ALIRP Receives Global Partnership Award

On Tuesday, October 25th, both ALIRP and ALIRP Board Member, April Jackson MacLennan, were honored at Global Ties Alabama's Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens. The theme was "Celebrating Global Pathways of Leadership and Citizen Diplomacy.”

Global Ties recognized ALIRP and April with awards for their organizational and individual contributions in raising awareness on the importance of citizen diplomacy on a local scale and welcoming international professionals on exchanges to Alabama’s education, business, arts and STEM sectors. ALIRP was recognized for its work with Global Ties, assisting and advocating for Afghan and Ukrainian families resettled within Alabama as well as educating, advocating and providing direct support services for refugees, asylum seekers and others seeking humanitarian immigration relief. ALIRP’s Executive Director and Immediate Past President, Dr. Lynda Wilson, was recognized for founding ALIRP and her tireless work on behalf of immigrant communities. April was recognized for meeting with and presenting on U.S. Constitutional Law history, U.S. Rule of Law and Separation of Powers, and U.S. Refugee and Asylum law with professionals from countries in the Balkans, Caucuses, Central Asia and Eastern Europe, most recently Poland, Ukraine and Hungary, and  legal professionals from Mali, South Africa, Cameroon, Nigeria and other Subsaharan African countries. 

These programs were facilitated by Global Ties Alabama through the Congressional Office for International Leadership, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). Global Ties Alabama is a 501(c)(3) whose mission is to promote international relationships through citizen diplomacy by coordinating multicultural events in Huntsville, providing information about immigration and naturalization services and by hosting international visitors to Alabama.

April Jackson-MacLennan
ALIRP Vice President & Co-Chair of the Education & Advocacy Committee