Peace Corps Connect - Nashville: Digging Out Edition
After a year of planning, hundreds of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers made their way to Nashville for Peace Corps Connect, June 19-21.
Things kicked off with a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Career Conference and Fair for all RPCVs, hosted by the Peace Corps Office of the Third Goal.
Friday boasted a full schedule, with exhibitors, parallel Graduate Research and Women of the Peace Corps Legacy conferences, member group meetings, panel discussions, a spoken word workshop and more.
Saturday brought Great Ideas presentations, awards presentations, signing of a historic Peace Corps -NPCA Memorandum of Understanding, address by the new Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet and some great music.
We're still going through thousands of photos, and there are multiple blog updates still to be written, but you can get a taste of the action from our Twitter feed, from the hashtag #PCCNash, and from the first photos on Facebook.
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Hessler-Radelet Confirmed and Sworn In as Peace Corps Director
After months of delay, the United States Senate acted Thursday to confirm Carrie Hessler-Radelet to become the 19th Director of the Peace Corps on June 5.
Hessler-Radelet was confirmed by a unanimous voice vote that took about ten seconds to complete. Nominated by President Obama last July, Hessler-Radelet served as Acting Director of the agency since September, 2012. She was confirmed as Peace Corps' Deputy Director in June, 2010. She is the fifth woman to serve as Director, and is also the fifth Returned Peace Corps Volunteer to lead the agency. She and her husband Steve served in Samoa from 1981-83. (Read Peace Corps press release here.)
A festive public swearing in ceremony was held on June 26. Check our live tweets with photos of the event.
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Who's Hosting Peace Corps Connect - 2015?
Three exciting, Peace Corps-filled days in Nashville concluded with the announcement of the hosts for next year's Peace Corps Connect conference.
The Tennessee RPCV cohosts (who did an outstanding job!) passed the metaphorical and literal torch to the Northern California Peace Corps Association.
Date and location will be announced shortly, but plan to join your Peace Corps friends and colleagues in the Bay Area in 2015! |
Dr. Surin Pitsuwan Receives 2014 Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award for Outstanding Global Leadership
Dr. Surin Pitsuwan of Thailand was honored with the Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award at NPCA's Peace Corps Connect annual gathering last week. He was nominated by the Volunteers of Peace Corps Thailand, Group 124.
"It is inspiring to hear not only the stories of Peace Corps Volunteers, but also the stories of those they touched while serving," said Glenn Blumhorst, president of the National Peace Corps Association. "Dr. Pitsuwan embodies the very purpose of the Peace Corps and its mission to help promote world peace and friendship across the globe."
Dr. Pitsuwan was first influenced by Peace Corps Volunteers David and Phyllis Johnston, who recognized his drive and ability and helped him to obtain scholarship to travel and study in the United States, eventually launching a career in domestic and international public service.
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Update on the Peace Corps Commemorative: "We will get there."
In January -- after three long years of advocacy by the National Peace Corps Association and Returned Peace Corps Volunteers around the country -- the House of Representatives and the Senate unanimously passed the Peace Corps Commemorative legislation. On March 1, the president signed it into law.
But that was only the start, and many challenges still lay ahead before this longstanding dream of our community's can become a reality. Roger K. Lewis (Tunisia 1964-1966), Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) Architect and Planner, and leading spokesperson for the commemorative, recently shared an update with us.
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Making Service a National Norm: Report from the Franklin Project Gettysburg Summit
From June 4th-6th, 2014, two outstanding Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs), Arianne Burger and Stephen Angelsmith, joined National Peace Corps Association president Glenn Blumhorst at the Aspen Institute's Franklin Project Summit at Gettysburg: Our Unfinished Work.
There, they and 275 of our nation's leaders -- including General McChrystal, Chelsea Clinton, Walter Isaacson, Barbara Bush, Wendy Kopp, Cecilia Mu�oz, David Gergen, Alan Khazei, John Bridgeland, Wendy Spencer and many more -- met and discussed ways to apply innovative and entrepreneurial ideas to the revival and promotion of national service. Here, they offer reflections on the event.
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Mystery Behind Shriver Pin Solved
On April 8, 2014, the Sargent Shriver Peace Institute put up a post on their Facebook page calling for the assistance of the public in solving a mystery of the early Peace Corps.
On May 2nd, our spring communications intern was cleaning out her desk on her last day and found a photocopy of a letter signed by Sargent Shriver regarding the origin and meaning behind the RPCV ring/insignia.
Find out more about this intriguing early symbol of the Peace Corps and the story behind the Peace Corps logo.
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Minorities in the Peace Corps Panel: Prep for Nashville
Ever wondered about the diversity of Americans who have served in the Peace Corps over the past 53 years?
If you asked today, only a very rough estimate would be available. Herman DeBose and J. Henry "Hank" Ambrose are two Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) who are out to change that. At Peace Corps Connect -Nashville they hosted the session on Minorities in the Peace Corps.
Because of the very low historic data on minority service in the Peace Corps, DeBose and Ambrose were more seeking ideas on how to expand and build the database of African American RPCVs. For Ambrose, "it seemed like a good idea to involve the broader minority community in the discussion while kicking off the research project on African American RPCVs.".
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Featured Group: Peace Corps Iran Association
It was more than thirty years since there had been a formalized group representing Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) who served in Iran. But that began to change several years ago, and this month's featured National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) member group hasn't looked back.
Learn more about what this group is doing right, and how they are grappling with the challenges of being a country where Peace Corps no longer serves, and with which the US has political disagreements..
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 All-Inclusive Volunteer Vacations to Thailand, Guatemala and the DR
- Travel and build life-long friendships with RPCVs and like-minded travelers
- Volunteer side-by-side and create meaningful connections with local people
- Explore historic and archaeological sites
- Immerse yourself in a new culture
- Hosted by RPCV experts
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Help the NPCA preserve the legacy and future of the Peace Corps.
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Fly the Peace Corps Flag Next to your American Flag
Wearing or displaying logo merchandise is a great way to spark conversations about the Peace Corps! And more importantly, your purchase supports the Third Goal efforts of the National Peace Corps Association.
VISIT THE NPCA ONLINE STORE
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"I'm an RPCV who served in El Salvador. SPEA's unique dual master's degree in public affairs and environmental science is helping me train as a scientist incorporating a full appreciation for the related policy implications and context. Receiving a Fulbright Grant for the coming year will enable me to continue researching the effects of air pollution on children's health in Santiago, Chile."
Rebecca Ciciretti/Indiana U. MPA/MSES Candidate
RPCVs: Consider the nation's top ranked public university MPA. Learn more about SPEA - Lead for the Greater Good
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twitter.com/pcorpsconnect
Join us each Friday at 12 noon EST for #RPCVChat. |
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NPCA WELCOMES TWO NEW MEMBER GROUPS!
The National Peace Corps Association is pleased to welcome two new RPCV groups to the fold: Friends of Micronesia and Health Justice for Peace Corps Volunteers.
See all the RPCV groups on our website. |
HOUSING FOR RPCVs
Are you a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer looking for housing? Are you an RPCV with housing to offer to a fellow RPCV?
Visit RPCV Housing, on the NPCA Online Community -- a cozy social network space by and for the Peace Corps Community -- where RPCVs can offer and search for housing. Check it out and spread the word!
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