Project Updates

Viacheslav Evseev has a unique opportunity in the field of trade policy: he is researching the implications of Russia’s World Trade Organization (WTO) accession as it is happening, and policymakers are listening. Evseev, a Yegor Gaidar Fellow in Economics & Public Policy, is currently studying at Georgetown University’s Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies.

Muskie alumna Manzura Makhkamova of Tajikistan was recently appointed to serve as Deputy Chair of the State Committee for Investments and State Property Management. Makhkamova now leads government initiatives aimed at further developing entrepreneurship in Tajikistan.

Nearly 100 civil society organizations now know what it means to fulfill the watchdog role. Using their training experience and newfound skills, they explored ways to prevent violence at a local school.

Business development centers in Iraq are taking the first steps to better serve their business community by providing regular news and advertising opportunities.

IREX is proud to welcome 63 master teachers from 15 countries around world to the U.S. to begin their participation in the International Leaders in Education Program (ILEP). Since 2005, the ILEP program has brought outstanding secondary school teachers to U.S. universities for five months to further expand their knowledge of teaching methodologies, develop their expertise in a scholastic content area, and deepen their understanding of the U.S.

Video: Scott Radnitz, a 2011-12 Short-Term Travel Grant fellow, traveled to Tbilisi, Georgia in the summer of 2011 to conduct preliminary research for a project examining national narratives and ethnic relations in Georgia. Here, Dr. Radnitz speaks about how ethnicity can play a role in politics, the importance of field research, and why research on Georgia can be relevant for the U.S. policy community.

By taking on leadership roles, Pakistani students helped foster cross-cultural cooperation on the Missouri State University campus. Deepak and Fawad, Global UGRAD-Pakistan students at Missouri State University (MSU) in Springfield, Missouri, became leaders in the MSU Indian Student Association (ISA) this fall.

Economists from Russia went to Capitol Hill to meet with two officials from the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Heidi Crebo-Rediker, Chief of International Finance and Economics working with Senator John Kerry (D-MA), and Marik String, Professional Staff Member for European and Eurasian affairs to Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN). Both officials shared their expertise on the formulation of public policy in the United States, as well as their insights into U.S. and Eurasian affairs, with the participants of the Yegor Gaidar Fellowship Program in Economics. 

IREX is pleased to announce the winners of the Fall 2011 Cultural Passport to America competition for the Global UGRAD-Pakistan program. Sonia (University of Arkansas), Maira (Eastern Washington University), Marbaila (Humboldt State University), and Durreshawar (SUNY-Plattsburgh) were selected as exemplary cultural ambassadors because of their participation in a diverse array of cultural events and their regular reflections through blog posts sharing their experiences.

Mariam Jachvadze, a student at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs’ Caucasus School of Journalism and Media Management, said that IREX’s recent Media Innovation Camp in Georgia helped her appreciate how rewarding journalism can be: “These two days were so close to reality – to work under pressure, try to meet a deadline, keep in mind journalistic standards, compete with others, endure critics -- that afterwards we asked ourselves: Do we really want to become journalists? Our answer is: Yes, we do!”