JTMP greeted and met with international visitors through a US State Department program called, "World Learning Visitor Exchange Program", bringing together eight music, theater and arts professionals from Egypt entitled "Promoting Social Change through the Arts". This is all part of the US State Department's "International Visitor Leadership Program".
Some of the goals of the State Department are, "Explore the role of the arts in reflecting society and bringing about social change; examine freedom of expression through using arts for political representation; an opportunity to meet with artists, arts organizations and foundations that cooperate logistically and thematically to achieve shared social, political, or cultural goals; develop a better understanding of the relationship between artists and organizations working together to plan and carry out events related to social justice; and explore the power of art as a means of social change through political and social commentary."
We showed them how we have been using art, music, imagery and video, together with our website, YouTube account, Facebook page and Twitter account to raise awareness on issues and to help bring about social change. We showed them some of our videos, and explained how we produce and distribute our media. We answered questions, and agreed to stay in contact and maybe work on projects in the future together. Please check back on JTMP regularly for any updates on this.
They headed on to New York and other stops to learn about how people in other places are also using art as a medium for social change. To learn more about the US State Department's "International Visitor Leadership Program", please visit:
http://exchanges.state.gov/ivlp/ivlp.html
