Uzbek Parliamentarians Visit Raleigh
Members of the delegation, IAC staff and guests at the home of Joy and Rich Ruhmann, reception hosts
IAC hosted a delegation of parliamentary leaders from Uzbekistan in Raleigh in late April, led by Senator Sodik Solikhovich Safaev, a former ambassador to the U.S. The delegation was sponsored and funded by the Open World Leadership Center, U.S. Library of Congress. IAC planned the visit in conjunction with one of our old friends and former board members, Clark Plexico, who now works for the National Democratic Institute in Uzbekistan. The delegation enjoyed meetins with North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, and Elizabeth Outten of Senator Kay Hagan’s office, among others. The visit was extremely useful to the delegation as they work to strengthen the economy of their relatively young country.
Our thanks to IAC Member and Board Member Joy Ruhmann for hosting a lovely reception in her home!
Spring Membership Social Set for June 12
President's House, UNC System, Chapel Hill
Current IAC members are invited to attend our Spring Membership Social at the home of UNC System President Tom Ross and wife Susan in Chapel Hill. Details are on the Events page of this site.
The Spring Membership Social is always a wonderful time for IAC members to get together for wine, food and conversation. We usually have a few special guests, too, including international delegations.
Those considering membership are invited to join today so you can attend the social. You don’t want to miss it! Visit the Get Involved page of this site.
Three from Carrboro High Selected for Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program
Iraqi and American students enjoy good times in Raleigh in 2010.
Three Carrboro High students – Ellie Grant McWilliam-Grench, Katie Caruso, and Natasha Lopez – have been selected to participate in the Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program, sponsored and funded by the U.S. Embassy, Baghdad, and the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Youth Programs Division. The program is administered in Washington, DC, by World Learning and locally by the International Affairs Council.
The students will participate in a four week youth leadership exchange based in the U.S. for Iraqi and American teenagers ages 15-17 and several Iraqi adults. The program aims to develop a cadre of young adults in Iraq and the United States who have a strong sense of civic responsibility, a commitment to community development, an awareness of current & global issues, strong interpersonal leadership skills, willingness to foster relationships among youth from different ethnic, religious, and national groups in Iraq, and to promote mutual understanding, respect and collaboration between the United States and Iraq.
Four Triangle-Area Students Selected for Youth Leadership Program with Central Europe
Triangle students on visit to Hungary during 2011 Youth Leadership Program with Central Europe
Four students from the Triangle area have been selected to participate in the 2012 Youth Leadership Program with Central Europe, a program designed to foster mutual understanding and respect among high school students and adult leaders from Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary and the U.S., empowering them with the skills to become civic leaders. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and administered by Meridian International and the International Affairs Council. The four students selected to participate are:
Davi Nydick-Chesire, Carolina Friends School, Durham
Elizabeth Nicholls, Raleigh Charter High School
Forrest Knight, Raleigh Charter High School
Megan Cross, Raleigh Charter High School
The students will travel to Serbia and Hungary in August and will help welcome and host the European students in the Triangle area in July.
European Marshall Fellows Come to Town!
From March 10 to 15, IAC hosted five European Marshall Fellows in partnership with the German Marshall Fund of the U.S. The group included Vedrana Ajanović, a senior consultant in business innovation and technology from Bosnia and Herzegovina; Severine Bardon, a journalists from Paris, France; Juraj Kotian, a bank manager and economist from Bratislava, Slovakia; Daniel Ostrowski, a bank public affairs manager from Brussels, Belgium; and Jenny Ross, an NGO consultant from London, UK.
The Marshall Memorial Fellowship is a companion program created by the German Marshall Fund in 1982 to introduce a new generation of European leaders to the United States. This Fellowship program boasts an extensive network of nearly 2,000 leaders who are knowledgeable about and committed to the transatlantic relationship.
The International Affairs Council is the North Carolina partner of the German Marshall Fund to implement the Marshall Memorial Fellowship.
