2024 Professional and Cultural Exchanges
Each year, we have a group of international delegates visiting the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area who are looking to stay with local families in their homes for a few days OR join them for dinner! Volunteer with us!
Fill out if interested in hosting overnight for TechGirls 2024: HOME STAY HOST OVERNIGHT APPLICATION
***TechGirls (July 26-31,2024) is an international summer exchange program designed to empower and inspire high school girls (ages 15-17) interested in STEM. The students have been selected and provided security screening by the US Department of State to participate in a 3-week program during the month of July, being in Cincinnati for the final week. They receive 40 hours of instruction in STEM foundational courses from Virginia Tech.
Fill out if interested in hosting visitors for dinner: HOST DINNER APPLICATION
Don’t miss out on the news about recent exchanges!! Read more here!!
**Please email Emily Rose, International Programs Lead, at erose@cincyworldaffairs.org.
International Visitor Leadership Program
We host more than 250 exchange visitors annually through the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). IVLP participants travel to the United States for short-term exchange programs designed to build understanding between professionals from abroad and local communities.
Through workshops, volunteer activities, and site visits, we work with local specialists across disciplines as resources for engaging and informative meetings for international leaders. These are exchange programs that matters and provide strong global ties to Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Programs explore a variety of careers whether it’s regional trade issues, countering gender-based violence, cybersecurity or entrepreneurship.
World Affairs Council is a member of Global Ties U.S., a national nonprofit partner of the U.S. Department of State.
Exchange Groups and Dates for 2024:
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January 30th-February 3rd: Promoting Inclusivity in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) with delegates from Lithuania, Sweden, Ukraine, & United Kingdom.
- January 31st-February 5th: Transparency & Accountability in Government with delegates from Benin, Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Haiti, Mali, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo, Tunisia, & Zimbabwe.
- February 4th-7th: Entrepreneurship & Small Business Development with delegates from Croatia, Finland, Italy, & Latvia.
- February 15th-21st: Human Rights & Civil Rights Advocacy for Marginalized Communities for the Indo-Pacific with delegates from Bangladesh, Hong Kong S.A.R., India, Kyrgyz Republic, Malaysia, New Zealand, & Republic of Korea.
- April 7-10th: Inclusive Consensus Building for Constitutional and Electoral Reform with delegates from Sierra Leone.
- April 13-16th: Religious Freedom as a Constitutional Right with delegates from India.
- April 19-24th: Policing and Leadership in Multifaceted and Multicultural Communities with delegates from Brazil
- May 8-10th: Renewable Energy as an Economic Driver with delegates from Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Jordan, Lebanon, Lithuania, Namibia, Pakistan, Republic of Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Serra Leone, & South Africa.
- May 27-June 1st: US Energy Policy: Security, Independence, and Innovation with delegates Egypt, Estonia, Hungary, India, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Phillipines, & Saudia Arabia.
- May 30th- June 4th: Edward R Murrow Program for Journalists: Media Responsibility in an Age of Disinformation with delegates from Angola, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Nigeria, Republic of Turkiye, Romania, Sierra Leone, Ukraine, & Zambia.
- May 20th- June 4th: Combating Illegal Fishing off the Coasts and in Lakes of Africa with delegates from Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Morocco, Senegal, & Sierra Leone.
- June 12th – 16th: Disaster Management and Emergency Preparedness
- June 12th-18th: Transparency and Accountability in Government II
Celebrating 80 Years of IVLP!
For the last 80 years, the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) has brought thousands of professionals to the United States to cultivate relationships with their American counterparts and address a wide variety of foreign policy issues. Since the first exchange participants arrived in 1940, the network has grown to include over 225,000 alumni and continues to build vital linkages between U.S.citizens and emerging international leaders.
As part of the campaign “Faces of Exchange,” which celebrates the IVLP’s 80th anniversary throughout 2020, we will showcase 80 accomplished alumni, their lives and leadership, and the impact of their exchange on the global community. Our embassies and members of the IVLP network were responsible for nominating each #FacesofExchange alum, and they are excited to share their stories on social media and on our new Faces of Exchange website.
At the Anniversary’s launch event on January 16, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce revealed the first two Faces of Exchange: Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher, and Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern. Thatcher’s first exposure to the United States was through the IVLP in 1967, ten years before she was elected Prime Minister. It served as a pivotal experience during her career, and her handwritten note says it all: “Forevermore, I shall be a true friend of the United States.” Prime Minister Ardern participated in an IVLP in 2012 while she served as a Member of Parliament in New Zealand and recently brought her country together with strong leadership, empathy, and compassion, after the Christchurch shootings in March 2019. One of her fellow participants on the 2012 exchange said that Ardern, “inspired young women around the world, proving that neither age, gender, nor motherhood are barriers to reaching your fullest potential.” From the more than 500 current and former heads of state to leaders in boardrooms, classrooms, community organizations, the arts, and NGOs – these alumni are utilizing skills and information gained during their IVLP experiences to build a safer, more secure, and more prosperous world.
The remaining 78 alumni in our Faces of Exchange campaign will be announced over the next twelve months and will paint a vivid picture of the IVLP and its impact. You can follow our campaign on social media through @StateIVLP on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and by following #FacesOfExchange.
About the Author: Diane Crow is a Senior Advisor for the Office of International Visitors in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
