Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce will travel to Thailand and Burma from September 27 to October 4 to attend the 2019 Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Summit, visit an Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation project, and participate in an event at American Center Yangon (ACY). Assistant Secretary Royce will meet with local government officials, program participants, academics, local youth, business leaders, and diplomats to highlight our enduring partnerships in the region.
During her visit to Thailand, Assistant Secretary Royce will deliver opening remarks at the 2019 YSEALI Summit. She will preside over the ribbon cutting of the Common Tides Exhibition, featuring 75 photographs taken over the last 75 years commemorating our commitment to the region. She will also have a courtesy call with the President of Chiang Mai University, an academic institution and Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation partner. She will attend a lunch with Department of State alumni working in wildlife preservation and protection.
During her visit to Burma, Assistant Secretary Royce will visit the American Center Yangon (ACY). She will give opening remarks at a program on elections in Burma and the importance of democracy, which will be jointly organized by ACY and Jefferson Center Mandalay. The audience will include influential civil society leaders, alumni of programs such as YSEALI and the Institute for Political and Civic Engagement (iPACE), youth members of political parties, the Ambassador’s Youth Council (AYC), and grantees of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). She will also meet with alumni opinion leaders at an ACY event. Assistant Secretary Royce will conclude her visit by attending a cultural program with YSEALI and AYC members.
For further information, contact ECA-Press@state.gov. Follow along on Twitter at @ECA_AS and Facebook and Twitter @yseali.