Item Posted: December 21, 2009

Two Fellows from Jordan Appointed to Cabinet Positions

Imad Najib Fakhoury, '02, Jordan has been appointed Minister of Public Sector Development and Minister of State for Mega Projects, it was announced last week. In 2004, he became CEO of the Aqaba Development Corporation, a position he held until assuming his post as minister. Dr. Walid Al Maani, '83, Jordan was reappointed Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. A former Minister of Health and Higher Education, Al Maani also served as president of the University of Jordan from 1998-2002.

Item Posted: December 15, 2009

Photo Caption: (Left to Right) Kimball Chen, Trustee, Eisenhower Fellowships, Dr. Jiang Bo, '99, China, Secretary General, CEAIE, Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, Executive Committee Chair, Eisenhower Fellowships, Hao Ping, '99, China, Vice Minister, Ministry of Education, People's Republic of China, John Wolf, President, Eisenhower Fellowships, Shen Yang, Deputy Secretary General, Ministry of Education, People's Republic of China.

Eisenhower Fellowships Executive Committee Chair Meets with Vice Minister of Education and Eisenhower Fellow

On December 4th, Vice Minister Hao Ping, '99, China, met with Eisenhower Fellowships Executive Committee Chair Governor Christine Todd Whitman, at the Ministry of Education in Beijing. Vice Minister of Education Hao Ping, an Eisenhower Fellow (1999), emphasized that the Eisenhower Fellowships program is a top-notch exchange program between China and the United States with unique strategic importance. He also noted that the Ministry of Education fully supports the partnership between the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE) and Eisenhower Fellowships and the promotion of broader U.S.-China exchange. Governor Whitman extended her appreciation for the support from Dr. Hao Ping, both as the Vice Minister of Education and an Eisenhower Fellow.

Item Posted: December 11, 2009

Irish Fellows including special guests in attendance: Alban Maginness MLA, Lady and Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, U.S. Consul General in Belfast Kamala S. Lakhdir and Dr Stephen Farry MLA. (pictured left to right in front row).

Irish Fellows Celebrate 20th Anniversary in Belfast

The Irish Eisenhower Fellows gathered on November 21 to mark Eisenhower Day of Fellowship (EF Day) and to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Irish Single Area Program. The celebration took place at the Parliament Buildings, Stormont. Special guests attending included Alban Maginness MLA, Lady and Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, U.S. Consul General in Belfast Kamala S. Lakhdir and Dr Stephen Farry MLA. EF Day was established in 2008 as a day for Fellows to gather to commemorate the Fellowships' core belief that Fellows should use "the knowledge gained from their Fellowship for the benefit of their country;" renew the fellowship experience of exchanging international perspectives; create opportunities for increasing the impact and visibility of Eisenhower Fellowships; and demonstrate with Fellows around the world that dialogue, understanding and collaboration can make this a more prosperous, just and peaceful world. The Irish Single Region program brought Fellows from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to the United States to examine a variety of issues, including conflict management.

Item Posted: December 8, 2009

TWO INDONESIAN FELLOWS APPOINTED TO CABINET

Mr. Agung Laksono, '90, and Mrs. Mari Pangestu, '90 were both appointed as cabinet members by President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono, on October 21, following Indonesia’s recent Presidential elections. Mr. Agung Laksono will serve as the Coordinating Minister of Welfare with 10 cabinet members under his coordination. He also serves as Vice Chairman of Golkar party, the oldest and second largest political party in Indonesia. Mr. Agung Laksono was previously the Speaker of the House of People's Representative (2004-2009). Mrs. Pangestu has been reappointed as Minister of Trade, a position she has held since 2004.

Item Posted: December 4, 2009

Left to right: Reggie Ngcobo, Keila Knobel, Marcelo Knobel, and Gerhard Prinsloo (a colleague of Ngcobo's)

Marcelo Knobel, '07, Brazil, recently traveled to South Africa, where he met with Reggie Ngcobo, '94, South Africa. Knobel and Ngcobo both attended the 2009 Conference of the Academy of Sciences of the Developing World in Durban, where Ngcobo works as an executive director at the Durban University of Technology. Knobel is Dean of Undergraduate Programs at Universidade Estadual De Campinas

Item Posted: December 2, 2009

Bangladesh Fellow Named 2009 Hero of Environment

Rizwana Hasan, '07, Bangladesh, has been named a 2009 Hero of the Environment by TIME Magazine. Hasan, who was previously honored with the Goldman Prize, was chosen for her fight to protect workers in the shipbreaking industry and for helping to ensure that Bangladesh is no longer a dumping ground for the world’s polluted ships.

Following is an excerpt from the TIME article by Krista Mahr: “Every morning on the beaches of Chittagong, some 15,000 men go to work knowing that they could die that day. For 16-hour shifts, workers in Bangladesh’s largest shipbreaking zone are sent with little protection or guidance into other nations’ aging vessels to pull their hulls apart by hand. Inside the ships they face a haze of thick, black smoke from the torches used to cut the metal, unstable gases, asbestos, lead and mercury. By some estimates, one shipbreaker is killed every day by the explosions, fires, or falling metal of South Asia’s shipyards. Those who survive face a high risk of cancer and other illnesses. Most shipbreakers work five or six years before they return to their villages, young old men, too worn out or sick to make a living.

"Syeda Rizwana Hasan, 41, is one of the few advocates for these men — and the beaches where the contaminated ships end up. As chief executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) for the past six years, Hasan has struggled to bring better environmental and labor regulation to Bangladesh’s 36 shipbreaking yards, where, she says, 'nobody is present' to ensure labor laws are followed or international guidelines against toxic waste-dumping are met.”

To read the full article, click here.

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