Virtual Seminar Series

February 2, 2023
12:00pm – 2:00pm ET
recording coming soon
USA Study Abroad, part of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), and its Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program are pleased to invite current recipients and alumni of the Gilman Program, the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program, ECA exchange alumni, and all interested U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to attend the “Inside U.S. Foreign Policy Seminar: Climate and COP 27” on February 2, 2023, from Noon-2:00pm Eastern.
This 2-hour seminar will explore how the State Department advances U.S. foreign policy goals on climate change, with a specific focus on the process and outcomes of the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference or “COP 27” held in November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Attendees will hear from technical experts and U.S. diplomats working in the State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, and the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt. The seminar will shed light on the complex innerworkings of American diplomacy connecting the State Department’s strategic mission to the lives of people throughout the United States and around the world. Attendees will also have the chance to learn more about State Department career paths, along with internship and fellowship opportunities.
Sessions will include:
- A Keynote on U.S. Foreign Policy on Climate – Focus on COP 27: A State Department representative will discuss the overarching development and implementation of U.S. foreign policy involving climate, COP 27, and more.
- A diverse panel of State Department personnel, drawn from both the Foreign and Civil service, will delve deeper into the foreign policy process, goals, and strategic objectives emphasizing the ways individuals in different parts of the State Department collaborate to advance country-specific, regional, and global foreign policy priorities.
- State Department Careers Information Session: A representative from the State Department’s Bureau of Global Talent Management will share information on the many pathways to careers at the State Department.
- Foreign Policy and Career Conversations: Attendees will have the opportunity to move into breakout rooms and hear more closely from speakers and others about their diverse work and career paths.
For those interested but unable to attend live, the seminar will be recorded and made available on this page.

USA Study Abroad, part of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), and its Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program are pleased to invite current recipients and alumni of the Gilman Program, the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program, ECA exchange alumni, and all interested U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to attend the 2022 International Education Week virtual event – “From Study Abroad to the State Department: How Developing Global Perspectives Supports U.S. Foreign Policy.”
This two-hour webinar will feature an interview with Secretary of State Antony Blinken exploring how U.S. diplomatic work impacts the lives of the American people and how studying abroad furthers the State Department’s foreign policy mission. U.S. study abroad students, serve as citizen diplomats sharing American culture while abroad, and then later in impactful careers applying skills and knowledge they learned abroad, providing great value to their U.S. communities and to the United States overall. Some study abroad students even continue serving as diplomats working for the State Department or in other federal agencies.
Webinar attendees will hear directly from the Secretary of State and a panel of U.S. foreign service officers focusing on how their work at the State Department advances U.S. foreign policy, how that work impacts Americans, and how study abroad shaped their careers and continues to impact their lives as American diplomats. The webinar will also highlight State Department fellowship and employment opportunities with a session presented by the Department’s Bureau of Global Talent Management, followed by interactive networking and breakout sessions focused on study abroad opportunities through State Department scholarships, life inside the State Department, and information on State Department career pathways. For those interested but unable to attend live, the webinar will be recorded and made available on the Gilman Scholarship program website.