Two Tweets Today by Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) on Importance of International Students to the U.S. and his District #YouAreWelcomeHere

In my district alone, nearly 5000 #Intlstudents contribute $137.3 million, supporting 1,725 jobs each year. #YouAreWelcomeHere pic.twitter.com/TxPx5DofXk

— Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) May 23, 2017

#Intlstudents make a vital contribution to our country's security & economic wellbeing. We must remain open and welcoming #YouAreWelcomeHere

— Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) May 23, 2017

Save our State Department’s Education and Cultural Exchange Programs via Change.org

If you support the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State then you may wish to sign the following Change.org petition here!

Follow the Twitter Backchannel from the 2017 NAFSA Advocacy Day #nafsaAD

Many thanks to all of our colleagues who have made their way to Washington, DC to advocate on behalf of international education.  Hoping you have very productive meetings!

#nafsaAD Tweets

Work now begins on writing a book chapter on short-term international educational exchanges between the U.S. and China!

A sampling of books found in my Bury Book International Education Library & Archive!

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry Delivers a Video Message for the 75th Anniversary of Exchange Programs

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!

Senator Lugar talks about the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Program (YES)

(Transcription)

"In 2002, former Senator Ted Kennedy, of Massachusetts, and I felt it was very important, in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy in the United States, to get to know students in Muslim countries and for them to know us, so we worked with the State Department and others to institute this program. This is the tenth anniversary of that; the graduating class has grown from roughly 400 to well over 900 this year. We have had some very exciting students and experiences which we all celebrate. High school students are quick learners, they are well able to adapt to new conditions, and they are our future leaders. We are most hopeful that this experience will be a part of this leadership background. I have no doubt having this visit with six students who attended Indiana high schools that these students are destined to take on many more leadership opportunities, and eventually in their homelands will offer significant service to people. This will be a celebration of the YES program."

6,845 Student Participants over the 10 Years of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program

Happy 10th Anniversary!

Coping with Anti-Americanism: A Guide to Getting the Most Out of Studying Abroad

A short time ago I received a copy of the new book Coping with Anti-Americanism: A Guide to Getting the Most Out of Studying Abroad (2011, Potomac Books) from the author Carol Madison Graham.  When I saw that this book had been published earlier this year I reached out to the author (I had already been following her blog Engage Abroad! and had interacted briefly a few times on Twitter) and asked if I could review her book on IHEC Blog.  I ended up with my own copy to include on the shelves of Bury Book International Education Library & Archive!


I really enjoyed reading Coping with Anti-Americanism and feel it is a must read for prospective U.S. study abroad students and their parents as well as for the greater international education community and other campus/organizational stakeholders.  Graham provides the reader with a clear picture of the realities American students face while abroad and she puts into perspective their place in the world outside of U.S. borders. Graham's work challenges U.S. students to take a step back and do some critical thinking on how the U.S. is viewed abroad and how they will be viewed and how they will represent the U.S. while studying abroad.  In addition to providing prospective U.S. study abroad students with valuable insight and guidance on how to cope with the anti-Americanism abroad they are bound to encounter this book is a valuable guide for study abroad program staff to inform discussions with students and their parents as well as for preparing pre-departure orientations and related meetings.


Chapters in Coping with Anti-Americanism are as follows:


1. American and Americans Through Foreign Eyes
2. The Land Without a History
3. Perceptions of Religion and the American South
4. Multiculturalism, Political Correctness, and Perceptions of a Divided America
5. "American Idiots"
6. The President of the Earth
7. Sheriff to Gunfighter: The United States and the World
8.  Superpower Diplomacy
9. Ambassador for Life


Coping with Anti-Americanism: A Guide to Getting the Most Out of Studying Abroad is published by Potomac Books and is available for purchase here.


A note about the author Carol Madison Graham: in 1981 Graham joined the U.S. Diplomatic Service and worked in France, Lebanon, Tunisia and in the United Arab Emirates.  In 2002 she was appointed to the UK Fulbright Commission as Executive Director and was the first American to ever hold this position.  She is now a board member of the Marshall Scholarships and a trustee of the Carnegie U.K. Trust.  She is available for speaking engagements and you can contact her here if you wish to further explore such an opportunity.


