How can you be a rock band without instruments – and connect with people through song? Tune in to the next episode of Voices of Exchange and discover how one a capella group, The House Jacks, created a pitch perfect connection through song and how their music has struck a chord with audiences across the world, most recently in Latvia and Estonia.

With a special holiday treat at the end, this final episode of Season 3 is one you won’t want to miss. 

Catch Voices of Exchange on all major podcast platforms and at alumni.state.gov/voicesofexchange. Subscribe at bit.ly/SubscribenowVoE.

What happens when five musicians who have never met before and haven’t performed in person since the start of the pandemic get together in Abu Dhabi and Dubai?

In the second part of this hip-hop diplomacy story, the ExchangeAlumni team of Next Level artist-educators dive into the magic of connecting in person and serendipity.

For more Voices of Exchange, visit alumni.state.gov/voicesofexchange. Subscribe at bit.ly/SubscribenowVoE.

What happens when five musicians who have never met before and haven’t performed in person since the start of the pandemic get together in Abu Dhabi? Music, magic, and lifelong connections through “hip-hop culture.”

In the first part of this hip-hop diplomacy story, the ExchangeAlumni team of Next Level artist-educators and Next Level Director Julian Brickhouse chop it up on music and mutual interests, and the breakthroughs they made in the United Arab Emirates.

For more Voices of Exchange, visit alumni.state.gov/voicesofexchange. Subscribe at bit.ly/SubscribenowVoE.

Marie Christina Kolo wasn’t trying to be Wonder Woman when it came to the secret she kept for many years. But in her work as a climate activist, she wanted to be strong for her community. It wasn’t until she became a Mandela Washington Fellow that Marie Christine found the courage to get vulnerable, which allowed her to make a deeper impact.

To some people, dealing with climate change might seem like an uphill battle and even be depressing. But to Melissa Low, an ExchangeAlumni who has been working in the field – and participating in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties, or COP – for over a decade, it’s not a zero-sum game.

In Part 1 of our two-episode series on climate action, Melissa talks about why she continues to do her best to tackle climate change, the importance of risk taking, the merits of nature-based climate solutions, and her love for books and beer. 

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Everyone has a story to tell. On Voices of Exchange, join us this season to hear how augmented reality can redefine a place and its inhabitants; see American identity through the eyes of those whose ancestors were forced to come to the United States; explore climate activism in tribal nations and elsewhere; and, experience how hip-hop artist-educators are promoting multilateral relations. 

Mathew Holloway and Cornelius Finley have a few things in common: they are both Black men. They both come from Southern United States. And they are both ExchangeAlumni, who attended a seminar on American identity with other exchange program alumni in Minneapolis, Minnesota. But that’s where the similarities end...  

In our two-part series on American identity on Voices of Exchange, Mathew and Cornelius talk about race, belonging, reclaiming your story, and why American identity is not just “black and white.”

Mathew B. Holloway II and Cornelius Finley have a few things in common: they are both Black men. They both come the Southern United States. And they are both ExchangeAlumni, who attended a seminar on American Identity with other exchange program alumni in Minneapolis, Minnesota. But that’s where the similarities end...

NOTE: The description above has been edited to correct an error. Mathew grew up in a small town, while Cornelius grew up in one of the biggest cities in the U.S.!

In the second episode of our three part arc on ExchangeAlumni working with augmented reality, or, AR, we spoke with Julia Beabout, the CEO and creative director of an award-winning AR creative studio.

We continue our dive into the transformative power of the technology with ExchangeAlumni Grady Hart, Julia’s partner on the augmented reality project, Monumental Conversations. Grady - an ExchangeAlumni of the Mandela Washington Reciprocal Exchange program and a community partnerships coordinator in Richmond, Virginia - talks about learning about systemic racism in his own community for the first time and how that spurred him to right some of the wrongs of the past by raising the voices of those who have traditionally not had a voice.