Institute of Current World Affairs
The Institute of Current World Affairs (ICWA) is an operating foundation established in 1925 to advance American understanding of international cultures and affairs by sending young professionals abroad to study countries, regions and globally important issues. Institute alumni include leading journalists, scholars, diplomats, activists and businesspeople.
 | |
| Formation | 1925 |
|---|---|
| Type | Private foundation |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Website | www |
ICWA says it selects its fellows from a diverse group of young professionals for two years of cultural immersion in locations around the globe. Fellows explore their topics through self-designed and fully funded programs of study, thought and writing. They record their research and analysis in monthly dispatches.
While in the field, fellows receive support and mentoring from ICWA staff, former fellows and ICWA members with expertise in fellowship areas.
Former fellows credit the intensive immersion experience of an ICWA fellowship, free from deadlines and career pressures, with enabling them to cultivate their talent and engage with their subject in ways that have a profound impact.
The Institute of Current World Affairs is recognized as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Purpose and recent history
The Institute of Current World Affairs supports fellowships for promising young people to gain in-depth understanding of global affairs from a local perspective. ICWA says it chooses candidates with the potential to make substantial contributions to public life in the United States. It is credited with launching the careers of notable foreign policy experts, including the former U.S. ambassador to Kenya, Smith Hempstone,[1] and the former assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern and South Asian affairs, Phillips Talbot.[2]
The institute, which pays living expenses for fellows and their families, has sent more than 170 people abroad through its fellowship program.
The work of its fellows has appeared in numerous national publications, sometimes with controversy. As an ICWA fellow in Pakistan in January 2008, Nicholas Schmidle—now a writer for the New Yorker—wrote a Sunday magazine article for The New York Times titled "Next Gen Taliban."[3] He was deported by Pakistan's government the day after the article appeared.[4]
Many fellows have gone on to prominent positions. Pramila Jayapal (India, 1994-1996) is a civil-rights activist turned U.S. Representative from Washington's 7th congressional district. New York Times journalist Suzy Hansen's (Turkey, 2007-2009) book, Notes on a Foreign Country, was a 2018 Pulitzer Prize finalist.[5] Susan Sterner Brazil, 1998-2000) documented First Lady Laura Bush as a White House photographer.[6] Carol Rose (South and Central Asia, 1990-1993) is now Executive Director of ACLU Massachusetts.[7] And Cheng Li (China, 1993-1995) is author of Rediscovering China: Dynamics and Dilemmas of Reform, as well as the Director of the John L. Thornton China Center and Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution.[8]
In addition to publishing fellows' dispatches on its website, ICWA also offers analysis and commentary on global news and other developments.[9] It also produces two podcasts: The Cable, which addresses threats to democracy in Europe and the transatlantic relationship,[10] and From the Field, which takes listeners around the world with ICWA fellows studying cultures and societies in depth.[11] In October 2020, ICWA launched a partnership with U.S. online magazine Slate to offer select fellow dispatches for publication.[12]
Current Fellows
| Current Fellows [13] |
|---|
| Astha Rajvanshi (India, 2020-2022) |
| Elizabeth Hawkins (El Salvador, 2019-2021) |
| Emily Schultheis (Germany, 2019-2021) |
| David Kenner (Saudi Arabia, 2019-2021) |
Recent Past Fellows
| Recent Past Fellows [14] |
|---|
| Matthew Chitwood (China, 2017-2019) |
| Karina Piser (France, 2017-2019) |
| Onyinye Edeh (Nigeria, 2016-2018) |
| Jessica Reilly (Seafaring, 2015-2017) |
| Jonathan Guyer (Egypt, 2015-2017) |
| Scott Erich (Oman, 2015-2016) |
| Malia Politzer (India/Spain, 2013-2015) |
| Robbie Corey-Boulet (Ivory Coast/Cameroon, 2013-2015) |
| Chi-Chi Zhang (China, 2012-2014) |
| Shannon Sims (Brazil, 2012–2014, Forest and Society Fellow) |
| Amelia Frank-Vitale (Mexico, 2012-2014) |
| Hannah Armstrong (West Africa, 2012-2014) |
| Neri Zilber (Israel, 2010-2012) |
| Jori Lewis (West Africa, 2011-2013) |
| Eve Fairbanks (South Africa, 2009-2011) |
| Derek Mitchell (India, 2007-2009) |
| Ezra Fieser (Guatemala, 2008-2010) |
| Pooja Bhatia (Haiti, 2008-2010) |
| Elena Agarkova (Russia, 2008-2010) |
| Raphael Soifer (Brazil, 2007-2009) |
| Suzy Hansen (Turkey, 2007-2009) |
| Nicholas Schmidle (Pakistan, 2006-2008) |
| Andrew Tabler (Syria/Lebanon, 2005-2007) |
| Kay Dilday (France/Morocco, 2005-2007) |
| Richard Connerney (India, 2005-2007) |
| Jill Winder (Germany, 2004-2006) |
| Cristina Merrill (Romania, 2004-2006) |
| Alex Brenner (China, 2003-2005) |
| James Workman (Southern Africa, 2002-2004) |
| Matthew Wheeler (Mekong River, 2002-2004) |
| Andrew Rice (Uganda, 2002-2004) |
| Martha J. Farmelo (Argentina, 2001-2003) |
| Leena Khan (Pakistan, 2001-2002) |
| Peter Keller (Argentina, 2000–2002, Forest and Society Fellow) |
| Curt Gabrielson (East Timor, 2000-2002) |
| Gregory Feifer (Russia, 2000-2002) |
| Wendy L. Call (Mesoamerica, 2000-2002) |
Current ICWA Board of Trustees
| Current ICWA Board of Trustees [15] |
|---|
| Joseph Battat (Vice Chair) |
| Mary Lynne Bird |
| Jeffrey Gedmin |
| Camila Gonzalez |
| Fabrice Houdart |
| Peggy Knudson |
| Robert A. Levinson |
| Michael Mathison (Treasurer) |
| Joel Millman |
| Jeffrey Race |
| Paul Rahe (Chair) |
| Mary Rusinow |
| Pascal Saura |
| Dirk Vandewalle |
| Chi-Chi Zhang (Secretary) |
| Peter Bird Martin (Honorary Trustee) |
| Edmund Sutton (Honorary Trustee) |
References
- New York Times, Nov. 30, 2006 "Smith Hempstone, 77, Journalist Who Became a Prominent Ambassador, Is Dead"
- "An American Witness to India's Partition." SAGE Publications, August, 2007.
- https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/magazine/06PAKISTAN-t.html?pagewanted=print
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/30/AR2008013003012.html
- "Finalist: Notes on a Foreign Country: An American Abroad in a Post-America World, by Suzy Hansen (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)". www.pulitzer.org. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
- https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/tsunami/
- "Carol Rose". ACLU Massachusetts. 2015-06-12. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
- "Cheng Li". Brookings. 2016-06-06. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
- "Global Currents Archives". Institute of Current World Affairs. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
- "The Cable: A Podcast | The Institute of Current World Affairs (ICWA)". Institute of Current World Affairs. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
- "From the Field Podcast". Institute of Current World Affairs. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
- "Slate | The World". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
- "Current Fellows". Institute of Current World Affairs. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
- "Alumni Archive". Institute of Current World Affairs. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
- "About ICWA". Institute of Current World Affairs. Retrieved 2020-10-21.