Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/International Research & Exchanges Board


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. Please include sources mentioned within this discussion in the article in order to address potential future notability concerns. (non-admin closure) TheSandDoctor (talk) 01:55, 14 September 2017 (UTC)

International Research & Exchanges Board

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The article is in this poor state siince 2008 and tagged for notability since 2016. Time to say guud-bye. Staszek Lem (talk) 00:28, 25 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Organizations-related deletion discussions. North America1000 03:55, 25 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Education-related deletion discussions. North America1000 03:55, 25 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Washington, D.C.-related deletion discussions. North America1000 03:55, 25 August 2017 (UTC)

Reasons why the organization is notable The notice at the top of the article asks for help in establishing the organization’s notability, which seems to be the main concern. Here is some information about IREX’s current and historical significance, with links to sources. IREX was established in 1968 by the American Council of Learned Societies, the Social Science Research Council, the Ford Foundation, and the US Department of State. IREX conducted scholarly exchanges between the US and the Soviet Union to bridge geopolitical divides, until the fall of the Iron Curtain. For more information about IREX’s role during this period, see: After the collapse of the Soviet Union, IREX received an influx of funding to support democratic reforms and strengthen organizations. IREX administered programs to conduct educational exchanges, strengthen civil society in developing countries, increase internet access, and provide training and support to journalists and media organizations, among other activities. See: Today, IREX conducts civil society, education, gender, governance, leadership, media, technology, and youth programs in more than 100 countries: https://www.devex.com/organizations/international-research-exchanges-board-irex-3236 For example, IREX implements the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, a highly selective fellowship that builds the skills of 1,000 promising young leaders each year. IREX implements the World Smarts STEM Challenge, which was profiled in NPR and the Washington Times:
 * Yale Richmond, Cultural Exchange and the Cold War: Raising the Iron Curtain (University Park, PA: Penn State University Press, 2004)
 * David C. Engerman, Know Your Enemy: The Rise and Fall of America’s Soviet Experts (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009)
 * Richard T. Arndt, The First Resort of Kings: American Cultural Diplomacy in the Twentieth Century (Lincoln NE: Potomac Books, 2005)
 * Lucia Capodilupo, “IREX in Romania: Overview of Programs to Date and Plans for the Future,” Economy, Society, and Culture in Contemporary Romania (1984)
 * There is also a brief summary of IREX’s history at https://www.irex.org/our-story
 * M. Holt Ruffin, The Post-Soviet Handbook: A Guide to Grassroots Organizations and Internet Resources, 2nd ed. (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1999)
 * M. Holt Ruffin and Daniel Clarke Waugh, eds., Charles E. Ziegler, ed., Civil Society in Central Asia (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1999)
 * Sarah E. Mendelson and John K. Glenn, eds., The Power and Limits of NGOs (New York: Columbia University Press, 2002)
 * Beate Josephi, ed., Journalism Education in Countries with Limited Media Freedom (Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers, 2010)
 * Jennifer Whitten-Woodring and Douglas A. Van Belle, eds., Historical Guide to World Media Freedom: A Country-by-Country Analysis (Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2014)
 * For a list of news articles about the program: https://yalisummit.irex.org/in-the-news/
 * For more information: http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2016/august/sen-coons-addresses-young-leaders/ & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsANB8TN9ps
 * NPR: http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/03/23/520864034/science-loving-teens-from-ghana-and-d-c-geek-out-together
 * Washington Times: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/mar/16/dc-ghanian-stem-students-team-up-for-challenge/

IREX’s education and leadership work has​ ​​recently​ ​been featured in the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times,​ ​and Education Week, among other outlets:
 * Boston Globe: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/north/2017/04/14/teachers-from-around-world-learning-how-narrow-gender-gap/5jGcCEQvdeY51WPtJVy2QM/story.html
 * Los Angeles Times: http://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/tn-dpt-me-iraqi-scholars-20160722-story.html
 * Education Week: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/global_learning/2017/01/connecting_civil_rights_and_global_competence_for_powerful_learning.html

Recently, the Center for European Policy Analysis and Legatum Institute published reports that describe IREX’s approach to helping citizens fight fake news. IREX's approach has also been discussed in the Washington Post: IREX’s work in building, overseeing, and supporting the BOTA Foundation received praise from the Financial Times. The foundation distributed $115 million in grants, cash transfers, and scholarships in Kazakhstan: https://www.ft.com/content/10d8679c-228b-11e6-9d4d-c11776a5124d
 * CEPA: http://cepa.org/reports/winning-the-Information-War
 * Legatum Institute: http://www.li.com/activities/publications/factual-entertainment-how-to-make-media-literacy-popular
 * Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/democracy-post/wp/2017/03/31/our-biggest-mistake-in-the-fight-against-fake-news/

If you still feel that the organization is not notable, could you please specify why?

There are some suggestions for improving the article on the Talk page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:International_Research_%26_Exchanges_Board

--50.58.68.98 (talk) 19:33, 25 August 2017 (UTC)  Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, CAPTAIN RAJU (T) 04:04, 1 September 2017 (UTC)  Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
 * Keep -- this source (one of those listed above) provides reasonably in-depth coverage: link. 50 years of history and some indications of significance due to its role during the Cold War. K.e.coffman (talk) 20:29, 2 September 2017 (UTC)

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, TheSandDoctor (talk) 23:21, 7 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Keep the IP and K.e.coffman show that there is plenty of academic sourcing out there for this to be notable. The book K.e.coffman presents is published by Oxford University Press, so it definitely meets our RS guidelines. Clear pass of WP:N here. TonyBallioni (talk) 01:47, 14 September 2017 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.