NSLI-Y students met State Department Officials

Participants on the National Security Language Initiative for Youth program in Kazan, Russia, recently met with Under Secretary of State for Public Relations Judith McHale. The meeting was held in conjunction with a conference for teachers, FLEX alumni, and administrators as a part of the US-Russia Presidential Bilateral Commission and Working Group. The conference, focusing on bilateral educational initiatives and held at the American Center in Moscow, gave the NSLI-Y participants an excellent chance to mingle with FLEX alumni, diplomats working at the American Embassy, and teachers from across Russia.

The event with Under Secretary McHale took a question-and-answer format. Many in attendance wanted to know how the United States and Russia are currently working to strengthen ties both at the grassroots and governmental levels through State Department funded and American Councils administered programs such as FLEX and NSLI-Y. NSLI-Y participant Elizabeth Patino posed a particularly good question to the Under Secretary about the need to encourage more domestic Russian study to compliment the work already done to bring young Russian students to the United States. Under Secretary McHale responded enthusiastically on the need to broaden domestic American Russian language instruction.

The bilateral meetings, held in Moscow from December 7 through 9, were attended by United States and Russian Federation diplomats including Russian Ambassador Mikhail Shvydkoy and United States Congressman Bill Delahunt of Massachusetts. The event produced consensus on ways in which the United States and Russia can strengthen ties through cultural and educational initiatives such as NSLI-Y.

After the meeting, NSLI-Y students were treated to a buffet and to further discussion with United States Embassy personnel.