In the future, we will all remember 2020. We’ve adjusted and adapted. We’ve prayed, mourned, scrubbed, and washed our hands again and again and again. Many of us purchased or sewed a few masks in the beginning and now have a fashionista’s variety of choices. For us at Gulf Coast Diplomacy, we will also remember...
A well-designed project ends with success and contributes to a better world. That is what occurred with the successful implementation of Preventing and Confronting Domestic Abuse and Violence, an International Visitor Leadership Program. This Department of State project focused on a variety of subtopics including best practices for preventing gender-based violence, how to prosecute abusers,...
Youth Diplomats May Meeting Gulf Coast Diplomacy's youth leadership program excitedly welcomed many new and returning faces on Saturday, May 9th. At the beginning of the meeting, the Youth Diplomats interacted virtually with other Youth Diplomats from Chicago and Kansas City. Everyone shared their favorite quarantine activities and where they wish to travel. The student...
Small World Café Meeting On April 30, four International Visitor Leadership Program alumni joined citizen diplomats from across the United States in conversation and speed networking. The speakers joined the gathering from Albania, Estonia, Romania, and Serbia and shared highlights of their April 2019 visit to Pensacola as well as information on their current work....
In 2019, 17 visitors from Europe and Tajikistan traveled to Pensacola as participants with the International Visitor Leadership Program of the U.S. Department of State on a project titled 21st Century Changemakers: Education Leaders Advance Civic Engagement Among High School Youth. While in Pensacola, the group examined media literacy, how to engage volunteers, and the...
With Pensacola’s vibrant military community, it is no surprise the Open World Leadership Center selected Gulf Coast Diplomacy in 2019 as the local sponsor for Ukrainian attorneys with an interest in veterans’ affairs. Their visit was particularly crucial as Ukraine is at war and in need of a system to support soldiers’ rights and retirement...
In early 2019, four Russians traveled to Pensacola as exchange participants with the Open World Leadership Center. This congressionally-sponsored program focused on local legislation. While in Pensacola for eight days, they stayed with host families Karen and Mike Jurkowich, Jena Melanҫon, Megan and Jerry Pratt, and Terry and Bill Preston. On their first day in...
The Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council kicked off its inaugural Small World Café with a conversation between members and Shazia Bashir of Pakistan. The initiative highlights exchange alumni and their work and gives Floridians an avenue to engage the world. Bashir came to Pensacola in May 2015. At that time, her work focused on encouraging...
More than a decade ago, I began an internship with the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council that was one of the most inspirational and enjoyable experiences of my career thus far. I spent two summers (‘09 & ‘10) as an intern there while pursuing my bachelor’s degree in international affairs and political science from Florida State...
In early 2020, we welcomed a group of nine International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) participants from Botswana, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, St Lucia, Tajikistan, and Zimbabwe. The group focused on volunteerism in American communities. Pensacola City Council Member Ann Hill welcomed them to the region and Joyce Black of Visit Pensacola shared information...
