ECA International Visitor Leadership Program

Turkish Wheelchair Basketball Sports Visitors Promote Disability Rights: Highlighting the Department's commitment to diversity and inclusion of people from traditionally underrepresented groups, ECA recently wrapped up a Sports Visitors wheelchair basketball exchange program for a mixed-gender delegation of four coaches and eight athletes from Turkey.  A program highlight was participation in the State Department's Independence Day celebration, where athletes and coaches were moved by the red carpet treatment they received.

Engaging Spanish Opinion makers on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP):  Public Affairs Madrid hosted a video conference for Spanish think tank analysts, academics and business association representatives with Daniel Hamilton, Director Center for Transatlantic Relations at SAIS-Johns Hopkins University.  The objective of the program was to explain and promote Spanish support of TTIP.  Hamilton's participation in this video conference brought useful new perspectives on the Partnership, supporting the Mission�s goal of advocating for Spain�s commitment on this important issue. Hamilton�s remarks put the U.S.-Spain/Europe relationship into a global context, emphasizing the importance of Spain as a partner on issues like trade & goods, services, investment and regulatory issues and the impact that the TTIP will have on Spain's economic situation.  PA Madrid organized the program in collaboration with the Embassy�s Economic Section and the U.S. Foreign Agricultural

IIP Spotlights Obama's Commitment to Next Generation of African Leaders: In coordination with the White House and the Department's Bureau of African Affairs (AF), IIP launched the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) website for President Obama's June 29 town hall in South Africa where he announced the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders.  All 50 posts in Africa live-streamed the announcement and IIP amplified the launch through Facebook posts that reached over 110,000 people and tweets that reached an estimated 330,223 accounts. 

Entrepreneurship Webchat Involves Multiple Posts, 30 Countries:  More than 250 students, multiple posts,entrepreneurs and small business owners from all six regions participated in a June 27 webchat that provided tips for using social media tools to reach markets and grow a business's customer base.  Zeenat Rahman, Special Adviser on Global Youth Issues, moderated the discussion with U.S. Speaker Emily Wilson, Director of Ad Management for the marketing company SocialCode. 

A small delegation of young Iraqi filmmakers arrived in Los Angeles this week for a 10-day mentoring program at the UCLA School of Cinema.  The program aims at developing the film industry in Iraq by engaging young Iraqis who are excited to get extra training knowledge to reflect on the issues most essential in the Iraqi society. The visit is part of a yearlong program funded by U.S. Embassy Baghdad and organized by the Humpty Dumpty Institute and the Iraqi Independent Film Center.  As part of the program, film mentors from UCLA will come to Baghdad later in the year to work with the group on post-production of short film projects created as part of the project.  

Social and Business Innovations Emerge from Women's Leadership Workshops: With the goal of creating a network that empowers women activists in 4 of Israel's largest cities, Public Diplomacy (PD) Tel Aviv organized the Women's International Zionist Organization (WIZO) Leadership workshop.  The workshop provided the participants with leadership skills and managerial tools to help them take social, economic, or political action and fight traditional constructs of gender in Israel.  The workshop closed with presentations by participants on innovative business and social strategies for activism.  

Fruits of TV Co-op Program Gain Exposure and Acclaim: Videos coming out of the television co-operative (TV Co-op) program, which brings foreign television producers and crews to the United States to film original documentaries and news features for broadcast on their home outlets, have gained wide exposure.  A piece on anti-gang efforts produced by Salvadorian participants recently aired on El Salvador's most widely watched morning and evening newscasts, with an estimated 1.5 million viewers.  A Russian documentary on waste management was screened at the Vladivostok International Film Festival, where it won first place in the "ecology" category. The documentary is scheduled to air on Russian television stations this month, and is expected to be aired repeatedly over the coming years.  Mexican participants' piece on university students in the U.S. premiered at a packed movie theater and was subsequently screened at a cultural center. The nearly one-hour documentary also aired on regional television stations, reaching an estimated 100,000 viewers. The finished documentary includes prominent Department of State mentions. 

Administrator Shah Conducts Briefing on LiveAtState:  IME facilitated a LiveAtState with USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, who discussed the President's recent trip to Africa and the various USAID development initiatives focused on Africa. The virtual press briefing lasted 45 minutes and Administrator Shah taking 20 questions. The LiveAtState had nearly 35 journalists and 7 African missions hosted watch parties.