Mayor’s Office Hosts Professional Fellow From Costa Rica Through UCONN and U.S. Department of State Partnership

Last month, the Executive Office of Mayor Angel Taveras had the opportunity to host an emerging leader from Costa Rica participating in the U.S. Department of State's Professional Fellows Program, in partnership with the University of Connecticut (UConn). The Professional Fellows Program brings emerging leaders from around the world to the United States for intensive fellowships designed to broaden their professional expertise.

In mid-October, Mayor Taveras' Deputy Chief of Staff and UConn alumna Arianne Lynch hosted Ivannia Blanco for an eight day job shadow. During Ivannia's time in the City of Providence, she took an interest in the workings of the city's neighborhood and senior services, considered the fiscal challenges Providence has faced and how they were remedied, and learned how the city leverages private philanthropic dollars to supplement policy and program development.

UConn is one of 17 U.S.-based non-profit organizations and universities chosen to host foreign professionals in 2011- 2012 from over 50 countries and territories worldwide. The City of Providence worked collaboratively UConn to host a Costa Rican fellow for an eight day job shadow.

The Professional Fellows Program supports international cooperation and builds networks of people and organizations working on critical issues worldwide. During their one-month fellowships with the University of Connecticut, participants gain first-hand experience working alongside their American counterparts.

In a multi-year, 2-way educational and cultural exchange program entitled "Empowering Women though Social Entrepreneurship," twenty young professionals from Costa Rica and 20 young professionals from the U.S. are receiving fellowships to increase their knowledge about how to become effective social change agents using a social entrepreneurship model. The U.S. Department of State program also supports ten follow-up social change projects in local indigenous and Afro-descendant communities throughout Costa Rica, and allows for ongoing networking and collaboration between the foreign exchange program participants and their counterparts in the U.S.

Participants in the Professional Fellows Program are placed in public, private and non-profit sector organizations across the nation where they learn first-hand how issues in their field are addressed in the United States. The fellows also gain an understanding of American culture through site visits and community-based events.

At the conclusion of their mid-October to early November fellowships in the U.S., Costa Rican participants will gather in Washington, D.C. to take part in the Professional Fellows Congress on November 7-10, 2012. The Congress provides a forum for participants to discuss best practices with other young leaders in their profession, and to develop concrete projects and networks that they can implement upon their return home. In February 2013, UConn will send a delegation of 10 American professional fellows to Costa Rica for official follow-on programming, included in that, Arianne Lynch, the Mayor's Deputy Chief of Staff.

About the University of Connecticut's Global Training and Development Institute (GTDI)

The Global Training & Development Institute, part of UConn's Office of Global Affairs, has a mission to foster global sustainable development, citizenship, and cross-cultural understanding by providing individuals from around the world with transformational learning experiences. Established in 1961, more than 9,000 government officials, business and non-profit leaders, and university students from 130 countries have participated in the Institute's education and training programs. Countries represented include Costa Rica, Turkey, Columbia, Panama, Peru, China, Egypt, Estonia, Venezuela, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Guatemala, Armenia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Iraq, Russia, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Kenya, and numerous other countries throughout Africa.

About the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Exchange supports exchange programs that increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries. Approximately 50,000 individuals take part annually in exchange programs managed by the U.S. Department of State.
For more information on the Women's Empowerment Program or GTDI's training and development programs, please contact Roy Pietro at 860-486-4252 or Roy.Pietro@uconn.edu.
For more information about ECA programs, please visit: http://exchanges.state.gov/citizens/profs/professional-fellows.html or contact Anna Griffin, U.S. Department of State at 202-632-6452 or eca-press@state.gov