Meridian Exchange: February 2023

For Media

CELEBRATE THE ART OF WOMEN'S HEALTH WITH MERIDIAN

Join Meridian on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 for the pop-up mural photo exhibition, “Her Promise, Our Purpose,” and vocal performance by Brinae Ali. The program will feature welcome remarks from The Honorable Alice Albright, Chief Executive Officer, Millennium Challenge Corporation and The Honorable Marisa Lago, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade. This reception will celebrate global efforts to strengthen care infrastructure and will promote partnerships to expand access and improve the quality of care for women and girls around the world.

BRINGING CULTURAL DIPLOMACY BEYOND WASHINGTON

For over 45 years, the Meridian Center for Cultural Diplomacy has been the leading center in the United States that employs the visual and performing arts to achieve U.S. foreign policy objectives in 91 countries since 1978. Our Building Identity: Modern Architectural Heritage of the Emirates exhibition during Modernism Week in Palm Springs, CA displayed photographs by American-based architectural photographers that traveled with Meridian to the UAE in 2019. The Week concluded with a panel discussion featuring Frances Anderton and members of the delegation. Meridian also collaborated with the New Orleans Jazz Museum to host, "Hearts & Minds: Jazz as a Universal Language of Diplomacy" a panel discussion on the impactful role jazz played during the Cold War.

Continue similar conversations at our third-annual cultural diplomacy celebration, Culturefix this summer!

HONORING INTERNATIONAL WOMEN OF COURAGE

Since 2013, Meridian, in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, has had the honor of welcoming the Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage (IWOC) awardees to Washington. This year, Meridian partnered with the U.S. Department of State to administer the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) for the 2023 International Women of Courage (IWOC) Awards. In addition, Meridian along with the U.S. Department of State hosted an evening reception honoring the 2021 and 2022 IWOC Awardees. By celebrating their accomplishments, we can inspire future generations of women to continue the fight for a more just and equal world.

REGISTER TODAY: ALL DIPLOMACY IS LOCAL

American success abroad and on the world stage is directly linked to policies and actions at home.

Our 7th annual Meridian Diplomacy Forum, All Diplomacy is Local: Strengthening City and State Statecraft, we’re bringing together mayors and other subnational government officials from Ukraine, Canada, Uganda, Spain and across the United States to explore the emergence of cities and states as global actors in diplomacy, their evolving impact on everything from international trade and business development to climate change mitigation and global health, and how engaging previously underserved and overlooked pockets of America will fortify U.S. international relations. Governor Jon Huntsman, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and State Department Special Representative for City and State Diplomacy Nina Hachigian are among our featured speakers.

The 2023 Meridian Diplomacy Forum is scheduled for April 12, 2023 on Meridian’s campus and livestreamed for a global audience. See the full program agenda here.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Spring Meeting Curtain-Raiser with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva

April 6, 2023 | In Person and Virtual

Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva will provide the global economic outlook and highlight key priorities for policymakers at this pivotal moment, in the kickoff to the Spring Meetings. The conversation is moderated by Ryan Heath, Editorial Director, POLITICO. To inquire about in-person attendance, please reach out to mcde@meridian.org.

Tech Envoy Series: Briefing with Ms. Audrey Plonk, Head of Digital Economy Policy Division, OECD

April 6, 2023| In Person

Audrey Plonk will share her insights on priorities and concerns for the OECD given the transformations that digital technologies are producing across the global economy.

Culturefix: Conversations and the Meridian Cultural Diplomacy Awards

June 2, 2023 | In Person and Virtual

Our third-annual cultural diplomacy celebration, Culturefix, will honor the power of the arts and culture to help fix global challenges faced by people, communities, and the planet featuring conversations with world-class artists and cultural leaders on: Art’s Role in the March on Democracy, De-weaponizing Cultural Heritage, Fashion and Culinary Diplomacy: Appreciation vs. Appropriation and Gender, Sexuality and Human Rights. For more information, visit here.