Graham also maintains the Engage Abroad! (which I have on my blogroll) and she is on Twitter at @engageabroad.

Former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold Highlights Importance of Citizen Diplomacy During His Commencement Address at Lawrence University

In his June 5th commencement address to graduates at Lawrence University Russ Feingold talked about the value of studying abroad and importance of citizen diplomacy.  You can watch snippets of his address below as well as parts of an interview where he talks about these issues.



Thanks to the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy for posting a link to this video to Twitter!

Cuba at NAFSA 2011

The following information on Cuba related happenings at the upcoming NAFSA Annual Conference in Vancouver is reposted here on IHEC Blog with permission of John McAuliff, Executive Director at the Fund for Reconciliation and Development, who sent this message to his distribution list on matters related to Cuba: 

For the first time, two key people from the University of Havana will participate:

* Dr. Lourdes Alicia Diaz Fernandez, Director of International Relations

* Dr. Mayra Heydrich, Coordinator of Programs with U.S. Universities

Expo Booth 2207

US/Cuba People to People Partnership with information from C & T Tours, Cuba Educational Tours, Fund for Reconciliation and Development, Global Exchange, Holbrook Travel.  A contact point with the Cuban participants.

Tuesday, May 31

12:30 pm - 1:45 pm

Pan Pacific Hotel Crystal Pavilion BC

Academic and Scholarly Relations with Cuba

Dr. John Coatsworth, Dean of the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, provides a big-picture view of where Cuba stands in the international education community and of the international political context of educational exchange with Cuba.  $65 fee includes lunch.  Register here.

----------------------

2 pm - 4 pm

Pan Pacific Hotel Crystal Pavilion A

A panel discussion will follow the luncheon. A Cuban representative will discuss Cuba’s exchange profile and the purposes that Cuba seeks to achieve through these exchanges, and representatives from Canada, the United States, and Mexico will discuss their countries’ exchange relations with Cuba and what national purposes are served through these relationships. The seminar is open to all conference attendees.

Chair: Everett Egginton, PhD, Professor, College of Education, New Mexico State University

Panelist: Mayra Heydrich, PhD, Coordinator of Programs with U.S. Universities, University of Havana; Catherine Schittecatte, Chair, Political Science Department and Global Studies Program, Vancouver Island University; The Honorable Lázaro Cárdenas, Senior Fellow, Washington Office on Latin America Former Governor of Michoacán, Mexico; Eric Popkin, PhD, Associate Professor of Sociology and Dean of Summer Programs, Colorado College

All registered attendees are welcome to participate in this seminar.

**********************

Wednesday June 1

Open Meetting, Knowledge Community, Education Abroad

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm

Vancouver Convention Centre West, Education Abroad Networking Center, Room 214

Given that academic travel to Cuba from the United States has reopened, expand your network to include Cuban colleagues interested in exchanges.

Lourdes Alicia Diaz Fernandez - University of Havana

Mayra Heydrich - University of Havana

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LACSIG Annual Meeting

1:45 pm ­ 3:00 pm

Mackenzie 1 Room, Fairmount Waterfront Hotel

15 min. presentation by and discussion with Cuban participants; update on regulations

***************************

Thursday, June 2

5 - 6 pm

Vancouver Convention Centre West, Education Abroad Networking Center, Room 214

Roundtable discussion on undertaking short term student and other educational programs in Cuba for third party providers and secondary schools using people to people licenses and higher education institutions with general licenses.  Resource persons from Cuba and current providers of licensed travel.  Update on regulations.

Remarks of Secretary Hillary Clinton, Under Secretary Judith McHale and Assistant Secretary Ann Stock at the National Council of International Visitors (NCIV) reception celebrating the 50th anniversary of citizen diplomacy at the State Department.

