- Editor’s note: Abigail Goodman is from Wyckoff, New Jersey and in the summer of 2018, Dushanbe, Tajikistan became her second home. That experience on the National Security Language Initiative for Youth program inspired her to open a children's library in Tajikistan, which led to an invitation to present at an international conference. She is currently a high school senior with plans to study international relations in college. You are a high school student who spent the last year… Read More
- Editor’s note: Adrian Erlinger manages innovation and capacity building initiatives at American Councils. He has been leading the way on several internationalization projects, including the US-Chile University Partnerships program, which has provided strategic advisory to a consortium of Chilean universities to achieve their internationalization goals. Higher education institutions are acknowledging the growing role of international collaboration to address global challenges with… Read More
- American Councils welcomed a crowd to its DC headquarters last week for the 9th annual silent auction, which garnered support for scholarships for bright, international scholars. The annual fundraiser focuses on a region of the world where American Councils operates and, this year, programs in Albania and Kosovo took center stage. Dignitaries from both countries addressed the VIP reception, which was officiated by AC board of trustees’ member, Gazmend Gjonbalaj. In his opening address, Mr… Read More
- Editor's note: Ermida Koduah (pictured left) and Jasmine Oduro are cousins, travelers, bloggers, and together they run the site, Being Black In, which features stories from a number of AC alumni, including Ms. Koduah. She studied in Tangier, Morocco with the Critical Language Scholarship Program (photo above) and she currently works as a program associate at American Councils. Ms. Oduro currently holds a senior position at an urgent care office. Let's start at the beginning… Read More
- As a little girl in Kosovo, Zana Zeqiri Rudi’s role models didn’t come from fairy tales or TV shows. Instead, she looked up to the ambassadors she heard on the evening news. She was born in Pristina, Kosovo in 1983, when it was still a part of Yugoslavia. Her childhood coincided with conflict as Kosovo struggled for independence, and her early English skills allowed her to watch the international news reports with her parents each night. Those reports contained both horror and… Read More
- Editor’s Note: October 10 is World Mental Health Day. We asked Ms. Huang, program manager for the Chinese Overseas Flagship Program, to talk about the positive impact mindfulness can have, particularly during study abroad experiences. What’s the first image that comes to mind when you hear the word ‘mindfulness’? Is it an idyllic scene of Bohemians in long skirts frolicking across a green field? Or, do you perhaps see a young monk serenely sitting within a Buddhist temple in lotus pose?… Read More
- The US Department of Education’s Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) program has awarded $238,500 to American Councils to continue to provide scholarships to advanced undergraduate and graduate students of Russian and Persian participating in its Advanced Russian Language and Area Studies Program (RLASP) in Moscow and Eurasian Regional Language Program (ERLP) in Dushanbe. US K-12 teachers are also eligible for the new scholarship funding and are encouraged to apply. A total… Read More
- Editor’s note: Anastasiya Gulak is a program assistant for Open World who grew up speaking Ukrainian and Russian. She later studied English and French and has maintained her skills in all four languages. She has worked as an interpreter, volunteered as a translator for refugees and students, and continues to seek out opportunities to hone her skills. She offered her tips for studying, learning, and maintaining a second (or third, or fourth) language. My love for foreign languages … Read More
- Editor's note: Hannah Combe is not a dancer by trade, but her enthusiasm for dance helped her find community while living overseas. Ms. Combe has lived in Georgia, where she taught English as a Peace Corps volunteer. She has also taught English in Bulgaria as a Fulbright scholar. She is currently a program assistant on the AC Study and Research abroad team. When I was four years old I refused to wear anything but my pink tutu. At the peak of my illustrious dance career, I ran around a… Read More
- Nearly two dozen Open World alumni were elected or reelected to serve as members of parliament in Ukraine's snap parliamentary elections last month, according to a press release from the Open World Leadership Center. Representing a diverse political scope, including both single-mandate delegates and party lists, these Open World alumni have demonstrated key leadership roles within their government and communities. Among the newly elected Open World alumni are single-mandate delegates:… Read More
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