Soft Power

From the Department of State:

In a new initiative responding to President Obama’s June 2009 speech in Cairo, the U.S. Department of State is bringing 25 science teachers from as many countries to the United States for an International Visitor Leadership Program called “A New Beginning: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Education,” September 27 through October 15.

The teachers will engage in a professional, cultural and educational examination of the building blocks of STEM education at the primary and secondary levels in seven cities across the United States. Participants will visit several schools to explore how to nurture and support hands-on science education, how to demonstrate the relevance of science for children, and how to create a setting in which children actively engage in scientific learning.

This exchange will lay the groundwork for long-term relationships and foster international collaboration in an effort to develop rising leaders in the field of science and technology. After the teachers return home, their students and those of their American counterparts will be invited to take part in global “virtual” science fairs.