The IEP Committee regrets to announce the cancellation of the 2020 International Exchange Program.
The IEP Committee does not make this decision lightly or without disappointment. We have done everything we can to determine how we could safely implement the IEP this year. In the past months we have carefully tracked the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic using factual data from the US Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization. We have also looked closely at visa, travel, and movement restrictions in the US and around the world, particularly in the seven US states and the four countries internationally where the internships would take place. After several months of review, we are now no closer to defining a safe path forward to hold the IEP in 2020 and must unfortunately make the decision to cancel.
In the coming month the IEP Committee will work closely with the host organizations and selected interns for 2020 to determine if we can make the same placements in 2021. To do this we will take the opportunity to reflect on the 36-year history of the IEP and plan to bring the program back even stronger next year. We will also work with other committees and the leadership of US/ICOMOS, IEP alumni, and US/ICOMOS members to highlight the IEP and its international impact via webinars and social media events.
As we move forward we will work hard to reconnect with former interns and hosts. If you are an intern alum or represent a host organization of the US/ICOMOS IEP (aka ‘Summer Intern Program’), please get in touch on social media, drop us an email at IEP [at] usicomos.org, or complete the alumni network form here. We would love to hear from you and share your IEP story.