News
At the third biennial Edmund S. Muskie Professional Fellowship Program Alumni Conference in Istanbul, Türkiye, 57 program alumni joined from 12 countries in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. This event brought together Muskie alumni for professional development, cultural exchange, and networking opportunities.
The conference, held from October 10th to 11th, 2024, included several sessions for alumni to gain professional skills focused on crafting a public narrative, storytelling for advocacy, and narrative in social change, with networking opportunities interspersed. The Muskie Program hosted two conferences before this one: the first in Astana, Kazakhstan, in 2019 and the second in Tbilisi, Georgia, in 2022. As the Muskie Program alumni community continues to grow, these conferences remain a space to form new connections and celebrate the expanding community.
Conference participants represented all 12 countries of the Muskie region: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
Dawn J. Fraser, public speaker, storyteller, and nationally acclaimed communications coach, joined the Muskie Alumni Conference as the Keynote Speaker and Workshop Facilitator. In her keynote speech, “The Power of Narrative in Social Change,” at the beginning of the conference, Dawn discussed the importance of shaping one’s story of impact to the desired audience.
After a thought-provoking speech, Muskie alumni workshopped their ideas for storytelling in Fraser’s first workshop titled “Crafting Your Public Narrative.” Fraser prompted alumni to think of a time that impacted how they thought about their community, felt empowered, took a risk, or were moved to stand up for something. From here, participants used an outline of the narrative arc to write out their story of impact. Finally, alumni paired up to practice their stories on each other and exchanged feedback and support.
As part of the two-day conference, Muskie alumni participated in a cultural excursion to the Şerefiye Cistern to experience a traditional Sufi Ceremony in the heart of the Golden Horn.
On the second day of the conference, 27 Muskies presented on projects and topics they are passionate about. Examples of presentation titles include “Addressing State-Funded Disinformation: Understanding Online Propaganda and Geopolitical Narratives,” “The Muskie Mindset: Unleashing Your Potential Through Career Transitions,” and “Air Pollution in Central Asia: How Do Environmental Issues in One Country Become Regional Problems.”
To conclude the event, participants were invited to “A Journey of Flavors Between Two Continents” farewell dinner, where participants could reflect on their time and share in community over a meal on the iconic Bosphorus River.
The Muskie Alumni Conference offered alumni a chance to reconnect and reengage with a program that they may not have interacted with since the completion of their fellowship. By attending the conference, Muskie alumni can exchange stories, ideas, and experiences with like-minded professionals.
“I was really excited to apply for this conference because I was in the cohort of the inaugural conference in Kazakhstan and that was a very rich experience. It was nice to reconnect with people who have had the same experiences and to network with them. Even after that conference, I kept in touch with people that maybe I hadn’t met during the Muskie internship. And, you know, it’s always a good feeling when you have somebody who understands you. And to me, this community is definitely something that I want to be a part of,” expressed 2017 Muskie alumna Oksana Moroz from Ukraine.
Recent Muskie Program alumna Furough Shakarmama (2023), from Tajikistan, shared these sentiments. “It’s great that here at the conference, I meet people who also studied environment, and we are planning to do something together for Central Asia.”
Muskie alumni keep in touch with each other and the program even after their fellowship concludes, thanks to the Muskie Alumni Council, the CV Alumni Community platform, and the publishing of their success stories in newsletters and other social media outlets.
About Edmund S. Muskie Professional Fellowship Program
In its 10th year of programming, the Edmund S. Muskie Professional Fellowship Program, funded by the U.S. Department of State and implemented by Cultural Vistas, gives Fulbright Program emerging leaders from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia the opportunity to gain real-world experience that complements and enriches their graduate studies in the U.S.
Since 1992, the U.S. Department of State has provided thousands of graduate school fellowships for students from across Eurasia to build democracies, strengthen the transition to market economies, and establish strong civil societies. Cultural Vistas has built upon that foundation by providing hands-on, professional skill-building opportunities across the United States for more than 400 graduate students over the last ten years.