Tulsa Global Alliance (TGA) is working to enhance Tulsa’s reputation as an international hub, says Bob Lieser, vice president of programs for TGA. One way the group is doing that is through its many exchange programs, which enable Tulsans “to make powerful friends in vital countries,” he says.

Around 40 teachers from Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab were seen off by China’s acting ambassador Zhao Lijian on Sunday on a 15-day trip to China, to partake in the 2017 International Chinese Language Teacher Training Programme. The faculty members would undergo different kinds of training by Chinese trainers at the Beijing International Education Exchange Center (BIEEC).

“I hope we have made Afghanistan and the people of Afghanistan proud,” Azizi said. Of that there was no question. The Afghan ambassador, Hamdullah Mohib, said greeting the robotics team at Dulles International Airport was the “proudest moment of my career”. He described the girls as symbols of a new Afghanistan emerging from the shadow of America’s longest war.

The Soap Factory is excited to partner with Kutilvera to bring four emerging and mid-career Minnesota-based artists to Tranås, Sweden, to participate in a month-long residency at their organization. This residency is about time and place, an opportunity to reflect and cultivate ideas through experience and exchange. Artists will be given opportunities to learn about their host city, meet other artists, and space to work independently or collaboratively in their studios.

Mercer County will host five judges from Mongolia later this month to learn the ins and outs of the U.S. legal system. [...] Jamkhandi said host families are a significant ingredient of U.S.-sponsored exchange programs, allowing international professionals a “unique perspective of American life and culture. More importantly, home stays foster friendships, a key element in people-to-people diplomacy.”

The day before returning to their respective homelands, Lara Tietz and Emma Gregersen came by The Tidewater News for a quick visit with their host, Welton Deshields of Franklin. [...] Lara, 17, lives in Kassel, Germany; Emma, 18, is from Thy, Denmark, and both said they’ve enjoyed their first visit to the United States of America. The Lions clubs in their localities helped in getting the two to travel stateside.

Sweden is known as the largest Scandinavian country and its climate and location are largely responsible for the development of its cuisine. In the olden days, the Swedes stocked their food supplies as a preparatory step before the long cold winters by preserving meats, fishes, fruits and vegetables. [...] During our study, as part of the International Exchange Programme of Parvatibai Chowgule College, I came across several traditional and modern techniques of food preservation practices that have been passed on from generation to generation.