Stories of IREX

Peace and stability are precursors to democracy. Moreover, a democracy respects diversity. Lebanon is a small country in the Middle East with a multi-confessional demographic that has not found the right formula for its 18 confessional communities to live together peacefully. From 1975 to 1990, Lebanon went through a civil war that was fought along confessional lines and greatly weakened the state from within. Twenty years after the war ended, these confessional groups live down the street from each other but still don’t interact.

IREX welcomes the observance of International Education Week, November 15 to 19, a joint initiative of the US Department of State and the US Department of Education to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchanges worldwide.  Global UGRAD fellows, studying and living in US campuses and communities across the country, reflect on what international education means to them and its impact on their lives and the Americans they encounter day to day.

In Odorheiu Secuiesc, pensioners are now learning how to stay in touch with family and loved ones online at their local library.

The Global UGRAD in Pakistan fellows at the University of Arkansas, in collaboration with the International Student Scholars’ Office, the Red Cross Student Organization, the Pakistani Student Group and the Friends of India, organized a fundraiser for Pakistan flood relief on Monday, September 25, 2010.

On September 27-28, 2010 IREX and IWPR hosted a conference entitled Emerging Technologies/Emerging Democracies that brought together government, media, and civil society to discuss the issues of technology, media, advocacy, and governance in Iraq.

While at the University of Nebraska-Kearny, Anna Tsyrdia (UGRAD 2008-2009), volunteered at the Kearny public library, where she was impressed by the facilities and special services provided for disabled people.

A native of St. Petersburg, 2009-2010 Teaching Fellow Yelena Francis is passionate about sharing her culture, not only with the students in her Russian language and Russian literature and media courses at Bennett College for Women, but with the Greensboro community at large.

Alumni of the 2009 TEA program returned to their home countries in November 2009 and have been steadily working to put their experience into practice in their schools and communities.

An IREX continuing education course on social marketing prompted a group of Georgian alumni from the Eurasian Undergraduate Exchange Program (UGRAD) to launch an anti-smoking campaign targeting youth. Using social marketing tools that combine education and elements of advertising, the group led educational presentations and initiated public awareness campaigns through several elementary schools around Georgia.

UGRAD alumna Zhanar Zhaxylykova (2007-2008) believes that kids with disabilities have the right to perform in concerts, play sports, socialize, and do all the other things their peers without disabilities often take for granted. To make sure all young people have a chance to enjoy childhood, in June Zhanar organized Gold Heart 2, a volunteer-run camp in Aktobe, creating an environment where kids with disabilities could enjoy themselves, while parents received specialized training in how to care for and support their children.