July 25 meeting will discuss opportunities to visit Pakistan or host officials

An informational meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 25, beginning at 10 a.m., in Weston to discuss the MMA’s Pakistani exchange program.

As part of its grant from the U.S. State Department to bring Pakistani local officials to Massachusetts, the MMA has the opportunity to send about 10 local officials to Pakistan, from Nov. 25 to Dec. 8.

The MMA is also seeking communities to host 30 government officials from Pakistan who will be visiting Massachusetts during 2012.

The meeting at Weston Town Hall will be an opportunity to learn more about both hosting Pakistanis and visiting there.

Representatives from the Institute for Training and Development, the MMA’s U.S. partner in the grant, will be available to discuss their extensive experience traveling in Pakistan and that region of the world.

Visiting Pakistan is potentially dangerous, but it also may be immensely rewarding and educational.

The visiting delegation will be based in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. Arrangements will be made by the ITD, which will be assisted by a sister agency in Pakistan that organizes the Fulbright Scholarship program. All arrangements and security will be fully vetted by the U.S. State Department.

Interested officials will need to apply by mid-September to give the State Department and Pakistan time to approve the applicants. This can take several months. Any visitors will, of course, need a valid passport.

First priority will be given to officials from communities that have already hosted (or will be hosting) visiting Pakistanis.

In partnership with the ITD, the MMA won a $1.5 million grant from the State Department for the Pakistani program. The grant will fund visits by five groups of Pakistani public administrators, who will take part in short-term programs consisting of training sessions and “professional attachments” (shadow internships) in communities around Massachusetts.

Three groups of 15 Pakistani officials visited 45 Massachusetts communities in 2011 and 2012.

The next visit will take place from Oct. 6 through Nov. 9 and will include four weeks of professional attachment. Pakistani participants will be placed in pairs in two two-week placements. A community would host two Pakistani officials for two weeks.

During the professional attachments, participants will reside in local hotels and spend each day with a town or city department or at a relevant event. Hosts will be asked to place the participants in a variety of municipal offices so they can gain an understanding of how professional services are coordinated and delivered.

In addition to building their professional capacities, the goal is to have the Pakistani government professionals build professional and personal relationships with their American counterparts.

In preparation for the professional attachments, the MMA and the ITD, a nonprofit based in Amherst (www.itd-amherst.org), will provide host communities with detailed suggestions. Support will be offered throughout the placements, and a hosting stipend will be awarded to offset expenses of the community and the local coordinator assigned to the Pakistani guests.

The first week of the entire six-week program will feature an orientation to U.S. public administration, including lectures from practitioners and academics and site visits to local organizations and government offices. The last week will begin with individual and group reflection on the professional attachments and preparation of action plan projects that the participants are expected to implement on their return home.

Lastly, the participants will travel to Washington, D.C., for more site visits and a debriefing at the State Department.

The Pakistani participants were recruited by the Fulbright Commission in Pakistan. The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad will vet the participants, including thorough background checks, and will assist them in obtaining U.S. visas.

Local officials interested in participating in this program should contact Paul Bockelman at (617) 426-7272, ext. 111, or pbockelman@mma.org.