MAY 02, 2018 • PHIlyFREEPRESS.com • UcREVIEW.com • 5


International Entrepreneurs Return Home with Life-Changing Inspiration fol- lowing Philadelphia visit


Visitors toured science and technology centers in and around University City and returned home with life-changing inspiration and a hunger for knowledge. Photo: Mauel Yepez


Citizen Diplomacy In- ternational of Philadelphia arranged visits for 19 entre- preneurs, leaders and policy makers who toured local sci- ence and technology centers.


By Haywood Brewster Staff Reporter


live in dissimilar cultures in countries like South Africa, Zimbabwe, Argen- tina, Pakistan and Taiwan, but they will return home with a common goal – to change their communities, and their respective coun- tries, for the better through science and technology. Recently, Citizen Di- plomacy International of Philadelphia hosted 19 men and women entrepre- neurs, leaders and policy makers as part of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Lead- ership Program. Citizen Diplomacy partners with


T


hey may come from disparate walks of life and


the U.S. Department of State as well as various entities to provide emerg- ing foreign leaders with unique educational and cultural visits to points of interest in and around Philadelphia.


During a visit to the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania’s Singh Center for Nano- technology, the group mar- veled at the successes and innovations at the state-of- the-art Singh Center (and likewise, in return Singh Center Program Coordina- tor John Russell marveled at the needs and break- throughs each guest faced in their countries.) Following the Singh Center visit, while travel- ing to the Comcast Center for lunch, a handful of vis- itors chanted, “Thank you, IVLP!” from their seats on the chartered bus. A day before, the group


for knowledge sharing, to enrich us with knowl- edge,” said Ellen Fischat, who oversees Innocircle in Cape Town, South Africa, a business whose focus on consultancy and integra- tion helps companies take products to market. “The reason for doing this is peer learning and shar- ing of resources, and to be inspired and see what is happening with the high- end technology.” Fischat summed up the IVLP and Citizen Di- plomacy experience as a “knowledge expedition.” “It’s really been my goal


the roughly 1,300 that Citi- zen Diplomacy Interna- tional hosts each year. “Citizen Diplomacy prides itself on connecting Philadelphia to the world, through person-to-person interactions with business leaders and a real-world view of our city as a global community,” Citizen Diplomacy International President and CEO Siob- han Lyons said. “Our visitors gain a better un- derstanding of the United States, returning home with fresh inspiration and ideas to further their inter- ests and causes.” A recent delegation was comprised of international guests with backgrounds in science and technology.


The visitors were among


gathered information from the DowDuPont Inc. Ex- perimental Station, learned about U.S. government policies via the offices of U.S. Senator Chris Coons and U.S. Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester, and further enriched their sci- ence knowledge about life- changing technologies at the University City Science Center.


through their travels in Philadelphia, and the vi- sion of Citizen Diplomacy to enable individuals to make international con- nections and collabora- tions to further enhance educational, economic, and technological oppor- tunities abroad, was evi- dent and clear.


They were only halfway


you work and make an income. It’s about the shar- ing, the networking, and, of course, learning about new cultures,” Oye said. “You learn about how to solve problems from a broader perspective.” The main thing miss- ing among development and advancement in the world today, he said, is being able to collaborate and partner and find alignment with various industries and technolo- gies. Citizen Diplomacy and IVLP are helping to fill


to create partnerships and collaboration and take back home information that can help the African continent, as far as innova- tion,” she said.


“I cannot describe what I have been privy to,” Fischat said of the IVLP program. “The people I’ve met, the organizations I’ve visited – it’s been really life-changing.”


Femi Oye is CEO of SME Funds in Nigeria, which provides small loans to emerging busi- nesses.


that void.


“That’s why it’s good to collaborate with Citizen Diplomacy International,” he said.


When he heads back home, Oye hopes to change the way women in his community live; he doesn’t want them to live with the respiratory and health problems like his grandmother faced from cooking with charcoal and firewood.


“Understand that we have other cultures and


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“For me, it’s an op- portunity to leave where


These international lead- ers were ready to take on new roles – that of com- munity influencers and world changers. “The reason why I wanted to get involved is, the huge opportunity


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