April at WorldBoston
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WB2030 Happy Hour
Young Professionals Mixer: International Development and Politics in Africa









Thursday, April 14
6:00 - 8:00 pm
Dudley Dough
2302 Washington Street
Roxbury, MA 02119

Join WorldBoston and the West African Research Association for an evening of networking and vibrant discussion on politics in Africa and international development.

Pizza will be served and a cash bar will be available!

Admission is free, but please reserve your space here!
Home Hospitality: 
Meal & Conversation opportunities available now
WorldBoston is pleased to host this upcoming International Visitor delegation who has requested home hospitality during their visit to Boston on this specific date: 

 

Poland (Sunday Evening, April 24)  8 guests or 2 groups of 4

 

Home hospitality entails hosting international visitors for a lunch or dinner in your home (not for an overnight stay) and provides a crucial cultural component to their understanding of homes and families in our community.

If you are interested, please contact Sarah Sibley at ssibley@worldboston.org or 617-542-8995.
WorldBoston Recommends
Francofonia: An Elegy for Europe (2015)

April 20 - May 7

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Famed Russian director Aleksandr 
Sokurov's new film is a rich meditation on the Louvre Museum in Paris and the preservation of European culture during the destructive climate of
World War II. Trained as a historian before becoming a cinematographer,
Sokurov himself narrates Francofonia occasionally delving into European
history more broadly and even ruminating on the course of Europe today.

Co-presented by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Ballets Russes Arts Initiative, the film screens at the MFA April 20th-May 7th, with 3
additional screenings of Sokurov's earlier work, Russian Ark, an
exploration of the Hermitage Museum.

For more information on the film and a list of screenings, visit the Ballets Russes website.

WorldBoston members can use the discount code FILM online and at the MFA box office to receive the MFA members' rate on tickets.
Dear Friends,

This month we are delighted to welcome to Boston H.E. Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq's Representative to the United States. We hope you'll join Representative Abdul Rahman for a Great Decisions event on  Thursday, April 7 at Suffolk University. 

A 2015 profile in  The Telegraph, " Meet the Kurdish Female Politician Fighting the Islamic State" details why  Rep. Abdul Rahman is fighting ISIL and discusses her years as a journalist and her first public appo intment as High Representative to the United Kingdom. 

We also have more exciting events coming up this month, including:
On the Citizen Diplomacy side of WorldBoston, we welcome 9 international delegations this month including two delegations from China studying internet governance and security. 

Towards the end of the month we welcome 8 representatives from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Boston to study digital diplomacy. The group is seeking home hospitality in the evening of April 24. See the sidebar for more information on how you can host these visitors for dinner. 

The delegation will also be with us for the Chat & Chowder with Juliette Kayyem on April 25, and we hope to see you there, too.

Best regards,
 
Mary P. Yntema
President & CEO

Upcoming Global Education Programs
Great Decisions Series | The Future of Kurdistan

Featuring:
Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman
Kurdistan Regional Government Representative to the United States
 
Thursday, April 7
6:00 - 7:30 pm
  Suffolk University - Amenities Room
73 Tremont Street (First Floor)
Boston, MA 02108
Admission: Free

Special thanks to the Lowell Institute of Boston for their support of the Great Decisions Series.
 
WorldBoston and The Boston Committee on Foreign Relations present: Syria, the Middle East, and the New Cold War: How Three Tiers of Conflict Created the Apocalypse
 
Featuring:  
Ribal Al-Assad
Founder and Director, Organisation for Democracy and Freedom in Syria

Tuesday, April 12 5:45 - 8:30 pm
The Union Club
8 Park Street
Boston, MA 02108
Admission: $60, dinner and reception included


Featuring:
Juliette Kayyem
Lecturer in Public Policy
Harvard Kennedy School
 
Monday, April 25
5:30 - 7:00 pm
Downtown Harvard Club of Boston
One Federal Street
Boston, MA 02108
Admission: $17 WorldBoston Members | $27 General Admission
Looking Ahead to May

