Honoring the foreign policy contributions and legacy of the United States’ first female Secretary of State and engaging a new generation of future young women leaders from around the world, today, the U.S. Department of State announced the launch of the Study of the U.S. Institutes’ Madeleine K. Albright Young Women Leaders Program.
The Albright Young Women Leaders Program brings six American undergraduate women and nearly 80 international undergraduate women from 20 countries together for an academic exchange in the United States, where they will participate in educational coursework at U.S. colleges and universities, weekly community service opportunities, leadership development sessions, engagements at key institutions to support exchange curriculum, cultural activities, and engage with Americans from across the country.
This five-week educational exchange kicks off today with a Women’s Global Leadership and Empowerment Conference in Washington, D.C. featuring: a fireside chat with Suzy George – Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Antony Blinken; a panel discussion with Ambassador (ret.) Barbara Bodine – Director and Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Georgetown University, former Ambassador Harriett C. Babbitt – Vice Chair, National Democratic Institute, and Dr. Stacie Goddard – Director of the Madeleine K. Albright Institute for Global Affairs, Wellesley College; and a commemorative pinning ceremony with Kathy Silva, Secretary Albright’s sister. The late Secretary, who served as U.S. Secretary of State from 1997-2001, was well known for her decorative pins to convey diplomatic messages to her counterparts around the world.
The University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS) is the Department’s implementing partner, in collaboration with Green River College (Auburn, WA), Saint Mary’s College (South Bend, IN), and the University of Delaware (Newark, DE) for this year’s Albright Young Women Leaders program. The Study of the U.S. Institutes’ Madeleine K. Albright Young Women Leaders Program joins a broader network of Study of the U.S. Institutes, which has received bipartisan congressional approval for more than 20 years.
Earlier this year, at a White House ceremony honoring the Department’s International Women of Courage and featuring First Lady of the United States Jill Biden and Secretary Blinken, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. Representative to the United Nations, presented the inaugural Madeleine Albright Honorary Group International Women of Courage Award.