The Embassy’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) sends an average of 130 current or rising leaders in government, politics, NGOs, education, and other fields from Mexico to the U.S. each year to meet and confer with their counterparts and to experience the U.S. firsthand. Participants spend two-three weeks on carefully tailored trips to several cities in groups either from around the globe, from Latin America, or from Mexico only. They visit federal, state, and local government agencies; NGOs; businesses; schools; clubs; or any number of other organizations that are connected to their field in Mexico. One alumnus participated in a program in 2016 which focused on LGBTQ+ rights, and on his return, he started his own NGO. He was recently selected as an international “Gold Star IVLP” due to his current work implementing the caucus model of LGBTQ+ Equality in the Mexican Congress where he works with senators and congressmen to codify the country’s LGBTQ+ rights. Another alumna from 2019 is working with her colleague who is an IVLP alumnus from 2015 and officials at the Ministry of Security to develop a strong and coordinated national cyber security strategy. They plan to start granting a digital seal of trust in virtual stores for online purchases. She is also working on a program to educate consumers on the threat of cyber-attacks. For some years now, international visitors from Mexico have been heading to the U.S. focused on labor law, migration, sports management, regional security, minority participation in government, cybersecurity, NGO management, digital education, corporate social responsibility, and transparency in government, to name just a few.
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