The diplomatic reception, hosted at The Fletcher School, Tufts University, was organized by Ryan Youkilis, a NSLI-Y Alumni Representative, in collaboration with the Department of State’s Diplomat-in-Residence in New England and WorldBoston, a non-governmental organization partner in the Global Ties U.S. network that manages the IVLP program. The IVLP group was visiting Boston to examine how government transparency and accountability are promoted in the United States.
In addition to informal networking, various speakers also discussed the impact international exchanges have had on their lives both personally and professionally, and in promoting global understanding across cultures. One of the speakers, Foreign Service Officer and current Senior Fellow at the Fletcher School Bridget Gersten, spoke of cultural exchange as “the golden key of public diplomacy.” She explained later that “talking to these youth and our IVLP guests, I could not help but be reminded of the durability and deep roots of exchanges.” You can read more about Bridget’s impressions of the event and the power of international exchanges in her DipNote blog.