ProFellows Digest Dec 2013

December 2013

ProFellows Digest Professional Fellows Congress Unites Global Leaders in Washington, DC Inside This Issue: ● Program Snapshot ● Fall 2013 Highlights ● American Outbound

Highlights ● Media

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240 young professionals from 50 coun-

The Congress provided an opportunity for the Fellows to share best practries and territories contices in their respective vened in Washington, DC, field, gain key insights into November 6-8, 2013, for effective leadership modthe Professional Felels, and explore solutions lows Congress. to challenges across international borders.

The Congress marked the culmination the Fall 2013 The Congress included Professional Fellows professional development Program, managed by workshops, an AmbassaECA’s Office of Citizen dor’s Luncheon with Exchanges. representative from 31 embassies, a “Global Participants, working in Issues” panel discussion the fields of Economic with senior State DepartEmpowerment, Media, ment officials from all geoand Legislative Affairs, graphic regions, and the completed intensive always popular poster month-long fellowships across the U.S. designed to showcase featuring 110 expand their professional presentations by more expertise and understand- than 140 participants. ing of American society.

ECA’s Assistant Secretary Evan Ryan presented Professional Fellows Distinguished Alumnae Awards to Australian climate change expert Olivia Coldrey and to South African disability rights activist Betty Mokoena for the positive contributions they’ve made in their communities as Professional Fellows alumnae. Read more about their work here.

The Professional Fellows Program is built on partnerships with public and private sector organizations. Here’s what some of our many partners are doing:  Connecting young

political leaders from around the world in bipartisan exchanges.

 Empowering grass-

roots community organizers to create more inclusive communities for persons with disabilities.

 Promoting free and

transparent media through fellowships in American newsrooms.

ProFellows Digest: Program Snapshot

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ProFellows Digest: Program Snapshot

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Connect. Collaborate. Create.

The Professional Fellows Program spurs new ideas, new experiences , and lasting partnerships between individuals and organizations around the world.

Advancing U.S. Foreign Policy

U.S. Ambassador McFaul hosts reception for Legislative Fellows from Russia to discuss ways the embassy can collaborate with and support their work as Department of State exchange alumni.

Connecting Global Leaders

Fellows from Egypt, Tunisia, Israel, Turkey, Georgia, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh exchange professional expertise, discuss shared challenges, and network during the Professional Fellows Congress.

Expanding Professional Capacity

Exploring Culture and Society

Economic Empowerment Fellow, Lan Dang from Vietnam, explored cooperative business models for sustainable economic development during a visit to the Sunlight Gold mine in Whitehall, Montana.

During his fellowship with the Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center and Sheep Farm in Montana, Sayvisene Boulom from Laos has a chance to explore the beautiful American outdoors and to go fishing in the Flathead River with his American mentor, Will.

ProFellows Digest: Fall 2013 Highlights

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Professional Fellows in Action

Photo: Nong Thi Ngco in the rural Montana landscape outside the city of Missoula

Executive director of the Russian Association for Entrepreneurship Education, Denis Matvienko, was hosted by Florida State’s Institute for Global Entrepreneurship where he explored American approaches to innovation and shared valuable insights about the similarities and differences between the Russian and American approach to growing small businesses.

Denis spent time observing the institute’s student business incubator, InNOLEvation Accelerator, and met with a number of faculty members to gain an understanding of developing an entrepreneurship curriculum at the university level. Read more here.

Photo: Fellows briefing in Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.

Nong Thi Ngoc, advisor to the Pro-Poor Partnership for Agro-Forestry Development in Vietnam, was hosted by the Jefferson Local Development Corporation in Whitehall, MT, where she worked with small businesses to explore promotion strategies with local artisans and farmers. Nong also had a chance to meet with local and state government agencies to discuss public-private partnerships in economic development. Based on her Fellowship, Nong has decided to create her own lending organization on a community development model to support entrepreneurs in her province of Bac Kan, one of the poorest in Vietnam and home to her Tay ethnic group.

Photo: (from left) Doug Tatum, Denis Matvienko, and Randy Blass, Director of the Institute for Global Entrepreneurship and Dennis’ U.S. mentor

Legacy International Professional Fellows from Egypt, Libya and Tunisia briefed Members of Congress and staffers on the political, economic, and social dynamics in their countries following the Arab Spring. The role of women, civil society and youth in forging a democratic way forward was also discussed. Representative Betty McCollum, whose office hosted one of the Fellows, provided opening remarks and thanked the State Department for sponsoring this exchange program.

ProFellows Digest: U.S. Outbound Highlights

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Americans At Work Abroad While in Tunisia, a delegation of American entrepreneurs with the University of Michigan participated in the "Google Week for Entrepreneurs" at Espirit University in Tunis with Professional Fellows alumni. Three members of the delegation led workshops on visioning and strategy, collaborative workspaces, and franchising. The Michigan team's participation was organized by Sonia Barbaria, a Fellow in the spring of 2013 who was hosted

by Google in Ann Arbor.

Photo: UM delegates at Google Week in Tunis.

Maureen Ramirez, Policy and Research Director at Growth & Justice in Minnesota, traveled to San Salvador, El Salvador, to work with the Instituto Social de Democracia (ISD). During her fellowship, Maureen worked with ISD to assist the University of El Salvador to comply and understand the Public Informational Law, passed two years ago, which requires all organizations that receive public funding to disclose information to the public. Maureen was able to compare and contrast the efforts made by the University of El Salvador and the University of Photo: Maureen with representatives of University of Minnesota.

El Salvador and ISD.

Photo: Josh talks food security with Payong at a farm on the Thai-Burma border

During his exchange in Thailand, U.S. Fellow Josh Slotnick visited Project for Agroecology Development and Plant Genetic Resources Conservation (AGRECO/ PGRC) in Suphanburi. The project was founded by ProFellow alumni Payong Srithong to improve the livelihood of Karen indigenous people as well as marginalized farmers through ecological farming and appropriate management of natural and cultural resources. Josh exchanged his experiences in organic farming and community-supported agriculture, and even learned how to harvest rice at Payong's farm.

ProFellows Digest: Media

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Learn More Participant Blogs:

Fellows in the Media:

Yabao Xue, China

From Russia and back with insights into U.S. Innovations and entrepreneurship.

Bassem El-Hady, Egypt Peter Ridge, New Zealand Baraka Bashir, Nigeria American Journalists, Kenya

From Ghana to Austin: An African Journalist on ACL, Floods & More.

Home from Africa with a new understanding.

Live from California’s City of Rancho Cordova, Mayor Linda Budge interviews Aphakorn Trairekpan from Songkhla, Thailand, and Wang Jingbo from Beijing, China!

Sample Tweets: .@Trairekpan gathers ideas to implement a green city in #Thailand through @ECAatState #ProFellows exchange. http:// goo.gl/3yLZc5 A glimpse of #Kenya through the eyes of American journalists on @ECAatState #ProFellows exch ange: http://goo.gl/ MKwhHn. @ICFJ Bassem El-Hady from Egypt explores innovation and entrepreneurship with @DellHomeUS during @ECA atState exchange! http:// goo.gl/5M8Dbx

Rancho Cordova Hosts International Fellows.

American Fellow on advancing human rights in Georgia.

“They arrived in the midst of the government shutdown, which although chaotic and unusual, was a great learning experience.”

Read More

For more information, please contact Alana Rudkin (RudkinAB@state.gov)