Dear Friends,
WorldBoston is roaring into the 2020s, with a lot of exciting programming in the works and important happenings in our WorldBoston community.
We have big news on the Citizen Diplomacy side of our house: We’re thrilled to announce that WorldBoston community member Dave Fortier of One World Strong has won the national 2020 Citizen Diplomat Award. See below for more! Staffers Sarah Sibley, Megan McCarthy and I will be on hand to cheer for Dave at the award ceremony when we travel to the annual Global Ties National Meeting in Washington at the end of this month.
Events in Global Engagement are starting to bubble up. Join us for our first Chat & Chowder event of the year on January 29, a can’t-miss inside story, Glen Johnson’s Window Seat on the World, recalling his years at the side of Secretary of State John Kerry.
Before we go too far into the new year, this month we take a look back at all of our (many!) Global Engagement events of 2019. Have a look at our cool timeline below. How many of them did you attend last year? We are planning lots of new events right now. So resolve to join us often this year.
This is clearly a moment of acute international crisis. At the same time, the steady, ongoing mission work of WorldBoston, citizen diplomacy and global engagement, could hardly be more relevant; it is good that you are part of it.
We hope to see you soon.
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Mary P. Yntema
President & CEO
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Help WorldBoston bring the world to you!
As a non-profit organization, WorldBoston relies on the generosity and support of members, donors, and sponsors to accomplish our mission: foster engagement in international affairs and cooperation between people of all nations.
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Join us on Wednesday, January 29th for a an inside look at the travels of former Secretary of State, John Kerry with Glen Johnson, and his book, Window Seat on the World: My Travels with the Secretary of State.
Glen Johnson spent nearly three decades reporting for The Boston Globe, Associated Press, and a string of local newspapers. He covered the Massachusetts Statehouse for seven years, as well as five presidential campaigns and
eight national nominating conventions. While based in Washington, D.C., he worked as the AP’s national transportation writer.
Johnson served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Strategic Communications from 2013 to 2017 under an appointment by President Obama, and accompanied Secretary of State John Kerry to 91 countries and all seven
continents. He took over 100,000 pictures of the secretary during their travels, formulating the most extensive photo archive to date of the nation’s chief diplomat.
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** Please note the change in location for Chat & Chowder. As our friends at McDermott Will & Emery move to a new office, we will host Chat & Chowder at Foley & Lardner LLP, 111 Huntington Ave, Suite 2500, Boston, MA 02199 **
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Academic WorldQuest is the World Affairs Councils of America’s flagship youth education program and is a fun,fast-paced team competition for high school students. Academic WorldQuest tests players’ knowledge of current international politics, geography, global economics, history, and world cultures.
This year’s Massachusetts-wide regional competition will take place on Saturday, April 4, 2020 at Bridgewater State University. Teams are small (only four students), and the competition includes a free tour of Bridgewater State University.
The team that places first in the regional competition will win a free trip to Washington, D.C. to compete in the Academic WorldQuest National Competition!
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Reflecting on a Year of Global Engagement
Please enjoy this timeline showing every event WorldBoston hosted in 2019 — that’s over 30 regional topics and global issues covered!
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Local Dave Fortier Wins National Citizen Diplomat of the Year Award!
We are very proud to announce that WorldBoston’s nominee, Dave Fortier, Founder of One World Strong Foundation and Boston Marathon bombing survivor, is the winner of the 2020 Citizen Diplomat Award! Dave is a friend of WorldBoston and an important local professional resource in our community as well as for the distinguished international visitors we connect to Dave through our citizen diplomacy programs. This is an award given by our national membership organization, Global Ties U.S., and the presentation will be during our visit to Washington, D.C. for the annual National Meeting. Our colleagues in citizen diplomacy from across the nation as well as Washington agencies and the U.S. Department of State will join us to listen to Dave’s keynote address and celebrate his important work in peer-to-peer humanitarian diplomacy!
Dinner Diplomacy Opportunities in February
Stay tuned for more information soon on 3 opportunities to host delegations for dinner in February: Kazakhstan and regional groups from Europe and the Middle East & North Africa!
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To learn more about our upcoming or previous international visitors, click here!
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Shared Responsibility for National Security in an Era of Global Innovation
Canada
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E-Health and Telemedicine
Czech Republic
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Winter Staff Switch-over
This week we welcome our new Northeastern Co-ops, Lily Terrasson Honeysett, and Je Woo Han. Lily is an International Affairs major with a minor in Global Health and a concentration in African Studies. Je Woo is a Political Science and International Affairs major.
