U.S. launches Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative

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The State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announced June 14, 2022,  the launch of the Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative.

The Initiative brings together 20 emerging young civic leaders from India and the United States to advance civil rights, social justice, and inclusion on the local, national and international levels by exploring the histories and legacies of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a press release from the State Department said.

This exchange was championed by the late Honorable John Lewis, civil rights leader and ardent follower of Gandhi and King’s ideas and philosophies.

The exchange will open on June 15, 2022, with a one-week virtual program and orientation followed by a two-week academic residency hosted at Alabama A&M University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and the University of Alabama.

In addition to classroom learning and discussion, participants will visit civil rights sites in Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee; and Atlanta, Georgia.

In January 2023, the Indian and U.S. participants will reconvene in India to visit important sites, communities, and organizations that build upon their academic curriculum.

The academic curriculum is centered around the academic themes of peace, nonviolence, and conflict resolution and building their leadership capacities.