During the week of Thanksgiving, nine visitors from India came to Pensacola via the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) on a project titled U.S. Society and Culture. Objectives for this U.S. Department of State project included examining cooperative efforts in promoting tolerance, interfaith dialogue, and the work of grassroots organizations.
Their project started locally with a welcome from Pensacola City Council Member Dr. P.C. Wu who provided insight into the history of the area & its current demographics before presenting the international visitors with certificates of honorary citizenship on behalf of Mayor Grover Robinson IV. The IVLP participants also gave a community presentation at the Voices of Pensacola Multicultural Center & several locals heard them speak on Mobilizing Your Community — A Perspective from India.
Despite the constraints of a holiday week, the group had several meetings and site visits which included time with:
- Willie Tubbs, assistant professor of communication at the University of West Florida, who explored the media’s role in community engagement and the impact of disinformation on public attitudes, beliefs, and behavior;
- Feeding the Gulf Coast Operations Manager Michael Ledger who gave the group an overview of how the organization and its partner agencies distribute over 15,800,000 meals to over 80,000 families and individuals in need of assistance each year and how they manage the more than 19,200 volunteers who assist in this process;
- Salma Ashmawi, education director at the Islamic Center of Northwest Florida who highlighted public attitudes on inclusivity, interfaith dialogue, and cooperation efforts, and how the local Muslim community, many of whom are first generation Americans, have been able integrate and engage with the wider community;
- Business & Industry Outreach Coordinator Jo McArthur and Director of Workforce Education Mike Listua at Pensacola State College where the group toured the campus and learned about career academies and the Greater Pensacola Career Pathways Initiative designed to employ students and job seekers through training and partnerships with local businesses;
- Katrina Washington and the girls of Pretty in Pink at Pensacola High School where a Q & A time with the students highlighted how mentoring fosters successes and can challenge gender stereotypes;
- President Gary Rhodes of Sunday’s Child who presented how his organization promotes its mission of equality and inclusion by awarding grants for significant charitable and economic initiatives;
- And Ella Griffith, Katherine McCrackin, Graybill Partington, Savannah Patterson, and Annie Pratt of the Youth Diplomats joined the visitors for an informal networking coffee.
Thanksgiving Day provided a real treat for the visitors as they experienced southern hospitality and Thanksgiving traditions with the families of Julie Tippins Parker, Linda Thompson, and Liz and Basil Yelverton.
The day after Thanksgiving, the festivities continued with attendance at the Elf Parade, the lighting of the 400,000 bulbs illuminating downtown, and rolling along the streets in a Winterfest trolley, a 60-minute tour featuring singing guides, Scrooge, and beloved holiday characters from American culture.
