 | |
| Founded | 1968 [1] |
|---|---|
| Type | 501(c)3 |
| Focus | Education, independent media, civil society |
| Location | |
Area served | International |
| Product | International development |
Key people | Kristin Lord (President) [2] |
Revenue | $70,206,999 [3] |
Employees | 400 [4] |
| Website | www.irex.org |
The International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX) is an international, nonprofit organization that specializes in global education and development. IREX works with partners in more than 100 countries. [4]
IREX was established in 1968 by the American Council of Learned Societies, the Ford Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, and the US Department of State. [5] [6] [7] IREX conducted scholarly exchanges between the US and the Soviet Union until the fall of the Iron Curtain. [5]
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, IREX implemented projects to support democratic reforms and strengthen organizations. [8] IREX administered programs to conduct educational exchanges, strengthen civil society in developing countries, increase internet access, and provide training and support to journalists and media organizations. [9] [10] [11]
IREX designs and implements programs that focus on civil society, education, gender, governance, leadership, media, technology, and youth. [12]
These programs include the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, [13] [14] the World Smarts STEM Challenge, [15] [16] and Learn to Discern, which has been discussed for its approach to helping citizens recognize disinformation and fake news. [17] [18] [19]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world." Formed in 1944, started on 27 December 1945, at the Bretton Woods Conference primarily by the ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes, it came into formal existence in 1945 with 29 member countries and the goal of reconstructing the international monetary system. It now plays a central role in the management of balance of payments difficulties and international financial crises. Countries contribute funds to a pool through a quota system from which countries experiencing balance of payments problems can borrow money. As of 2016, the fund had XDR 477 billion. The IMF is regarded as the global lender of last resort.
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental organizations, but some are semi-autonomous agencies within government or are associated with particular political parties, businesses or the military. Think-tank funding often includes a combination of donations from very wealthy people and those not so wealthy, with many also accepting government grants.
The United States Information Agency (USIA), which operated from 1953 to 1999, was a United States government agency devoted to the practice of public diplomacy. In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush, President Bill Clinton assigned USIA's cultural exchange and non-broadcasting intelligence functions to the newly created under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs at the U.S. Department of State. USIA's broadcasting functions were moved to the newly created Broadcasting Board of Governors. The agency was previously known overseas as the United States Information Service (USIS), operating out of U.S. embassies worldwide. Since the merger of USIA with the Department of State, public diplomacy and public affairs sections at U.S. missions have carried on this work.
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of the United States and other countries, through the exchange of persons, knowledge, and skills. Via the program, competitively-selected American citizens including students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists, and artists may receive scholarships or grants to study, conduct research, teach, or exercise their talents abroad; and citizens of other countries may qualify to do the same in the United States. The program was founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946 and is considered to be one of the most widely recognized and prestigious scholarships in the world. The program provides approximately 8,000 grants annually—roughly 1,600 to U.S. students, 1,200 to U.S. scholars, 4,000 to foreign students, 900 to foreign visiting scholars, and several hundred to teachers and professionals.
Cultural diplomacy is a type of public diplomacy and soft power that includes the "exchange of ideas, information, art, language and other aspects of culture among nations and their peoples in order to foster mutual understanding". The purpose of cultural diplomacy is for the people of a foreign nation to develop an understanding of the nation's ideals and institutions in an effort to build broad support for economic and political goals. In essence "cultural diplomacy reveals the soul of a nation", which in turn creates influence. Though often overlooked, cultural diplomacy can and does play an important role in achieving national security efforts.
International education refers to a dynamic concept that involves a journey or movement of people, minds, or ideas across political and cultural frontiers. It is facilitated by the globalization phenomenon, which increasingly erases the constraints of geography on economic, social and cultural arrangements. The concept involves a broad range of learning, covering, for instance, formal education and informal learning. It could also involve a reorientation of academic outlook such as the pursuit of "worldmindedness" as a goal so that a school or its academic focus is considered international. For example, the National Association of State Universities prescribes the adoption of "proper education" that reflects the full range of international, social, political, cultural, and economic dialogue. International educators are responsible for "designing, managing, and facilitating programs and activities that help participants to appropriately, effectively, and ethically engage in interactions with culturally diverse people and ideas."
Sister Cities International (SCI) is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between communities in the United States and those in other countries, particularly through the establishment of "sister cities"—broad, long-term agreements formally recognized by civic leaders. Its mission is to "build global cooperation at the municipal level, promote cultural understanding and stimulate economic development". A total of 1,800 cities, states, and counties are partnered in 138 countries worldwide.
The Institute of International Education (IIE) is a 501(c) organization which focuses on international student exchange and aid, foreign affairs, and international peace and security. IIE creates programs of study and training for students, educators and professionals from various sectors. The organization says its mission is to "build more peaceful and equitable societies by advancing scholarship, building economies and promoting access to opportunity".
Stuart Anspach Umpleby is an American cybernetician and professor in the Department of Management and Director of the Research Program in Social and Organizational Learning in the School of Business at the George Washington University.
The Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding in Mykolaiv is a higher education institution which trains specialists for the shipbuilding and allied industries of Ukraine. The university is named after Russian admiral Stepan Makarov, who was born in the city.
The net-map toolbox is a social network analysis tool that uses interviews and mapping to help people understand, visualize, discuss, and improve situations in which many different actors influence outcomes. Social network analysis is a research approach used by scholars such as S.D. Berkowitz, Stephen Borgatti, Ronald Burt, Linton Freeman, Mark Granovetter, Nicholas Mullins, Anatol Rapoport, Stanley Wasserman, Barry Wellman, and Harrison White to better understand the implications of the position of individual actors in a social structure.
Adrian Anthony Basora is an American diplomat, and former United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic. He is a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute researching democratization in the post-Communist states of Europe and Central Asia, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Media development involves capacity building for institutions or individuals related to freedom of expression, pluralism and diversity of media, as well as transparency of media ownership. Media development plays a role in democracy and effective democratic discourse through supporting free and independent media.
Development Gateway, Inc. is an international non-profit organization that provides technical tools and advisory services to country governments and development organizations.
The International Research and Exchanges Board’s (IREX) Media Sustainability Index (MSI) is a tool to evaluate the global development of independent media. The MSI is one of the most important indices "to assess how media systems change over time and across borders", in addition to the Freedom of the Press Index compiled by Freedom House and the Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders.
Janusz Bugajski is a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation in Washington, D.C., and host of “Bugajski Hour” television shows broadcast in the Balkans. He was formerly a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in Washington, D.C., and the director of New European Democracy Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Foreign aid for gender equality in Jordan includes programs funded by governments or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that aim to empower women, close gender based gaps in opportunity and experience, and promote equal access to education, economic empowerment, and political representation in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Pedro Fernandes Lopes, is the current Secretary of State for Innovation and Vocational Training of the Government of the Republic of Cape Verde.
Ivor Agyeman-Duah is a Ghanaian academic, economist, writer, editor and film director. He has worked in Ghana's diplomatic service and has served as an advisor on development policy.
The Lacy-Zarubin Agreement, also known as the Agreement Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Exchanges in Cultural, Technical, and Educational Fields, was a bilateral agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union on various fields including film, dance, music, tourism, technology, science, medicine, and scholarly research exchange. The agreement was signed on 27 January 1958 in Washington, D.C., negotiated between William S.B. Lacy, U.S. President's Special Assistant on East-West exchanges and Georgy Zarubin, Soviet ambassador to the United States.
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