Sponsors

The United States Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) fosters mutual understanding between the United States and other countries through international educational, professional and cultural exchanges. The Bureau promotes personal, professional, and institutional ties between private citizens and organizations in the United States and abroad, and presents U.S. history, society, art and culture in all of its diversity to overseas audiences.

The ECA's Office of Citizen Exchanges supports professional programs that take place in the United States and overseas. These exchanges demonstrate how Americans deal with the issues of professional interest to the foreign participants. In addition, programs are designed to give Americans international and cross-cultural perspectives. These programs normally have two or more components and may extend over more than one fiscal year. They may include travel by American specialists overseas and visits of foreign specialists to the U.S. as part of the same, coordinated program. Subject areas for Office of Citizen Exchanges include conflict resolution, environmental protection, trade unions, education administration and curriculum reform, media development, judicial training, local government, intellectual property rights, rule of law, public administration, small business development and management training, citizen networking, and other academic and professional disciplines.

World Learning, founded in 1932 as the Experiment in International Living, is a private nonprofit educational institution. Headquartered in Brattleboro, Vermont, with an administrative office in Washington, D.C., World Learning administers programs through its four divisions: the Experiment in International Living, World Learning for International Development, World Learning for Business, and the School for International Training. The World Learning Visitor Exchange Program administers educational exchange and observational study tour programs for groups and individuals in the United States.

Foreign Policy Platform (FPP) was created by alumni of the State Department sponsored exchange program Foreign Policy Dialogue among Emerging Leaders between US and Turkey. The organization was launched in 2008.  The goals of the Foreign Policy Platform are to encourage young people’s participation in foreign policy issues, facilitate educational events on international relations, network with other NGOs from different countries, establish mutually beneficial linkages with the business world, organize national and international workshops, seminars, and conferences, and Implement exchange programs between Turkey and other countries.  FPP’s long-term goal is to create a think-tank organization open to emerging leaders interested in foreign policy, enabling them to participate and influence policy debates and decisions

 

The program has also been arranged by community affiliates of the National Council of International Visitors (NCIV) and other organizations. NCIV represents a network of over one hundred local nongovernmental organizations devoted to serving the professional needs of short-term visitors from throughout the world. World Learning has worked closely with these organizations in planning your program. The arrangement of this program, and the primary contact for participants in Cleveland, was the Cleveland Council on World Affairs.