WASHINGTON, D.C. (CitizenWire) — Building upon President Obama’s June 2009 pledge in Cairo and at the 2010 Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship to expand exchange programs and opportunities in entrepreneurship, the U.S. Department of State is bringing 30 leading entrepreneurs from as many countries to the United States for an International Visitor Leadership Program called, “A New Beginning: Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation,” September 20 through October 8.
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) has partnered on this people-to-people exchange initiative with two private sector organizations active in promoting cross-cultural understanding and entrepreneurship: Business for Diplomatic Action (BDA) and the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO). This program is administered by World Learning.
For three weeks, the delegates will engage in professional, cultural and educational experiences that will lay the groundwork for long-term relationships with leading American entrepreneurs, business executives, government officials, and civil society leaders. The program begins in Washington, D.C., and then travels to Phoenix, Arizona and San Francisco, California before concluding in New York City.
Along the way, delegates will engage in peer-to-peer learning and sharing of best practices with hundreds of leading entrepreneurs in the U.S., covering topics such as sales, marketing, and human resources management strategies and techniques; government and NGO assistance for small businesses; social entrepreneurship; and issues surrounding intellectual property rights and corporate watchdogs.
The International Visitor Leadership Program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs annually brings over 4,500 potential or established leaders to the United States from around the world for professional projects with U.S. peers and for firsthand experience of American society and culture.
Over 320 current and former chiefs of state and heads of government and many other distinguished world leaders in the public and private sectors have participated in the program, which this year celebrates its 70th anniversary.