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About the USA - Virtual Classroom
Newsletter for English Teachers


HIV/AIDS
World AIDS Day helps to educate people about HIV, reduce the stigma associated with this disease, and promote HIV testing. Organized by the United Nations World Health Organization in 1988 and observed every December 1, World AIDS Day spotlights the disease, which has killed an estimated 25 million people since the early 1980s.
U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR): Through the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the U.S. Government is promoting the theme "Working Together." Launched in 2003 to combat global AIDS, PEPFAR is the largest commitment in history by any nation to combat a single disease. The American people have already provided more than $25 billion to the fight against global AIDS.

COP15 - United Nations Climate Change Conference
The world is preparing to convene from December 7-18 in Copenhagen, Denmark for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15) to negotiate the successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which set international goals for greenhouse emissions reductions in 1997. The COP15 conference is the fifteenth Conference of the Parties under the United Nations’ Climate Change Convention. President Obama will be attending the COP15 Conference, and he will take with him an emissions reduction target to drive progress toward a comprehensive and operational Copenhagen accord.

Holiday Celebrations
Christmas as we know it today is a  Victorian invention of the 1860s. One of the most celebrated holiday in the world, our modern Christmas is a product of hundreds of years of both secular and religious traditions from around the globe.
Hanukkah (also known as Chanukah, Hanukah, Hannuka and the Festival of Lights) is an eight-day Jewish holiday that usually takes place between late November and late December.
Kwanzaa is a non-religious African American holiday which celebrates family, community, and culture. It is celebrated for seven days: December. 26 - January 1.
Chinese New Year celebrates the beginning of a new year according to the lunar calendar. It is considered to be one of the most important holidays for Chinese families.

In Focus: Ambassador Murphy's Heroes
Our Ambassador Philip Murphy has held several town hall meetings throughout Germany over the course of the past two months. During his remarks he has introduced his heroes to the audience. Over the coming months we will focus on these individuals in the In Focus section of our newsletter. We will start by introducing the work of Bill and Melinda Gates.

Studying Abroad
International Enrollment at U.S. Colleges Again Breaks Records: The number of international students enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions jumped 8 percent during the 2008–2009 academic year to an all-time high of 671,616, according to the Institute of International Education’s 2009 report on international education exchange

Strategy in Afghanistan
On December 1, the President outlined his strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

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U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Germany /Public Affairs/ Information Resource Centers    
Updated: December 2, 2009