WASHINGTON – Cultural Vistas is pleased to welcome six German journalists, selected and sponsored by the Embassy of the United States in Berlin, to the United States for the Immigration and Integration in a Multicultural Society Exchange, a 10-day professional program exploring U.S. approaches to immigration from a humanitarian, community, and policy level, and stories of how immigrants have faced and overcome social and economic barriers in the United States.
This short-term exchange will be administered by Cultural Vistas in four U.S. cities over the course of 10 days, beginning on Sunday, September 11 in the nation’s capital. The tour will include visits to Chicago and San Diego before concluding in New York, where the group will attend the United Nations Leader’s Summit on Refugees and Migrants on September 20.
The unprecedented refugee situation across Europe and the Middle East has resulted in Germany taking in more than one million displaced individuals since 2015. With the task of processing this massive intake of individuals being managed more efficiently than in the past, the nation’s focus has turned toward the integration of these individuals within German society. The United States, with decades of experience in successful resettlement and integration and an immigrant population that stands at 42.4 million, can provide important resources for its transatlantic partner.
With this in mind, Cultural Vistas has organized a national program itinerary designed to expose the six-member delegation to an array of perspectives on the immigrant integration experience. While stateside, the group will visit government and educational institutions, NGOs, leading immigration law firms and media organizations, where they will have opportunities to network with their American counterparts and hear different perspectives on the role of immigration in a multicultural society. This tour includes meetings with representatives from the U.S. Department of State, Catholic Charities, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, San Diego Police Department, Syrian Community Network, and Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University; among others.
This program itinerary was designed to fulfill the four primary objectives:
- To learn best practices of local organizations integrating immigrants into their communities;
- To introduce participants to cities that have filled the immigrant services gap and created their own grassroots organizations to encourage integration;
- To discuss current U.S. immigration policies and the merits of applying them at the international level; and
- To expose participants to immigrant integration initiatives at all governmental levels and have participants actively engage with government officials to deepen their understanding of local and federal government’s role in this ongoing process.
Cultural Vistas staff will travel with the group for the duration of the program.
About Cultural Vistas
Founded in 1963, Cultural Vistas is a nonprofit exchange organization promoting global understanding and collaboration among individuals and institutions. We develop international professional experiences that create more informed, skilled, and engaged citizens. Our programs empower people to drive positive change in themselves, their organizations, and society. Learn more at culturalvistas.org.
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