On Thursday, May 20th, Gulf Coast Diplomacy hosted its 2021 Annual Meeting via Zoom for members and guests. Though not in a traditional space, the participants engaged in a networking activity through small breakout rooms. Here, they shared their stories on how citizen diplomacy has impacted their lives. Members and guests shared memories of past...
In May of 2019, Pensacola hosted visitors from the People’s Republic of China through the State Department’s International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP). The group’s focus was on the role of community and vocational colleges in the U.S. to learn how they contribute to economic development and how they assist underserved student populations. Meridian International Center...
As a part of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) titled Teaching STEM in English: A Project for Kazakhstan, Pensacola welcomed five education specialists from Kazakhstan in early May. The focus of the program was to exchange ideas and topics about education, with a focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields, in a...
On April 27, Gulf Coast Diplomacy had the pleasure of partnering with Global Ties Detroit to host a one-of-a-kind Small World Café. For the first time, the two groups brought in speakers from each region to discuss environmentalism with an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) alumna. For an hour, we heard from Genevieve Nowak from...
As part of my internship with Gulf Coast Diplomacy, I was fortunate to attend the Global Ties US 2021 National Meeting, online for the first time. In a five-day blur, I squeezed conference meetings and workshops in between classes. Though I was rather busy, I relished every moment. From networking with other young professionals to...
In March 2019, we welcomed five Ugandans to Pensacola who were invited to the United States under the auspices of the Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program. FHI 360 arranged their national program and Gulf Coast Diplomacy arranged the local one. The program was titled Mental and Physical Disabilities. While in Northwest Florida, their...
The Open World Leadership Center, an agency of the U.S. Congress, sent a delegation of Russian professionals to Pensacola, Florida, from February 14-22, 2020. The delegation consisted of five professionals and was accompanied by a bicultural facilitator and an interpreter. FHI-360 in Washington, D.C., facilitated their national project while Gulf Coast Diplomacy crafted their local...
On Wednesday, February 11th, I had the pleasure to join about twenty individuals from all around the United States at a Small World Cafe hosted by Gulf Coast Diplomacy and Global Ties Detroit with guest speaker Fred Ketchem. Ketchem had a long and fulfilling career at the Department of State, serving in nearly 200 countries...
Global Ties U.S. selected me to participate in their January 2020 Emerging Leaders Program. Through a series of workshops at the National Meeting on Citizen Diplomacy, the program focuses on empowering college students and recent graduates interested in the sector of citizen diplomacy. I was excited when I received the confirmation email, as I knew...
In June 2020, the Small World Café was pleased to host Marini DE LIVERA of Sri Lanka who was a 2019 International Woman of Courage (IWOC). This award recognizes women across the globe who are doing important work, often at risk to themselves, and is part of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). DE LIVERA...
