Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative: The United States (US) Department of State recently launched the Gandhi King Scholarly exchange initiative.

Key Details:

• This initiative announced by the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs is a first-of-its-kind initiative.
• It 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.
• Participants in the Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative will tour civil rights sites in Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee; and Atlanta, Georgia, in addition to classroom instruction and discussion.
• The Indian and American participants, in January 2023,  will reconvene in India to visit important sites, organizations, and communities that will complement their academic curriculum, which is primarily focused on the academic themes of peace, nonviolence, and conflict resolution, and help them develop their leadership capabilities.

Aim and Significance:

• It aims at bringing 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. who were patrons of civil rights and social justice.
• This exchange was championed by late civil rights leader John Lewis.