Following the holiday season, the CCI Program will embark once again on its exciting and eventful annual retreat. This year, the group of 130 program participants representing 12 countries (Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Pakistan, South Africa and Turkey) will meet in Washington, D.C. to kick of the weeklong retreat ending in New York City.
This year boasts an exciting schedule including a meetings with the Assistant Secretary, Evan Ryan, the Associate Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor and with the USUN in New York City. In line with Secretary Kerry’s emphasis on the importance of climate change, the program participants will also meet with an esteemed panel of experts discussing current events as well as making research presentation on an array of climate change topics. Other events include a tour of Mt. Vernon, a behind the scenes tour of the Smithsonian Museum of American History, a guided tour by volunteers and survivors of the 9/11 Memorial and a visit to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, among many others.
The annual retreat is a culmination of meeting important US representatives, visiting historical American landmarks as well as an opportunity for program participants to come together and share their experiences with one another and the program. Throughout the retreat, program participants will partake in educational activities and seminars that will enable them to reflect on their time in the US thus far, refocus on the upcoming semester and make an action plan for success beyond the program boundaries including the proper leadership tools required for success. It will certainly be a cold adventure, but the 2014-2015 group will be too busy to notice!