Dr. Megan Pratt, founder of the Pensacola MESS (Math, Engineering, Science, and Stuff) Hall, is dedicated to inspiring curiosity and learning in both youth and adults through hands-on STEM education. A passionate supporter of Gulf Coast Diplomacy’s international exchanges, she regularly welcomes visitors as both a professional host and in a personal setting with her...
When an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) or Open World project has teaching STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), non-profit management, best practices in education, or entrepreneurship as an objective, Basil Kuloba, the executive director of INERTIA Education Programs, Inc., makes time in his calendar to share his experiences with exchange participants. Kuloba co-founded INERTIA...
The 80 Faces of Exchange Celebration is a project of the U.S. Department of State commemorating the success of 80 years of the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) and its alumni. As a virtual intern and content creator for this celebration, I had the unique experience of connecting back to those involved in the IVLP...
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...
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...
At the end of my senior year of high school, I was feeling rather melancholy about my upcoming summer. With plans to take a gap year to travel starting in the fall, I was working three jobs that filled up all my free time. I saw the summer set out before me as filled with...
In mid-March, the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council hosted a group of seven emergency management professionals as part of a U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) project titled “Effective Disaster Management and Emergency Response Coordination.” Afghan government agencies and NGOs are dealing with natural disasters including flooding, landslides, droughts, and earthquakes in...
In mid May, we welcomed a group of three visitors from Indonesia as a part of the International Visitor Leadership Program looking at wildlife conservation. Their professional meeting began with a visit to Pensacola City Hall where Councilman Charles Bare welcomed them. Next, the visitors traveled to the I-10 inspection station and met with Lieutenant...
In early May, we welcomed eleven visitors from India looking at disaster management as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program. The visitors started with a visit to Pensacola City Hall where Councilman Charles Bare and Earth Ethics Executive Director Mary Gutierrez welcomed them. Next, they discussed the role of traditional and new media in...
The Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council had the honor of welcoming Ms. Tabassum Adnan, one of ten 2015 International Women of Courage, to northwest Florida in March. The U.S. Secretary of State presents this award to women around the globe who have shown exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for human rights and empowerment, often...
