Ambassador Eisen Meets Gold Stars’ Tour Alumni

February 14, 2011

Ambassador Norman Eisen met with Jiri Payne, Advisor to President Vaclav Klaus.

Ambassador Norman Eisen met with Jiri Payne, Advisor to President Vaclav Klaus, before his departure on the “Gold Stars’ Tour: Alumni Connecting the World” on February 10th. 

The Gold Stars’ Tour celebrates the 70th anniversary of the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and the ongoing 50-year partnership with National Councils of International Visitors (NCIV). The IVLP is one of the U.S. government’s most prestigious exchange programs, bringing young leaders from the around the world to the United States for several weeks to meet with American counterparts in their fields. To date, more than 500 Czechs have been participants on various IVLP programs since its inception in 1993.

Mr. Payne participated in the IVLP program entitled “Foreign Policy Challenges Facing the U.S. and Europe” in 1993, and he was selected as one of eighteen IVLP ‘Gold Stars’ worldwide, alumni who have made significant contributions to their home countries as a direct result of the ideas and connections made during their first IVLP program.  Mr. Payne told Ambassador Eisen that he would like to use this opportunity to strengthen the ties both amongst and between Czech and European alumni of the IVLP program.