Zionsville Community High School has received a plaque of appreciation from the U.S. Dept. of State for hosting three students from Kosovo and Liberia through the YES program during the 2016-17 school year. The YES program offers a competitive grant to students from countries with a significant Muslim population. [...] “The focus of these programs is to encourage diplomacy for future generations in hope of fostering a more peaceful world,” said Jan Ellis, local coordinator. Diella Ymeraga, 17, a Kosovo exchange student, described ZCHS as a good and open-minded community. 

In remarks during the occasion, the Ambassador Thit Linn Ohn of the Union of Myanmar stressed that his country was pleased to establish diplomatic relations with Liberia, Africa’s oldest independent Republic. He believes that the event marks the beginning of building closer ties between the two countries especially in the areas of trade, agriculture and people to people exchanges.

Philibert Browne, editor of Liberia’s Hot Pepper newspaper, says China is winning admiration. In Liberia, it has built roads — ones of not obviously inferior quality — and a spanking new campus at the University of Liberia, replete with friendship tower and Chinese-style gate. “You can see what they are spending their money on but you can’t see what the Americans are spending on,” Mr Browne says. “You don’t put capacity building on your meal table. Slowly but surely, the Chinese are winning in Africa.”

In continuation of its activities to break gender barriers and promote female soccer in Liberia, the Monrovia Football Academy (MFA) and the U.S. Embassy Monrovia has announced that the Coach of the U.S Women’s National Team, Jill Ellis, accompanied by her team’s goalkeeper, Ashlyn Harris, will be visiting the MFA from November 29 – December 2.

A conference, organized by several non-governmental organizations to review the current state of national and international efforts to assist in rebuilding the healthcare delivery systems, environment management, and develop emergency preparedness in countries of the Mano River Union (MRU) worst affected by the Ebola epidemic.

First Lady Michelle Obama has been meeting with key stakeholders -- accompanied by daughters Sasha and Malia -- to promote her Let Girls Learninitiative and address the institutional and cultural barriers preventing 62 million girls worldwide from receiving an education on an overseas trip including Liberia, Morocco, and next, Spain. The most star-studded event on her trip took place Tuesday, when the Obama girls spoke to a group of local adolescents in a panel discussion featuring Meryl Streep and Frieda Pinto in Morocco. 

Michelle Obama plans to promote her year-old global girls' education initiative during upcoming stops in Liberia, Morocco and Spain on what could be her final solo overseas excursion as first lady. The White House announced Wednesday that the three-country trip is booked for June 27-July 1. Her travelling companions are daughters Malia and Sasha, and her mother, Marian Robinson.