In case you were unable to watch the live feeds of Secretary Hillary Clinton, Under Secretary Judith McHale and Assistant Secretary Ann Stock  from the National Council of International Visitors (NCIV) reception celebrating the 50th anniversary of citizen diplomacy at the State Department I have embedded them below:

Video: The NCIV Network - Shaping History One Handshake at a Time

The National Council for International Visitors (NCIV) is a nonprofit membership association currently marking 50 years of leadership in citizen diplomacy. NCIV's membership includes individuals, program agencies, and more than 90 organizations in communities throughout the United States.  Learn more at http://www.nciv.org/

New ExchangesConnect Video "I am a Citizen Diplomat"

I am a Citizen Diplomat is the newest video from ExchangesConnect which you can find on their YouTube channel.

Live Webcast Celebrating 50 Years of Citizen Diplomacy with Hillary Rodham Clinton, Judith A. McHale & Ann Stock

Live Webcast Celebrating 50 Years of Citizen Diplomacy with Hillary Rodham Clinton, Judith A. McHale & Ann Stock

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Schedule (all times EST)

8:30am: Assistant Secretary Ann Stock
12:45pm: Under Secretary Judith McHale
6:15pm: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

Tune in at http://exchanges.state.gov/live-stream.html

The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) Celebrates 70 Years!

The following is information copied from the description of this ExchangeConnect YouTube channel video:


Now in its 70th year, the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is the U.S. Department of State's premier professional exchange program. The IVLP connects current and emerging foreign leaders with their American counterparts through short-term programs that foster greater coordination, communication, and collaboration on foreign policy issues. The IVLP has a profound and positive impact on the participants -- and their 80,000 American hosts -- to bridge cultural and political divides and cultivate lasting relationships that help address the challenges that face us all. Nearly 200,000 distinguished individuals have participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program, including more than 300 current and former Chiefs of State and Heads of Government, and thousands of leaders from the public and private sectors. 

The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs [part of the United States Department of State] Explains itself via YouTube

Learn more about the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at http://exchanges.state.gov/

U.S. Representative James Moran [D-VA] on the House Floor recognizing the 50th anniversary of the National Council for International Visitors on C-SPAN

NAFSA Poster Sessions Focusing on International Education Research or the Links between Scholarship and Practice

I'm re-posting the following SECUSS-L post by my colleague Bryan McAllister-Grande about the upcoming proposal submission deadline for two NAFSA Vancouver poster sessions with his permission (there are other poster sessions as well which you should consider as well):

Following are two different poster sessions that involve international education research or the links between scholarship and practice. The poster fair proposal deadline is coming up next Wednesday, December 15 -- there is still plenty of time to get a brief idea together.

*International Education to What End? Peace & Justice and Global Citizenship Revisited*
In partnership with the Peace, Justice & Citizen Diplomacy special interest group, this poster fair showcases the connections and synergies between on- and off-campus international education and education for peace and justice. It introduces relevant concepts such as global citizenship and public/citizen diplomacy, and demonstrates ways in which international educators currently play a role in fostering peace and justice. The fair also presents resources and relevant research available for this work.   Poster Fair organizers are Samantha Martin (martins@newpaltz.edu) and Bryan McAllister-Grande (bgrande@brandeis.edu).

*International Education Research*
Posters feature the most recent innovative and in-depth qualitative and quantitative research in the field of international education. They highlight important findings, perspectives, and academic inquiries in order to stimulate collaboration and provide tangible professional resources and educational understanding. Organizer is Yuliya Kartoshkina (yuliya.kartoshkina@und.edu)

You can find all relevant information and the online proposal system at
http://www.nafsa.org/annualconference/default.aspx?id=3199

Please don't hesitate to contact the organizers for questions or to brainstorm ideas.


Screen shot by http://davidcomp.wordpress.com/

Summary Video from the 2010 U.S. Summit and Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacy

Following is a nice compilation video from the recent U.S. Summit and Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacy.  This video was shown at the U.S. Department of State during the final day of the Summit.