By Anne E.Grimes, Director, Office of International Visitors, U.S. Department of State
Happy New Year everyone! As many of you have probably done over the holidays, I’ve taken some time to think back over the last year and reflect on the magnitude of what we’ve experienced – personally, professionally, and globally. I’m most impressed by the Network’s ability to respond to challenges. This is not only a resilient group, but one united by a shared sense of responsibility to the mission of exchanges, to bridging divides, and to opening minds. These values have carried us forward through a challenging year.
From the first reports of the COVID-19 virus in your communities, you were up to speed on local protocols, keeping everyone informed and most importantly keeping participants safe. You worked overtime and triple time to ensure a safe departure for participants back to their home countries, all the while navigating this new reality and unknown.
As we figured out how to create offices and classrooms out of our homes, you were also figuring out how to keep your communities engaged and how to continue to reach across oceans to connect with new International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) participants. You showed your communities and members that we all have much more in common than not and that during a crisis it is more important than ever to connect to share ideas and best practices. We learned so much from talking with participants from their kitchens and living rooms. A glimpse into real life that brings us even closer – children’s voices, dogs barking, construction, internet outages – all real life stuff!
Your alumni events filled a gap in programming. Thank you for including me in many of them! I enjoyed participating in my very first podcast with the World Affairs Council of New Hampshire, speaking to communities in Philadelphia, Huntsville, Salt Lake City and Burlington, and donning my derby hat at Pensacola’s virtual Mint Jubilee! The events across the country spanned topics from LGBTQ rights to the gaming industry to countering disinformation and showcased the breadth and depth of what we cover in IVLP, including the most pressing issues of our time.
We encouraged ourselves to be bold, and through great innovation, determination, and lots and lots of Zoom meetings (!), together we developed a new IVLP virtual program model – and one that is really making an impact and creating life-changing experiences. As a participant from Argentina shared, “My participation in the IVLP has deepened my respect on U.S. ideals, your love of your country and your profound sense of citizenship. I am thankful for your generosity in sharing your values and approaching to other cultures and people all over the globe to think, discuss together and “grow” as a better world. At last, we are all citizens of this same great planet. Thank you for leading this kind of programs.”
We topped all this off in December with a final celebration of 80 years of the IVLP and the many, many stories of impact and change this program has brought to the world (Read these stories). Symbolic in a way, we have transitioned to a new era and have proven that the IVLP can and will sustain through time. You have demonstrated your ability to adapt to a changing world and shown our collective readiness to not only move into the next decade together, but to thrive in whatever comes our way.
Now we embark on a new year together. As we welcome 2021, the year still brings some uncertainties. Nevertheless, I am optimistic. We will continue with IVLP virtual projects and meet this shared challenge while we assess the situation for resuming in-person programming when deemed safe to do so. Through all of this, we have realized the benefits of connecting virtually and know that we may adopt virtual elements as part of our traditional in-person projects, as we have seen the added value in these engagements.
I do know one thing for sure – whatever the year brings, the IVLP family will embrace it, adapt, and continue to bring the world together whether online or in–person. As we’ve been repeating over the last half of the year, we will come out of this stronger and more prepared for the future. I believe we have already.
And with this new year we also mark the 60th anniversary of Global Ties U.S.! What a tremendous milestone to be able to celebrate all of the Network’s accomplishments and growth over six decades. I am looking forward to being a part of the celebrations and amplifying your work throughout the year. Thank you!