A Solomon Islander will participate in the United States International Visitor Program.
Program Officer with the National Disaster Management Office, Julian Maka'a, left the country on Saturday to participate in the "Planning for Crises: Disasters and Pandemics."Over the next three weeks, Mr. Maka'a will travel to the following cities in the United States: Washington, DC; Atlanta, Georgia; New Orleans, Louisiana; San Francisco, California; Honolulu, Hawaii.
This project will familiarize participants with U.S. emergency systems that forecast and respond to natural disasters, U.S. methods of disaster relief, emergency management, and humanitarian assistance.
Participants will also be introduced to the organizations, both public and private, that respond to global and local crises.
The group will explore the following goals in greater detail while participating in the program:
. To examine U.S. emergency systems that forecast, prepare for and respond to natural and human induced disasters;
. To demonstrate the benefits of cooperation among governments and private organizations in the event of crisis;
. To discuss U.S. participation in international natural disaster relief, regional crises, health emergencies, and refugee situations; and
. To promote better understanding and closer collaboration between international and U.S. disaster and crisis management officials at federal, state and local levels
The United States Embassy is proud to have nominated Mr. Maka'a for this project.
The Office of International Visitors manages and funds the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). Launched in 1940, the IVLP seeks to build mutual understanding between the United States and other nations through carefully designed professional visits to the U.S. for current and emerging foreign leaders.
Each year over 4,500 IVLP participants from all over the world are selected by U.S. embassies to travel to the U.S. to meet and confer with their professional counterparts.