_______PAST First Wednesdays in 2008 _________

February 2008                               August 2008
March 2008                                   September 2008
April 2008                                     October 2008
May 2008                                     November 2008
June 2008                                    December 2008 

International programs represented at November's First Thursday:

University of Pennsylvania English Language Program

Welcome twelve executives from Japan and Korea attending Penn's International Business Communications Program.  First Thursday is a great way for them to meet Americans and practice their English in a friendly, informal "American cocktail party" setting. Join us for this great opportunity to learn about networking in Japan!

International programs represented at October's First Thursday:
 
International Visitor Leadership Program

U.S. Dept. of State:  
- From Russia, meet seven guests who are in the U.S. to examine various aspects of the adoption process in the U.S.  They will explore the varying responsibilities between federal and state government and their role in international adoption policies.

University of Pennsylvania School of Law

Joining us are three PENN LL.M students from Australia, Italy and Sweden. who recently arrived in Philadelphia for a year at Penn for their advanced American LL.M. degree.  This year-long program offers Philadelphia's law firms opportunities to develop relationships for expanding overseas.

During their one year in Philadelphia they will be participating in IVC's Discover Philadelphia program, funded by Commerce Bank and the City of Philadelphia.  IVC will connect them with the City's law firms and cultural resources and help them - and Philadelphians - develop a stronger international network while they fall in love with Philadelphia.

The following programs were represented at June's First Wednesday:

Consular Corps Association of Philadelphia

As part of IVC's program to honor the Consular Corps, we were pleased that the Honorary Consul of Bulgaria joined us.  This distinguished jurist had been a USAID lecturer in Bulgaria during the Summers of 2000-2002, and in 2004 was appointed by the Republic of Bulgaria to serve as Honorary Consul in Philadelphia.  He is also a senior judge on Superior Court and was previously elected to two 10-year terms on Superior Court beginning in 1981, and was the court's president judge from 1996 to 2001.  Join us to meet Hon. Stephen J. McEwen and learn more about Bulgaria, which became a member of the EU in 2007.
 
International Visitor Leadership Program
 
Joining us on Wednesday was an impressive group of fourteen men and women from eleven American countries (Central and South America, that is), including elected and appointed national and local officials, journalists, lawyers, and others looking at "Transparency and Good Governance in the U.S."  They begin their 21-day State Department IVLP program in Philadelphia before heading off to four additional cities.  This program is designed to provide participants with insight into ethical standards of conduct in government, and characteristics of good governance that underpin the American democratic system.  They will have opportunities to examine the principles of transparency, accountability and ethics and explore how these principles are defined, monitored and enforced.   The countries represented are Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela.  This Spanish-speaking group will be accompanied by three State Department interpreters but if you speak Spanish this is a great opportunity to keep up your skills!

First impressions are important and we are pleased that Philadelphia's IVC was selected to arrange the opening segment of this important North American/U.S. IVLP visit.
 
Sister Cities Program

Tianjin, China
Joining us were two lawyers from Tianjin who are at Temple's Beasley School of Law on its LL.M. program until mid July. One is a prosecutor and the other is with the China Bank Regulatory Commission. They are part of a larger group from China attending Temple's Law School (see below). Join us to welcome these two new "family" members to Philadelphia!

Cameroon & Poland:  Returning this month were our two favorite relatives from two Sister Cities.  Danielle, from Cameroon, is in graduate school at Temple University studying Biology.  Aneta, from Poland, is IVC's Communications Manager and is working on a trip for Philadelphia students to go to Torun this October to begin youth exchanges with Torun and Philadelphia schools. 
 
Temple University's Beasley School of Law

More than thirty lawyers and judges were attending Temple's Law School in China on a 15-month LL.M. program that has brought them to the Philadelphia campus.  Many of them will be joining us at the First Wednesday reception, including two from our Chinese Sister City, Tianjin (see above).
Temple's Law School administers the LL.M. program in China (the only one of its kind) through a cooperative venture with Tsinghua University in Beijing.  Temple is one of Philadelphia's most international universities with campuses in Rome and Tokyo, and has prestigious study abroad programs in London, Beijing, Paris, Mumbai and other locations worldwide. 
 
