U.S. History, Education & Culture for Radio Broadcasters – A Project for Nigeria

On Monday, September 25th Meridian International Center welcomed 8 visitors from Nigeria for a ten-day long International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). Made up of radio broadcasters, station managers, and producers, the group participated in the program to learn more about American history and institutions. During this IVLP, the participants explored the diversity and culture of the U.S.; gained an understanding of the evolution of women's rights in America; and visited universities to gain a perspective on the U.S. educational system. The participants convened in Washington, DC before departing for Detroit, MI and Atlanta, GA.

While in Washington, the group took part in a State Department sponsored lunch that included representatives from Greetings from America, the Bureau of African Affairs at State, and the ECA Collaboratory. A meeting with Greetings from America followed afterward, where the visitors spoke with Mr. Vincent Valentino about presenting the experiences of Nigerian students who are studying in the U.S. to a Nigerian radio audience. Appointments were also scheduled with Operation Understanding, a non-profit that works to promote mutual understanding among African American and Jewish community leaders; the U.S. government broadcasting service Voice of America; and the National Women's Party, a party that was founded in 1916 to address women's suffrage and equality. Following the conclusion of these meetings, the group traveled to Detroit.

Our partner, Global Ties Detroit, began the group's local itinerary by meeting with school administrators, students, and faculty from Fordson High school, a public school that has a large Arab-American population. There they discussed religious considerations for its students and how the school works to integrate immigrants and the children of immigrants into their community. Next, the group met with staff at the WGPR TV Historical Society, a museum dedicated to the first African-American owned and operated television station in the country. In addition, meetings were scheduled with representatives from the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, the anchor for US Arab Radio (Radio Baladi), and a docent at the Arab American National Museum. Prior to their departure for Atlanta, the group attended the debut of Behind the Lens, a new program series that features "screenings of documentaries, news specials, and movie shorts" with follow up discussions from their directors.

The final local itinerary was programmed by the Georgia Council for International Visitors. Upon their arrival in Atlanta, the visitors had the opportunity to take part in a home hosted dinner held by several local volunteers. During the following day, they had appointments with the Rainbow/PUSH coalition, an organization that works to develop economic and political ties throughout Africa and the African Diaspora; the Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta, a faith based non-profit that promotes interfaith understanding for the local community; and Ms. Barbara Harrison the Director of Strategic Partners at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. A meeting with StoryCorps Atlanta introduced them to this show’s narrative interviewing and oral history approach. After these appointments concluded, the visitors departed for home to apply what they learned in their respective institutions.

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