In the first week of November 2019, ten professionals from Afghanistan traveled to Northwest Florida on an International Visitor Leadership Program titled Promoting Women’s Participation in Peace and Reconciliation. Meridian International Center arranged their national project and Gulf Coast Diplomacy arranged their local one. The professional aims of their itinerary included highlighting best practices for building public support, exploring conflict resolution and mediation, and addressing the underlying conditions conducive to the embrace of violent extremism.
The group’s introduction to Pensacola began on a weekend with a discussion with the Youth Diplomats of Gulf Coast Diplomacy, a leadership program for high school students interested in foreign affairs. After an enjoyable exchange of ideas and cultural insights, the group spent time at the Great Gulf Coast Arts Festival which draws more than 200 artisans and is one of the best-regarded art festivals in the United States. On the following day, they set sail on a dolphin cruise.
Their professional appointments included thought-provoking dialogue at a roundtable at First United Methodist Church with religious leaders and representatives of various groups highlighting the role of faith in advancing charity and social justice. Salma Ashmawi of the Islamic Center of Northwest Florida, Dr. Rick Branch of First United Methodist Church, Rev. Booth Iburg of Eternal Hope United Church of Christ, and Buddhist E. Ben Posey all participated.
Exploration continued with a visit to Pensacola City Hall where City Councilmember Ann Hill gave a warm official welcome. The group then traveled to the University of West Florida (UWF) where they met with Dr. Vannee Cao-Nguyen, the UWF student ombudsperson, to discuss alternative dispute resolution methods and their use in an academic setting.
At Brown Barge Middle School, Assistant Principal Lauri Jackson, and teachers Tyler Bryant, Lauren Meiss, and David Moran welcomed the group and shared information about their school and their conflict resolution program. The group met students, toured classrooms, and asked questions about curriculum structure.
Wellness Operations Manager Melissa Benton then brought health and wellness to the forefront with an overview at the Baptist Wellness Center and the Baptist Health Care Healthy Lives program which aims to empower parents and their children to lead healthier lives. The focus on health and the community continued at Feeding the Gulf Coast, the area’s largest food pantry ,where they learned about the outfit’s organizational structure and assisted Kyle Schoolar and other staff with food sorting in volunteer activity.
While Pensacola is a not as famous or as cosmopolitan as some of the other destinations the group visited, many of the participants acclaimed that their time in sunny & hospitable seaside Pensacola was their favorite stop during their time across the Unites States. Gulf Coast Diplomacy extends special thanks to volunteer facilitators Norma Fields and Stephen Terry for the time they gave this group and to the many locals who welcomed them into their homes for a meal including Salma Ashmawi, Terry & Jim Crowe, Hilda & Ray Jones, Diane Mack, Linda & Bill Wade, Maysa Yousef.