Middle East Partnership Initiative

Find out what life has been like in Philadelphia for the past month for four women from the Middle East!

Joining us again this month were four women from four countries, Egypt, Israel, Kuwait and Oman who had been selected from among thousands for a special State Department program to empower women executives and lawyers from the Middle East.  They began their Fellowships last month at three generous firms/organizations: BDP Int'l Global Logistics is hosting a business woman from Egypt.  Dilworth Paxson's international law department is hosting an Arab-Israeli lawyer, and PECO/Exelon welcomes two women in its Law and Finance Departments from Kuwait and Oman. Our thanks again to these three good "Corporate Diplomats" and to members of the Forum of Executive Women for supporting these women and this important program - and for helping us raise Philadelphia's international profile.

Additional Guest of IVC

From France, we welcomed a woman from Marseilles who is  a member of the "Association France-Etats-Unis," a friendship group established after WW II.  This group entertained members of the U.S. Navy when they came to harbour but with the fleet rarely there today, it now welcomes visiting choral groups, artists, etc.  She is a friend of long-time IVC member and host, Marietta Nettl, who has settled in Marseilles and is very missed by her friends here.

 The following programs were represented in April:

At our February's reception you could have met these distinguished guests:

- INTERNATIONAL VISITOR LEADERSHIP PROGRAM -
U.S. Dept. of State:
- From Croatia,  four guests looking at issues relating to "United Nations Security Council and U.S. Presidential Campaigns." Philadelphia is one of five cities they are visiting on this program. State Department interpreters will be there to help with your conversations.

- LA SALLE UNIVERSITY:
Paul Brazina, the new Dean of La Salle's Business School with expertise in e-commerce, fraud and forensic accounting. A teacher for many years and interim Dean, he was named Dean of the School of Business this past November. He was accompanied by a delegation from La Salle, including Elizabeth Scofield, Director of La Salle's MBA-Full Time Graduate Studies. (Liz, who also handles their international students, will receive IVC's Citizen Diplomacy Award at our 54th Annual Meeting on April 24th.)

- PARTNERS FOR PEACE PROGRAM - IRAQ
Joining us again this month were several men from Mosul, Iraq. All have interesting stories to tell about their lives in Iraq and their new lives in Philadelphia.

- SISTER CITIES PROGRAM - City of Philadelphia:
CAMEROON: Joining us again from our Sister City, Douala, was a young woman at Temple studying for her Masters in Biology. You could have practiced your French with Danielle - or hear her impressions of life in the U.S.

At our reception in March you could have talked to these distinguished guests:

- INTERNATIONAL VISITOR LEADERSHIP PROGRAM - U.S. Dept. of State:
- From Argentina, you coould have met eleven men and women professionals - lawyers, professors, economists, ministry employees and journalists, involved with an Argentinean organization that promotes non-biased, non-partisan dialogue on political, economic and social issues. They were in Philadelphia on the U.S. Government's highest exchange.

- INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION PROGRAM - University of Pennsylvania:
Our guests have been  participating in a four-week program at Penn for business professionals with advanced proficiency in English. These ten business men and women are from Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Spain and Taiwan.

- PARTNERS FOR PEACE PROGRAM - IRAQ
If you've been to a First Wednesday before, you've met several men from Mosul - all with interesting stories about their lives in Iraq. Join us to connect with them again and find out what they're hearing is really happening in Iraq.

- SISTER CITIES PROGRAM - City of Philadelphia:
CAMEROON: From Douala, joining us again in March, was a young woman studying at Temple for her Masters in Biology.

POLAND: From Torun, a woman who  works at IVC as our Communications & Research Manager. She's been working on a special invitation we received from Torun for 33 Philadelphia high schools students and adults to visit there this October. Other than airfare, all expenses are covered by Torun and the high-scholastic high school Aneta went to! If you're associated with a school that would like to participate, contact Aneta with your interest. They'd love it if some of the students played basketball!

Back to Top