What we do
International Exchanges
Facilitating collaboration for a better world
The potential to help solve the world’s most pressing challenges lies largely with the many talented individuals — scientists, innovators, students, lawyers, journalists, and more — working to make positive impacts in their communities.
Since 2011, CRDF has connected global leaders with resources, mentorship, and professional training necessary to take their careers to the next level.
Our mission is to foster international peer-to-peer connections, build mutual understanding and trust, and promote cultural exchange between the American people and emerging leaders around the world. CRDF Global exchange participants return to their communities with the tools necessary to enhance their work, share new skills with colleagues, and continue collaborating with peers worldwide.
Our Impact
PROJECTS DELIVERED
TOTAL AWARDS VALUE
TOTAL PARTICIPANTS ENGAGED
COUNTRIES IMPACTED
Strategic Areas
Many of our exchanges encourage bilateral cooperation in the fields of chemical security, weapons of mass destruction, biological safety and security, public health, nonproliferation, and other areas strengthen global security. We also emphasize the engagement of women in the sector to support equal opportunities for women in a science sector that is traditionally male-dominated. Our custom exchanges for global experts in this sector engage laboratories, research institutions, ministries, universities, and other sector-specific stakeholders worldwide. They can range in time from a few weeks to a year.
Short term, custom-tailored fellowships enable global professionals to immerse themselves in professional development activities that further their own professional skills in the field of:
- Small and medium business development
- Business administration
- Business education
- Economic development policy
- Social entrepreneurship
- Community training programs
- Innovation and technology
- Emerging technologies
Fellowship exchanges support economic empowerment and create and sustain economic opportunities for women, youth, minorities, and marginalized populations.
CRDF Global believes in supporting early-career U.S. scientists as they engage in innovative research and international collaborations to support the field of science and technology in a meaningful and applicable manner. Our virtual and in-person fellowships connect young U.S. researchers and scientists with their international counterparts and mentors to create new partnerships that serve as the foundation for future Collaboration.
The field of cybersecurity is rapidly evolving, resulting in a required need for increased international Collaboration and cooperation to respond to global challenges and security concerns. For example, in Eastern Europe, our hybrid fellowship programs connect regional cybersecurity experts and their U.S. counterparts through fellowship placements at U.S. research institutions. Exchanges are designed to support follow-on activities that promote continued cooperation beyond the formal period of each exchange.
Professional exchanges create opportunities to build mutual understanding and trust and promote cultural exchange between U.S. citizens and emerging leaders around the world. Each professional exchange brings global leaders to the United States on a custom-designed program that responds to the thematic topic of importance to that specific country or region. Three to four-week virtual and in-person exchanges cover a wide range of topics, including but not limited to democratic institutions, human rights, global health, science and technology, and environmental security.
Past Experience
Global Health Security
CRDF Global welcomed 22 participants from around the world on the first of many projects focused on Global Health. Participants traveled to D.C., North Carolina, Texas, Florida, Minnesota, South Dakota and California to explore opportunities to promote international cooperation, examine local efforts to predict outbreaks, assess public awareness campaigns, and network with professional counterparts.
New Experiences
Exchange is about connections and the moments that build relationships. While on a project examining peace and security promotion through education and youth participations, four leaders from the Philippines stopped in Rocky Mountain National Park to experience their first snow!
Combatting Gender Based Violence: Pivot to Virtual
At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, CRDF Global team members supported the safe return of seven participants from the U.S. to Brazil. Three months later, CRDF Global was pleased to welcome those same participants back to the U.S., this time virtually, to continue their exchange on “Combating Gender-Based Violence.”
Who We Work With
Affiliated Partners & Existing Programs
Professional Fellows Program (PFP)
The PFP is a two-way, global exchange program designed to promote mutual understanding, enhance leadership and professional skills, as well as build lasting, sustainable partnerships between mid-level emerging leaders from foreign countries and the U.S.
International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP)
The IVLP is a U.S. Department of State professional exchange program that builds mutual understanding between the U.S. and other nations through carefully designed short-term visits to the U.S. for current and emerging foreign leaders.
Alumni Spotlight
IVLP Perspectives Point to a Multi-Dimensional Response to Combat Disinformation
Dr. Rumena Filipova is Chairperson and Co-Founder of the Institute for Global Analytics (Bulgaria), which seeks to foster closer bonds between academia, policy-making, and civil society on the basis of innovative ideas, connecting the global with the local. In 2021, she was selected by the U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria to participate in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) on media responsibility in an age of disinformation. The IVLP is a professional exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State that fosters mutual understanding between current and emerging foreign leaders and their American counterparts.
Friends in Far Places
In 2019, Kadri Arrak was one of 28 international visitors nominated by their respective embassies to travel to the U.S. as part of an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) focused on science and technology entrepreneurship. Traveling from countries on opposite sides of the equator – from Iceland to Brazil, Nepal to South Africa – the visitors explored entrepreneurial cities such as Washington, DC, Boston, Dallas, Kansas City, and Minneapolis, to collaborate with their American counterparts at organizations such as the National Science Foundation, Google Fiber, and Sprint Accelerator. After the program, Arrak returned home to Estonia with a newfound understanding of the U.S. and a commitment to using innovation as a tool to connect global communities.
IVLP Alumnus Brings Impact of Global Exchanges Back Home
At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, CRDF Global team members suCommunity activist Chitral Jayawarna has worked towards his vision of a global egalitarian society for most of his professional career, through leadership positions with service organizations such as the Lions Club of Pita Kotte. But after participating in a 2019 International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) on cross-border trade, the economist and public relations specialist returned to his home country of Sri Lanka with new inspiration on how to bring that vision to life, starting in his local community.
Q&A with 2020 RCMF Fellow, Özge Özkan
Fadime Özge Özkan is a Nuclear Engineer and Research Assistant under the Nuclear Research Division of the Energy Institute at Istanbul Technical University. She is also a Ph.D. student in the Energy Science and Technology Division of the Energy Institute. She is currently working on research remotely at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC.
Examining Energy Sector Best Practices in the U.S. and Japan
Shizuka Sugiura works in the International Affairs Office at the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). In her role as officer, she develops TEPCO’s communication strategy, participates in overseas consulting projects, and helps build relationships between energy companies and governmental agencies of other countries. In November of 2019, she traveled to the U.S. through the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) to study risk management best practices and safety culture of the energy sector in the U.S. The IVLP is an initiative funded by the Department of State’s Office of International Visitors (OIV) to foster mutual understanding between the U.S. and other countries through professional and cultural international exchanges.
Like Mother, Like Daughter: IVLP Transcends Generations
Sanat Ryskulova works as a Research Associate with the National Institute for Strategic Studies of the Kyrgyz Republic, a government think tank. In December of 2019, she traveled to the U.S. through the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) to study policy formation. The IVLP is an initiative funded by the Department of State Office of International Visitors (OIV) to foster mutual understandings between the U.S. and other countries through professional and cultural international exchanges.
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