In early February, we welcomed a group of five visitors from Belgium, Columbia, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Ukraine as a part of the International Visitor Leadership Program, where the visitors looked at government at the state and local levels.
These visitors began their professional program with a visit to Pensacola City Hall, where they were awarded honorary citizenship of Pensacola by Councilman Charles Bare. After this warm welcome, the visitors explored the National Naval Aviation Museum.
Afterward, the group met with Paolo Ghio, the Director of Environmental and Developmental Services at the Santa Rosa Island Authority, to address ways that local government works towards promoting economic growth.
Over the weekend, the group enjoyed home hospitality hosted by Jeannine Van Reeth, Keith Wilkins, and Joan Wilkins.
Monday morning, the visitors began with a volunteer activity at Manna Food Pantries, where they met with Outreach Manager JoAnn Howansky and then got hands on in the warehouse.
After lunch, the group met with Environmental Administrator Charles Harp at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to examine collaborations between a state-level agency and local government.
Next, the group met Housing Administrator Marcie Whitaker of the Housing Choice Voucher Program in Pensacola. The discussion examined how community housing needs are addressed.
The Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council thanks all of those mentioned above for volunteering their time to meet with these international guests and doing their part to advance the cause of citizen diplomacy.
