Letters From Cornell University - 3
- Part 2 -
- The Global Leadership Forum at Washington D.C. 19th - 23rd October, 2008 -
By Rajkumari Sunita Devi *
Though our program in Cornell started in August (and for some fellows in other Universities, in September), the Global Leadership Forum was a main highlight of this fellowship. Within just a short period of three months, we were taken to many places of interest, relevant to our field and other interesting topics.
The curiosity of the Global Forum was always there from the beginning before we arrive at the US. We had little knowledge of what actually will that be and when the day did arrive, it did arrived. Thanks to Francine, our Assistant Program Co-ordinator, for her timely advice on our dressing up for the forum.
Being in Ithaca, it was a different scene from the happening in Washington D.C. and her tips on various other things were worth mentioning. The Forum was scheduled from 19-23 October, 2008 and the venue was the Key Bridge Marriot Hotel., Washington D.C.
There were 163 fellows from 90 countries. Each one of them distinguished in their own field of work.
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The forum started with a tour of Washington D.C. in the afternoon followed by a welcome dinner at the evening. Dr. Ed Roslof, Director, Humphrey Fellowship Program Division, IIE gave the opening remark followed by Dr. John Sedlins, Chief, Humphrey Fellowship and Institutional Linkages Branch, U.S. Department of State.
The setting was in the Potomac Ballroom in the Marriot and nothing could be better. Later at the evening, Dr. Allan J. Lichtman, Professor of History, American University talked about the Legacy of Hubert H. Humphrey with the film Hubert H. Humphrey: Here's My Hand, playing on the screen.
There was pin dropped silence in the Ballroom and each and every one of us Humphrey Fellow was captivated by the film. Our heart was felt up with warmness for this person whom we never did saw and it was because of his greatness that each of us were present in that room.
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Time and again I thanked the IIE, the U.S. Department of State and everyone who selected us, in my heart. That night was just the tip of the ice berg. That event that followed was "awesome" like the Americans say it.
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to be continued....
Read more on Sunita here.
* Rajkumari Sunita Devi (Junior Scientist at Manipur Remote Sensing and Application Centre) is a regular contributor to e-pao.net. She is the recipient of Hubert Humphrey Fellow, 2008-08 at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. She was conferred the "Map Asia Award 2007" at Kuala Lampur. Read more on her here and here. This article was webcasted on November 26, 2008.
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