Featuring:
Frederic C. Rich
Author, International Lawyer
 
Tuesday, May 3
5:30 - 7:00 pm
Downtown Harvard Club of Boston
One Federal Street
Boston, MA 02108
Admission: $17 WorldBoston Members | $27 General Admission
Visit our website for a full calendar of events and more information on our speakers and topics!
Meet our recent and upcoming international visitors

Russia: U.S. - Russia Cooperation and Understanding Initiative
April 3 - 6

A delegation of five journalists, professors, and lawyers from Russia is stopping by Boston to gain a better understanding of the United States, specifically within the fields of international affairs and political science, and also in regards to U.S. culture and values. They will interact with various professors, journalists, economic cooperation companies, and government resources to create a platform for continuing discussion with American counterparts and understand U.S. national policy.

China: Internet Governance and Innovation
April 3 - 7


Five professionals in China's Internet sector, including a government official, a journalist, and industry CEOs will visit the U.S. to explore how a free and open Internet is an economic driver and platform for the exchange of ideas. They will meet with government officials, technology associations, data centers, and academic initiatives to better understand how public and private institutions create and benefit from a free Internet and how the government's role in regulation.


Georgia: Creating Opportunities for At-Risk Youth
April 5 - 8

A group of five visitors from Georgia is coming to Boston to examine partnerships between community organizations and law  enforcement in supporting at-risk youth and increasing youth civic engagement. Their meetings will provide them with an idea of best practices in promoting diverse, peaceful, and tolerant communities.


UNESCO: Communications and Information Techonology, Freedom of Expression, and Privacy 
April 9-13

A representative from UNESCO is coming to the United States to review freedom of expression and public access to information as well as the balance between the protection of individual privacy rights and national security imperatives. Meetings in Boston are being arranged with techonology leadership councils, the Division of Cyber Crime at the Attorney General's Office, as well as other authorities on the subject. 

Indonesia: Sustainable and Livable Cities
April 9 - 13

Three representatives from Indonesia will come to Boston to examine environmental, economic, and social factors affecting sustainable urban growth and development, the importance of smart technology, and effective private-public partnerships. They will visit with resources in academia, municipal government, urban planning, and waste management to learn about innovative and academic programs in urban planning.



Germany: Countering Violent Extremism
April 20-23

Ten visitors from Germany will come to the United States to learn about American programs to counter violent extremism, including the relationship between federal, state, and local programs. In addition to government programs, the group will also learn about how different sectors of American society work together to resist violent extremism including academia, civil society, religious communities, and the private sector. 

Poland: Digital Diplomacy
April 24-26
Home Hospitality Requested!


Eight Polish officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are coming to the United States to learn about the U.S. system of government and political processes, specifically focusing on public diplomacy. Meetings in Boston are being arranged with international affairs academic programs and government resources to focus on digital diplomacy and the possibility of U.S.-Polish coordination with strategic coordination.

Russia: Research Management at U.S. Universities; Advancing Innovation
April 26-29

Seven Russian university representatives are coming to Boston, the "Athens of America", to examine policy programs and initiatives dealing with research management and the process of bringing innovation from the research lab to the marketplace. The group hopes to establish long-term, joint research and applied technology partnerships through their meetings in the United States. 

Japan: The Value of Diversity and Inclusion 
April 30- May 4



Five Japanese representatives are coming to the United States to explore ways to advocate for the value of diversity and inclusion policies to the bottom line of corporations. Meetings in Boston are being arranged with human resource departments of large corporations as well as diversity and inclusion officials. 
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. Launced 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 adminsters the IVLP. In doing so, the bureau enters cooperative agreements with National Program Agences, 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 Centers for International Visitors (CIVs). Under the professional association of Global Ties U.S., local CIV members develop professional programs, arrange cultural activies, and provide home hospitality for international visitors.

WorldBoston is part of the Global Ties Network of more than 90 CIVs in 45 states.