by the Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange in an effort to discuss the importance of these State Department programs with new members of the Senate State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee (which funds State Department exchange programs).  My part of the discussion with Senator Kirk’s Director of Constituent Services focused on the Fulbright U.S. Student Program and the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship.

The Alliance and the group who participated in the meeting are working to spread the word on this effort and request that Illinois constituents send letters to Senator Kirk as well as to Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) in support of international education and in particular State Department exchange programs.  The Alliance has already prepared an electronic letter which you can access here for you and all you need to do is enter your name and home address and your letter will be automatically sent to Senators Kirk and Durbin.

Many thanks in advance for your assistance with this important issue!


Photo credit:  studentofrhythm

International Exchange Locator 2011 Edition: A Resource Directory for Educational and Cultural Exchange

A comprehensive directory of nongovernmental organizations, federal agencies, and Congressional committees engaged in international exchange.

If you have global ambitions, the International Exchange Locator is your ideal resource. Whether you’re looking to participate in an international exchange program (academic, professional, volunteer, or otherwise), searching for an internationally focused job, expanding your international organizational partnerships, or navigating the world of U.S. Congressional and federal exchange activity, the Locator’s got you covered. 

Resources listed in the Locator include:

•Profiles and contact information for hundreds of U.S.-based and international organizations engaged in international exchange programs and services;

•A broad-ranging list of exchange programs offered throughout 30+ U.S. federal agencies, departments, and bureaus;

•Contact information for 50+ Fulbright Binational Educational Foundations and Commissions around the world;

•Bureaucratic structure and contact information for the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, other State Department branches, the U.S. Administration for International Development (USAID), and U.S. Department of Homeland Security offices involved in the administration of international exchange programs;

•Listing of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate committees with oversight over exchange programs, and a breakdown of the specific subcommittees with jurisdiction over exchange programs.

Order your copy of the Locator today at 

http://www.alliance-exchange.org/international-exchange-locator