Vincentian Kenrick Quashie is to participate in the U.S. Government sponsored International Visitor Leadership Programme, IVLP.
A release from the U.S. Embassy in Barbados says Mr. Quashie will travel to the United States this month as the latest Eastern Caribbean participant in the IVLP Programme.
Mr. Quashie is the founder and Managing Director of Youth Business St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a non-profit organization which addresses the level of poverty, unemployment, and underemployment among youth.
The release says he will take part in a two-week project on “Standing with Civil Society” with 22 other participants from around the world.
The participants are a diverse group, hailing from as far as the Solomon Islands, Algeria, Burma, Ukraine, and Zimbabwe. The program offers the opportunity for the group to network with professional counterparts (both U.S. and international) to increase information sharing.
Mr. Quashie’s program will examine the role of civil society in the United States and techniques used to foster civic engagement, highlight the influence of advocacy groups in shaping policy, and explain how civic groups mobilize people and resources to help make governments more accountable.
The program, which begins on September 15, will open in Washington, D.C. and end in New York on September 26. The national itinerary will also include travel in smaller groups to Minneapolis, Minnesota; New Orleans, Louisiana, Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.
The IVLP is the Department of State’s premier, professional exchange program.The program brings together emerging leaders in their respective professions to learn how U.S. experts in that profession operate and to share best practices with the other program candidates who hail from the same region and across the globe.
