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Mayor Eric Garcetti
City of Los Angeles
Mark Ridley-Thomas
Chair, L.A. County Board of Supervisors
Matthew Olsen
Boston Private Bank & Trust Company
Vice Chairs
Mathias Fobi, M.D.
Bariatec Corporation
Michele A. Franchett
Stone Grzegorek & Gonzalez LLP
Michael McDowell
Deanne Neiman
Honorary Consul of Botswana
Legal Counsel
Wafa J. Hoballah
WJH Law Group, APC
Haifa Azawi, M.D.
New Women Medical Care
Jonathan Kaji
Kaji & Associates
Kristin McCowan
Director of International Relations and Chief of Protocol, Office of Mayor Eric Garcetti
Rima Nashashibi
Nashashibi International Consultants, LLC
Stephen Ozoigbo
International Advisor
Relativity Education
Lourdes Saab
L.A. County Office of Protocol
William Silva
Southern California Edison
David R. Stepp
Bryan Cave LLP
Yael Swerdlow
Women's Empowerment Foundation
Tina Tangalakis
Della
Tim Watkins
Watts Labour Community Action Committee
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In this month's issue you will find:
Quote of the Month
This Is America, We Speak English Here (and Spanish, Chinese, French, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Arabic...)
IVCLA Board Member Reunites with IVCLA Alums in Kyrgyzstan
Happy New Year from the IVCLA Team!
Thank You Year End Donors!
International Opportunities
Upcoming International Visitors in January
I hope you enjoy hearing about the recent goings-on at IVCLA. Please feel free to share your comments with me by sending an email to dkreculj@ivcla.org
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Q: How did your perception(s) of the United States change during/after your visit?
A:
I really liked the fact that the U.S. is and has been a land of immigrants. The U.S. has incredibly welcomed and given home and hope to immigrants. There is a big diversity but still so much respect and appreciation for each other.
--Bidhya RAI, Program Officer, Civil Society Organization (CSO) Subgrant Outreach Program, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), Nepal
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This Is America, We Speak English Here (and Spanish, Chinese, French, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Arabic...)
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"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
--Emma Lazarus "The New Colossus" (inscription from the Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor, 1886)
Since 1886, this message has welcomed thousands of hopeful immigrants entering through New York City's harbor looking to start a new life in this land of opportunity. The United States has a reputation as a place where anyone in the world can come and build a life for themselves in the hopes of living the American Dream. We can feel proud the United States remains a beacon of hope to the rest of the world, and we should all strive to maintain that prospect.
Throughout 2017, IVCLA will be dedicated to making sure our programs show our international visitors that the majority of Americans still share our core values to provide opportunity and personal freedom for all people regardless of their ethnicity, gender, class, faith, sexual orientation or political preference.
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IVCLA Board Member Reunites with IVCLA Alums in Kyrgyzstan
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Haifa and Nurkhat in a Kyrgyz winter wonderland
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IVCLA Board Member, Haifa Azawi, is living proof that lasting friendships can thrive despite a 7000 mile separation. Haifa participated in the IVCLA Trip to Kyrgyzstan in May of 2016, when the whole group connected with Community Connections, IVLP, and Open World Program alumni who came to LA. She returned in November, where she rekindled friendships with the alumni. During her trip, she also solidified a business opportunity with 2010 Community Connections alumna Tatiana Pavlenko, and the two are eager to work together in the near future.
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Enjoying a meal in a traditional Kyrgyz yurt
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IVCLA Resource Connects with IVLP Alums in Southeast Asia
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We love to see connections made with our alumni in L.A. continue. Children of the Night, a non profit dedicated to rescuing America's children from prostitution, is a resource that has met with many IVCLA visitors.
Children of the Night Founder Lois Lee will be in Southeast Asia for a month-long visit because Children of the Night has gone global with a free online educational program providing live tutors speaking a variety of languages. They are now serving 16 students in the Dominican Republic, who are learning English so they may obtain employment in resorts. They would like to offer this same free service to any and all trafficking programs in Asia.
IVCLA Director of International Programs, Mable Kong, put her in touch with IVLP alumni, and Lois was able to nail down a meeting with Blue Dragon, courtesy of Ta Ngoc Van from Vietnam (2014 IVLP Alum on the topic of "Trafficking in Persons Report Heroes"); and a pending meeting with Apichart Hattasin with the Transnational Crime Unit in Thailand (2010 IVLP Alum on the topic of "Combatting Trafficking in Persons").
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In early 2016, IVCLA, along with our sister organizations in Minneapolis, Miami and Worcester, MA, welcomed an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) delegation from Italy on a project titled "Integration of Immigrants".
Upon her return to Italy, Dr. Klodiana Cuka, a participant in the project,
organized a one-day conference titled "International Seminar on the Reception and Integration of Migrants" reflecting her work as an alumna of the program. During the conference, she shared how the integration network in Italy is feeling increased pressures with a rise in populism, and how recent migration trends boldly confront not just social and political systems, but the very fabric of national identity.
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Happy New Year from the IVCLA Team!
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Thank You Year End Donors!
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We would like to thank our year end donors for their support. Your support and participation enables us at IVCLA to continue our mission to increase international understanding and cooperation. Your investment in IVCLA goes a long way to create global dialogue!
Mary Akpovi
Mary Allen
Ginger & John Barnard
June & Paul Bilgore
Laurie Brown
Allen & Sybil Cayir
Theodore Clarke
Dr. Mal Fobi
Michele Franchett
Colette Hadley
Richard & Heidi Landers
Rosalie Lazarus
Margaret Miller
Heidi Barbara Moore
Deanne Neiman
Matt Olsen
Don & Judy Rothman
Lourdes Saab
Jerry Silva
David Stepp
Paul Supnik
Yael Swerdlow
Jack Teetor
Tim Watkins
Emil Wyss
Do you shop on Amazon.com? Did you know that every time you checkout, you can donate to IVCLA,
FREE of charge?
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International Opportunities
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Founded in 1925, ICWA is one of the oldest global Fellowship programs in the world. The Institute identifies highly promising young professionals and sends them on two-year fellowships in a country to study a globally important issue. The ICWA fellowship has transformed the lives and careers of academics, attorneys, activists and diplomats in the fields of journalism, public policy and activism -- just to name a few. Candidates must be
under 36 years of age at the time of the due date for the initial letter of interest.
To be considered for the next fellowship in June 2017, Letters of Interest are due on March 1, 2017.
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Upcoming International Visitors
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The following are among the arriving guests of the
U.S. government whose professional appointments in
Los Angeles will be arranged by the
International Visitors Council of Los Angeles.
January 2017
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Bolivia
Brazil
Costa Rica
Panama
Paraguay
Venezuela
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Law Enforcement: Community Policing
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Jan 19 - 24
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People's Republic of China
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Library Management
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Jan 21 - 22
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Editor: Danica Kreculj
Projects Coordinator
(213) 388-1428
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