From August 30th-September 8th, Cultural Vistas arranged its inaugural university study tour for a group of professors and staff from Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC)! After securing funding from the Halle Foundation in Atlanta, GGC contacted us to design a study tour for faculty and staff from the School of Business that would allow the participants to explore possibilities for collaboration with German universities, business entities, and to visit cultural attractions. The group departed Atlanta on August 30th and arrived in Munich the morning of August 31st. With no professional or cultural activities scheduled on arrival day, the participants split up…
Read more of “Georgia Gwinnett College in Germany: Cultural Vistas’ Inaugural University Study Tour”
Washington, D.C. (September 9, 2022) – The 2022 cohort of the Edmund S. Muskie Professional Fellowship Program gathered in Washington, D.C., from August 18–21 for a debriefing seminar after spending three months learning new skills and gaining real-world experience as part of their summer internships. Forty-seven program participants and Fulbright scholars spent two days exchanging ideas and lessons learned from U.S. work culture. The seminar started by outlining community agreements, including the importance of exercising empathy, maintaining an open mind and a safe and welcoming atmosphere, and fostering communication among attendees. The fellows took part in a number of program…
Read more of “2022 Cohort Concludes Participation in Muskie Program at Debriefing Seminar in Washington, D.C.”
We experienced firsthand that learning and broadening horizons do not stop even as the summer months arrive. Earlier this year, Cultural Vistas worked with its partners in the Office of International Visitors at the U.S. Department of State on a unique opportunity to virtually connect alumni from the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) to U.S. students aged between twelve and twenty-four years old. The “IVLP in the Classroom” pilot program offered IVLP alumni a chance to connect with American youth and share their knowledge and experience on a broad range of topics, including language and culture, the environment, diplomacy, and…
Read more of “Cultural Vistas Completes Virtual IVLP Alumni Pilot for U.S. Classrooms”
In times of darkness, the United States has advanced its diplomatic solutions to foster support for democratic values around the world. In 1940, amid a global wave of fascism and the early years World War II, newly appointed Coordinator of Commercial and Cultural Affairs for the American Republics, Nelson Rockefeller, created an exchange of journalists from Argentina to the United States. In 1948, new legislation codified the role of public diplomacy and citizen exchanges in U.S. foreign engagement and the one-off exchange of journalists officially became the start of what we know it today as the International Visitor Leadership Program…
Read more of “Cultural Vistas Celebrates 10 Years Supporting Ambassadors of Democracy with the International Visitor Leadership Program”
Each August around 50 Edmund S. Muskie Internship Program participants gather for a debriefing seminar to reflect on and share their summer internship experiences. Their achievements and success stories serve as great proof of the Muskie Program’s importance for participants’ personal and professional development. But what happens after they complete the program? How do our alumni continue to succeed and use their international experience to support positive change in their home countries? As the Muskie Program entered its sixth year in 2020, we invited Dr. Kelly Feltault at Cultural Crossings Consulting, LLC, to conduct an external evaluation to assess the…
Read more of “New Data Shows Long-Lasting Impact for Alumni of the Muskie Internship Program”
