One Reason #WhyHostingMatters: Volunteerism Makes Communities Stronger
The Huffington Post
US Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Evan Ryan believes hosting is more than welcoming an international exchange student to your home it's the first step toward strengthening a community.
Students from the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) and the American-Serbia and Montenegro Youth Leadership Exchange (A-SMYLE) contributed a combined 4,000 hours of community service across the US in their host communities in the last year alone. Consider hosting a bright, young scholarship student this school year and receive the world in return.
The Decline of International Studies
Foreign Affairs
The lack of government funding for intensive study of foreign languages and cultures is a cause for concern, argues Charles King, author, researcher, and professor of International Affairs at Georgetown University.
King asserts that, "Shifting priorities at the national level, a misreading of the effects of globalization, and academics' own drift away from knowing real things about real places have combined to weaken this vital component of the United States' intellectual capital." King views this lack of support as part of a broader trend: the scaling back of a long-term national commitment to education focused on international affairs.
From the Cincinnati Reds to the Moscow Reds: The Memoirs of Irwin Weil
Academic Studies Press
Irwin "Irv" Weil, the longest-serving member of American Councils' Board of Trustees, recently published his memoirs, reflecting on his roots in Cincinnati where his father owned the MLB club The Cincinnati Reds to a lifetime immersed in Slavic language and culture.
Credited with over 100 visits to the former Soviet Union, Irv considers himself as "half-Russian" and hopes that readers will come away with a better understanding of Russia and the countries that comprised the former Soviet Union.