We also welcome our new Citizen Diplomacy Intern, Karine Kanj from Suffolk University. Karine is a Government major with a concentration in Law and Public Policy, pursuing a Paralegal Certificate.
Returning to the WorldBoston team after a semester in Washington, D.C. is Liam Martin as Custom Visitors Program Intern. Welcome back, Liam!
Last month we bid a fond farewell to outgoing Northeastern Co-op JoJo Brennan, Citizen Diplomacy Intern Sharon Rajadurai, and Outreach & Global Engagement Intern Serena Barone. Many thanks to JoJo, Sharon, and Serena!
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Membership
Welcome to last month’s new and returning WorldBoston members: Joshua Bruno, David Chosiad, James Kaddaras, Donna Macleod, Izabella Nickel, Ricki Nickel, and Nicholas Zirpoli.
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What: Shola Lawal, a Nigerian journalist, is the writer, producer, and director of the recently released film “Where Power’s Live.” She is the recipient of the 2019 International Women’s Media Foundation’s (IWMF) Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship, which brought her to MIT as a research associate at the MIT Center for International Studies, and provides journalism stays at The Boston Globe and The New York Times. She reports on issues of humanity and injustice, including the women’s rights movement in Nigeria, migrants in Libya, forest reserves in Ghana, political upheaval in Togo, the Boko Haram conflict, and the migrant crisis in Mexico and the US.
There will be a showing of Lawal’s film, about 15 minutes in length, followed by a discussion and Q&A with Shola Lawal.
By: MIT Center for International Studies
Where: MIT Building E40-496, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge, MA 02142
When: January 16, 12:00-1:00pm
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What: Want to learn about the United Nations SDGs? Presented by Impact Hub Boston and United Nations Association of Greater Boston (UNAGB), we will focus on SDG 15: Life on Land.
UNAGB and Impact Hub Boston will explore both the global and local work being done to address SDG 15: Life on Land.There will be representatives from Tufts Fletcher School’s Global Development and Environment Institute and Harvard Forest to provide a global perspective, and representatives from Speak for the Trees, to provide a local perspective.
The agenda for the evening includes networking, updates from the SDG committee, and formal remarks
By: The United Nations Association of Greater Boston and Impact Hub Boston
Where: Offices of Impact Hub Boston,
50 Milk St, 20th Floor
When: January 22, 5:30 – 8:00pm
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Beyond the Events: Get Involved in WorldBoston!
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Host
Engage with our visiting delegations by hosting them for a meal at your home. These “Dinner Diplomacy” events are an opportunity for international visitors to interact with local community members in an informal setting.
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Sponsor
Sponsor WorldBoston’s signature annual Consuls Reception! Sponsorship provides exceptional visibility, has benefits that last all year, and provides critical support for WorldBoston.
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Program
Take advantage of our extraordinary network of professional resources and our deep expertise in logistics and cultural programming and let WorldBoston create a Custom Visitor Program for you.
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Meet
Our international visitors come to Boston to meet key local professionals. If your expertise aligns with an upcoming group, we’d love to help create a professional connection.
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Wait, Did You Miss Something?
Don’t forget to check our News section for announcements and past newsletters.
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The International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) is the U.S. Department of State’s premier professional exchange program and WorldBoston’s main citizen diplomacy partner. Launched in 1940, the IVLP is a professional exchange program that seeks to build mutual understanding between the U.S. and other nations through carefully designed short-term visits to the U.S. for current and emerging foreign leaders. These visits reflect the International Visitors’ professional interests and support the foreign policy goals of the United States.
The U.S. Department of State’s bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs administers the IVLP. In doing so, the bureau enters cooperative agreements with National Program Agencies, a group of private, not-for-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C., that design and implement national IVLP itineraries. In addition to the National Program Agencies, the IVLP relies on the commitment and skills of local community organizations across the U.S., known as Community Based Members (CBMs). Under the professional association of Global Ties U.S., local CBM members develop professional programs, arrange cultural activities, and provide home hospitality for international visitors.
WorldBoston is part of the Global Ties Network of more than 90 CBMs in 45 states.
WorldBoston is a member of the World Affairs Councils of America,
a network of more than 90 independent Councils in more than 40 states.
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