Pre-Departure Call -- US to Macedonia -- #ACYPLMacedonia

The US Embassy in Skopje is working with the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) to conduct a number of exchanges of delegations from Macedonia to the US and from the US to Macedonia.

ACYPL has been organizing robust exchange programs for more than 50 years. There are more than 8,500 exchange alumni from 128 countries and territories.  I have been involved with ACYPL since 2002, when I was a Delegate to Egypt and Morocco.

I was honored to host the first Macedonia to US delegation here in Tampa Bay.  See posts on this blog from January 2018 (there are 25 different posts, with the hashtag #ACYPLMacedonia). Here is one Blog Post, ACYPL Delegation with Ambassador Christopher Hill of our first meeting, with Ambassador Christopher Hill.

More recently, I was delighted to participate on the Pre-Departure Conference Call with the first outbound delegation, US to Macedonia.  (It is standard procedure for ACYPL to host a pre-departure conference call and for an alum who has traveled to the country(ies) to provide background and to answer questions about preparation for the trip.)

As a follower of this blog, you know my enthusiasm for Macedonia and how I rave about the hospitality of the Macedonian people, the delicious cuisine, and the amazing sights (ancient Roman ruins, Byzantine frescoes, Ottoman fortresses, the natural beauty of the lakes and mountains).

Of course, on the eve of the referendum on "the name issue," now is certainly an interesting time to travel to Macedonia. (Although I am now of the mind that it is always a good time to travel to Macedonia.) I must confess that after seeing the Itinerary that the US Embassy organized, I was a little jealous that I could not accompany the delegation on this trip. 

Kudos to the US Embassy and to ACYPL for organizing these inbound and outbound exchange programs! So much good can come from these people-to-people (young political leader-to-young political leader) exchanges.

For more about ACYPL:  https://www.acypl.org/

For more about US Embassy in Skopje:  https://mk.usembassy.gov/

For more about the delegation's visit, see the hashtag #ACYPLMacedonia on social media

Included in this Exchange Guide -- an incredible itinerary (including many meetings and activities with the Delegates from Macedonia that I hosted here in Florida in December 2017)