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About Gulf Coast Diplomacy

Change Through Exchange

Donations to our Change Through Exchange fundraiser will offset the operational costs necessary to create enriching programming activities for our visitors.

Camp Global: Dakhla!

Calling all U.S. teens! You’re invited to a virtual exploration of Dakhla, Morocco. We’ll meet on Saturdays from November 9th  to December 7th. Your commitment is approximately 90 minutes on Zoom each session from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM Central.

Become a Host Family

Bring the world to your home through a short-term host family experience lasting seven to 13 days.

We host several youth projects annually and need to place them in homes. The youths are ages 15-18 and speak English. Occasionally, they are accompanied by an adult mentor, who we put in a separate home. We keep everyone busy during the work week and ask you to share your life in the evenings and weekends.

This is a fun and enriching way to explore the world outside Florida while sharing your life with international visitors.

Join Us Today

Individual and Corporate Memberships

The U.S. Department of State pays for the delegations’ traveling expenses, but our council is not a government agency and relies on grants and the generosity of local individuals and businesses to help support our non-profit mission.

One of the ways we do this is to offer both individual and corporate memberships.  We hope you’ll consider joining us. You will have the opportunity to network with our international visitors at receptions, lunches, or even in your own home. You will also have the chance to meet an interesting array of locals.

The U.S. Department of State ...

... has a public diplomacy program where opinion-makers travel around the country to meet professionals and ordinary citizens. It’s called the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).

On November 7, 2008 ...

... the National Council for International Visitors granted membership to Gulf Coast Diplomacy. With this status, Northwest Florida was welcomed to the national IVLP itinerary.

Expand Your World ...

... with citizen diplomacy. IVLP participants visit all over our country for mutual exchange & to explore how we do things in the USA. Join our council, meet our visitors, and get involved today!

You are invited to our annual pre-derby party! It’s a celebration of citizen diplomacy & we hope you’ll join us to congratulate our Citizen of the Year & the recipient of our 2020 Dr. Jack Kichler Hospitality Award.

We will welcome Anne Grimes, Director of the Office of International Visitors at the U.S. Department of State, who will speak on the importance of international exchange & Board Chair Rachel Hendrix will demonstrate how to make a perfect mint julep.

To drum up excitement for our membership event during the days prior to the party, we have an online auction, a virtual red carpet, and an event celebrating the 80th anniversary of the International Visitor Leadership Program!

This year, the event is online & free. We will celebrate on Thursday, September 3rd, from 6:00 – 7:00 PM Central Time (UTC-5). We can’t wait to see you! Please preregister through this link.

Thank You to Our Mint Jubilee Corporate Sponsors

Finding Peace Counseling
Guardian Six
Karen Jurkowich, Realtor
Wade, Palmer & Shoemaker, P.A.
Thank you also to those sponsoring the event who wish to remain anonymous.

Join Us Today!

Individual and Corporate Memberships

The U.S. Department of State pays for the delegations’ traveling expenses, but our council is not a government agency and relies on grants and the generosity of local individuals and businesses to help support our non-profit mission.

One of the ways we do this is to offer both individual and corporate memberships.  We hope you’ll consider joining us. You will have the opportunity to network with our international visitors at receptions, lunches, or even in your own home. You will also have the chance to meet an interesting array of locals.

Diplomacy Begins Here Summit

Come explore what's happening in Northwest Florida in innovation, science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) & the critical role public diplomacy programs play in advancing U.S. foreign policy goals.

You’re invited!

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is time to prepare for our spring celebration, a pre-derby event celebrating citizen diplomacy, hospitality, and the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP)!  All the fun happens on Thursday, May 2, 2024.  

This year, we will have visitors from Tajikistan joining us.  Come help us give them a BIG PENSACOLA HELLO!

To learn more and purchase tickets, click here. 

To learn about sponsoring the event, click here.