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NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL
PROGRAMS
The VTM Foundation has produced and presented five
major programs across the country reaching thousands of citizens in schools,
workplaces, small businesses and civic forums: VTM Classroom Programs,
National Teacher Workshops, Statewide Interactive VTM Workshops, National
VTM Teacher and Curriculum Development Centers, and Nationally Broadcast
VTM Programs.
VTM Classroom Programs
The VTM Classroom Programs and National Teacher Workshops have been presented
in California, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts,
Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North
Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.
The VTM Classroom Program provides students and teachers with a multimedia,
interactive introduction to the opportunities and challenges of the Big
Emerging Market and features:
- Special VTM videos featuring America’s
leading exporters, trade development programs and key trading nations
- Classroom mentors from business, government
and labor
- Internet exercises developing international
market information and "Tools for Trade" Skill Set
- Export Challenges which require small teams
of students to develop and present strategic international marketing
plans for state and local businesses
- "Team America" Chalk Talk by U.S.
Olympic Athlete
- Special Focus Panels on "Your State in
the New Global Economy" and "Building a New National Consensus
on Trade"
- Student Forum where students present VTM Program
and Export Challenges to community wide audience of business and civic
leaders, teachers, classmates, families and friends
National Teacher Workshops
National Teacher Workshops are generally hosted by school districts shortly
after the completion of the first VTM Classroom Program to train teachers
from the district and neighboring communities to present the VTM in their
classrooms. The one day intensive programs provide each teacher with a
complete VTM multimedia presentation kit, substantial reference materials,
sample lesson plans and continuing access to local and national VTM teachers,
curriculum development models and additional support from the VTM Washington
office.
Statewide Interactive VTM Workshops
The Oklahoma Department of Vocational and Technical Education (OKVOTECH)
selected the VTM as the inaugural program to be presented on its statewide
interactive audio/visual network established for teacher training. The
first VTM Teacher Workshop linked teachers from over 100 schools throughout
Oklahoma. Additional VTM programs sponsored by OKVOTECH have included
statewide conferences linking thousands of students and continuing VTM
Classroom programs in participating school districts.
A similar program is now underway in the State
of Washington through the Community Education and Lifelong Learning (CELL)
Center linking over 20 rural school systems. The CELL Program is sponsored
by the Port of Grays Harbor and the State of Washington.
National VTM Teacher and Curriculum Development Centers
To expedite the national distribution of VTM Classroom Programs, increase
the network of teachers and businesses that can present the VTM programs
in every state and encourage innovation in curriculum development, the
VTM Foundation created model National VTM Teacher and Curriculum Development
Centers in school districts in Illinois, North Carolina and Washington
State. The program has been very successful in expanding both the reach
and content of the VTM by empowering "mentor teachers" to present
VTM Classroom and Teacher Workshop programs, develop new VTM curriculum
and create vital business partnership programs in participating school
districts. Teachers from the Illinois and North Carolina National VTM
Teacher and Curriculum Development Centers have presented VTM programs
in nine other states.
Nationally Broadcast VTM Programs
The VTM Foundation produced three nationally broadcast programs in 1998:
National VTM Day, the VTM National Town Hall Meeting on Trade and the
APEC VTM Global Interviews.
National VTM Day
The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center selected the
VTM Foundation to produce the grand opening events for the building on
April 29, 1998. National VTM Day featured over sixty students, teachers,
workers, small business owners and civic leaders from thirteen states
conducting live, in-depth, television interviews with U.S. and international
trade leaders, including CEOs, Ambassadors, Members of Congress and Administration
officials led by Secretary of Commerce William Daley. These interviews
spotlighted America’s leadership agenda in the New Global Economy
and were nationally broadcast by PanAmSat to World Trade Centers, school
districts, community colleges, workplace learning centers and civic forums
around the country. The VTM Foundation’s signature use of U.S. Olympians
as role models for "American global learning and success" was
spotlighted by a special VTM "Team America Chalk Talk" broadcast
from the building led by 20 U.S. Olympic athletes who had just returned
from the Nagano Winter Games. The highlights of National VTM Day were
also prepared in a special video set distributed to schools nationwide.
The VTM National Town Hall Meeting on Trade
The VTM National Town Hall Meeting on Trade was the first interactive
national forum on this subject – was co-produced with the President’s
Export Council, the Department of Commerce, CNBC and the Ronald Reagan
Building and International Trade Center where the event took place on
November 10, 1998. The two hour program featured over sixty students,
teachers, workers, small business owners and civic leaders from twenty
states discussing America’s global trade agenda with President Clinton,
Secretary of Commerce William Daley and the members of the President’s
Export Council. An onsite audience of almost 500 business and civic leaders
from around the country was joined by schools and community learning centers
in California, South Carolina and Washington State that were linked to
the event by video conferencing and the Internet. The program was broadcast
nationally by C-SPAN.
The APEC VTM Global Interviews
The APEC VTM Global Interviews was the first interactive citizen program
at a multinational economic summit. The first annual @APEC interviews
were produced in Kuala Lumpur from November 13 to 18, 1998, at the APEC
meeting in collaboration with the Malaysia APEC Business Advisory Council,
the National Host Committee for APEC 1998, the Multimedia Super Corridor,
a consortium of Malaysian television stations and PanAmSat which broadcast
the 4 day program back to the United States. Thirty American students,
teachers, workers, small business owners and civic leaders from ten states
were joined in Kuala Lumpur by counterparts from Malaysia, Australia,
New Zealand, Korea and China. In three person teams, the VTM "APEC
Citizens" conducted fifty on camera interviews with the top CEOs,
Trade and Finance Ministers and Heads of State attending the APEC meeting.
The APEC VTM Global Interviews program was broadcast throughout ASEAN
by the Malaysian television stations. The VTM Foundation was selected
to create and produce this program by the National Host Committee after
its leadership participated in National VTM Day in Washington, DC in April.
A special video set of the "APEC VTM Global Interviews" was
distributed to schools across the country after the event, and is in continuous
use as an instructional program.
The VTM continues to host the @APEC Global Interview
Program each year at the annual APEC CEO Summit. The @APEC Program was
successfully hosted in New Zealand in 1999 and Brunei Darussalam in 2000.
Increasing Demand and New Opportunities for Additional
VTM National and International Programs
As the VTM Foundation has continued to pioneer interactive trade education,
its success has generated increasing demand for its school, teacher and
curriculum development programs and new opportunities for major national
and international initiatives. Many school districts that have hosted
VTM Classroom Programs and National Teacher Workshops have asked to be
designated National VTM Teacher and Curriculum Development Centers. The
National League of Cities has invited the VTM Foundation to create a model
program for Mayors and City Council Leaders to bring to their schools
and workplaces. Two major American companies have initiated discussions
on the potential creation of continuing workplace VTMs for their U.S.
and overseas employees and host community schools. The host committees
for a number of multinational economic summits, including the annual APEC
CEO Summit, have asked the VTM Foundation to produce "Global Interview"
programs at their events similar to the APEC 1998 format.
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