PREVIOUS VISITORS
April 8-9: Mr. Diego Moñux Chercoles from Spain will visit Baltimore to gain insight into how the U.S. system of higher education supports science and technology. Mr. Moñux is the Advisor to the Secretary of State for Universities and Research in Spain and he will be exposed to institutions such as the National Institute of Health, the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, the University of Maryland College Park, and the Johns Hopkins Research Administration. Mr. Monux will be able to compare the different realities for researchers at each facility as well as their individual approaches to research, competition, career path, etc.
April 9: A delegation of 5 diverse health care professionals from Ukraine will be visiting Baltimore to learn about the healthcare system in the U.S. Their main focus is on medical research facilities and administration as well as urgent care centers and financial management. They will stop by at centers like the Johns Hopkins University Medicine Research office to learn about their facilities and research administration as well as the Emergency Department Unit of the Johns Hopkins Hospital to get an overview of the administration and equipment used in an acute care facility and the services that it provides.
April 10: A delegation of 5 representatives from Brazil will come Baltimore to learn about prison administration. They will visit the Baltimore Pre-Release Unit for Women and the Occupational Skills Training Center to learn about the services each of these organizations provides for their inmates as well as their relationships with other federal, state, and private entities. They will also visit the National Correctional Industries Association to see how various state and private institutions work together in order to ensure a smooth integration of former convicts back into society and what has worked to combat the problems that have come up.
April 10: A delegation of 5 professionals from Central Asia will visit Baltimore to learn about Micro Credit and Small Business Development. They are interested in learning about organizations and communities that work to include underrepresented groups. They would also like to look at lending and management practices in different sectors, differing economic, political, and social factors that promote lending and small business growth, and programs that encourage entrepreneurship and innovation for younger workers by expertise and training.
April 11: Mr. Jaime Escudero, the Mayor of the Municipality of Pergue in Chile will be visiting Annapolis to learn about local governments and the infrastructure that helps ensure an effective government such as accountability, city management, strategies for sustained development, etc. Mr. Escudero will have meetings with members of organizations such as the Maryland Municipal League and the Annapolis Mayor’s Office as well as the Maryland Department of Planning. He will get a chance to examine the works of a voluntary, nonpartisan association that strengthens the role and capacity of municipal governments through research, legislation, technical assistance, training, and the dissemination of information for its members.
April 15: A multi-regional delegation of 9 medical and administrative professionals will visit Baltimore to learn about preparing for potential pandemic disease. They will meet with the Maryland Transit Administration Police to discuss their attempts to contain the outbreak should a pandemic occur. The delegates will also visit institutions such as the Center for Agro-Security & Emergency Management to discuss research trends in epidemic prevention and control, and the role of NGOs and other organizations in minimizing the risk of an epidemic. The delegation will stop at institutions like the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to learn about its history, noteworthy findings on infectious diseases, and how the information is disseminated. Through their visit they hope to promote international cooperation on emerging global health issues.
April 17-18: A delegation of 3 health professionals from Uzbekistan will visit Baltimore to learn about infectious diseases with a focus on HIV/AIDS. They will be visiting institutions such as the Maryland AIDS Administration, the Institute of Human Virology, and JHPIEGO – an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University. The various programs administered by Baltimore City will also be examined.
April 21: A delegation of 18 professionals from countries from around the world, representing almost every continent will go to Annapolis to learn about sustainable development and environmental protection. The delegation will visit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Philip Merrill Environmental Center which is the most notable green building on the Central East Coast and the Maryland League of Conservation Voters among others. Legislature and conservation practices will be discussed.
April 24: A delegation of 6 human rights advocates and members of the judicial system from Iraq will be visiting Maryland as part of their program on human rights and prison reform. They will be meeting with representatives from organizations such as the American Jail Association which is a nonprofit that works to support those who work in and operate jails in the United States. They will also be touring facilities such as the Maryland Correctional Institution and the Maryland Correctional Training Center to explore the similarities and differences between them, their goals, and their treatment of inmates. They will also be interested in seeing the types of services available to the inmates and how the Center chooses who are “amenable to rehabilitation” and those who are not.
CURRENT VISITORS
May 8: A delegation of three science and technology professionals from Japan will be visiting Baltimore to explore how U.S. national laboratories and private research institutions develop their projects and manage their laboratories. They will visit facilities such as the University of Maryland’s Office of Technology Commercialization to learn about how it works with the government and industry to coordinate their cooperative research efforts, organize patents derived from such research, and apply research to new productivity.
May 8: Two news media professionals from China will be visiting Baltimore as part of their program on the power of the internet and the rule of law. Ms. Jing Chai is an anchorwoman for News Probe on CCTV and Mr. Wen Zhang is the Editorial Director of Globe Magazine, part of the Xinhua News Agency. They plan to learn about the operational practices and standards of broadcast media and news media in the United States and the emergence of non-traditional news mediums such as blogs. They will be meeting with representatives from news agencies such as the Associated Press, Baltimore Sun, WMAR ABC 2 News, and WBAL 11.
May 9: Mr. Miguel Gerônimo da Nóbrega Netto, a Senior Congressional Advisor in the Federal House of Representatives of Brazil will be visiting Chevy Chase to learn about U.S. federalism and the effects that this system has had on the legislative process. One of the leading experts in Brazil’s legislative process, he will meet with his American counterpart, Professor Charles Tiefer at the University of Baltimore School of Law, to discuss congressional rules and procedures.
May 15-16: Ms. Saima Ammar, accompanied by her husband Mr. Ammar Masood, from Pakistan will be visiting Baltimore to explore support for the blind in the United States in the form of legislation, assistance programs, and development of new technologies. They plan to meet with leading organizations that represent the blind, conduct research on vision disorders, and advocate for improved and increased services. Such organizations include the American Council of the Blind (ACB), the Mayor’s Commission on the Blind, the Maryland School for the Blind, and Blind Industries and Services in Maryland.
May 16: Two members of the Hong Kong Police will visit Baltimore to address aspects of law enforcement in the U.S. They will focus on the approaches taken to conduct counterterrorism and VIP-protection, community policing, and border policing which include land and sea border control operations. They will meet with members of the Baltimore Police Department to learn about the specific steps it takes to secure the city and protect the harbor.
May 22: Mrs. Maria Paz Martin, a chief attorney from the Ministry of Justice in Chile responsible for overseeing all cases related to international child abductions, parental kidnapping, and child support enforcement will be visiting Annapolis and Towson to learn about the programs and legislation the U.S. has in place to combat such crimes. She will meet with the State Supreme Justice and an attorney with personal and professional experience in child abduction cases.
UPCOMING VISITORS
June 5: A delegation of 17 members of The European Atlantic Movement (TEAM) – an independent educational foundation which aims to promote understanding and discussion of European and World affairs through seminars, sixth-form conferences and study tours – from the United Kingdom will be visiting Annapolis. They will tour sites such as the State Capitol and meet with the staffers in order to gain a better understanding of the U.S. government at the state level.