Sunday, May 5, 2019

My IVLP Adventure starts!


It's Sunday (5th May, 2019) and I'm now in Washington DC for the start of a 3 week work-study tour on the US Justice System "Protecting Women and Children". The IVLP is the US Department of State's premier professional exchange programme.

It is indeed an honour to be selected to represent Malaysia and to whomever was the fairy angel at the US Embassy who nominated me, thank you for this amazing opportunity!

The other international delegates hail from African Union, Austria, Brazil, Egypt, Fiji, Germany, Israel, Lebanon, Malaysia (me!), Saudi Arabia, Suriname.


We will be criss-crossing the US, after Washington DC, we are headed to:


a) New Orleans, Louisiana;
b) Then our group splits into 2 sub-groups according to our interest areas, mine will be flying to Reno, Salt Lake City to learn about judicial education, the role of Bar Associations, Juvenile Detention models and the Citizen Advocates and the Court system. 
c) Salt Lake City, Utah; and
d) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I will surely share my stories and bring what I've learnt back home to our dear Malaysia. 

"The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is the U.S. Department of State’s premier professional exchange program. Through short-term visits to the United States, current and emerging foreign leaders in a variety of fields experience this country firsthand and cultivate lasting relationships with their American counterparts. Professional meetings reflect the participants’ professional interests and support the foreign policy goals of the United States.
There is no application for IVLP. Participants are nominated and selected annually by the staff at U.S. Embassies around the world."