CAYCE, SC – From October 23-31, Cayce Mayor Elise Partin was invited by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) to participate in a U.S. Speaker Program on Insights into the Electoral Process and Democratic Institutions in Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic.

She shared her first-hand perspective of the electoral process and women’s political participation in the United States with emerging leaders, media, civil society, and mayoral counterparts. This is Mayor Partin’s third opportunity to represent the United States by invitation of a U.S. Embassy to speak about her non-partisan experience in local politics.

About the U.S. Department of State Speaker Program: The U.S. Speaker Program collaborates with U.S. embassies and consulates around the world to engage professional foreign audiences with American citizen experts on topics of strategic importance to the United States. 

Programs are conducted in person and through virtual engagement platforms and focus on key foreign policy topics including tackling climate change, promoting media literacy, providing alternatives to violent extremism, advancing economic prosperity, expanding educational diplomacy, and fostering open government and civil society. 

U.S. Speakers represent a broad range of fields and expertise and are leaders in their sectors and communities. The U.S. Speaker Program offers experts an opportunity to engage with new audiences, expand their networks, and exchange ideas with professionals across the globe. 

Photos Below: Mayor Partin with the U. S. Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic, Lesslie Viguerie, wearing the City of Cayce hat she gave him, and Mayor Partin and Michelle Yerkin, the U.S. Consul General in Almaty, Kazakhstan.