Working with the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) & Open World means coming into regular contact with various fascinating people who are focusing on making a difference in their communities. Some are entrepreneurs, others work on national security issues, and many belong to the Fourth Estate. We have hosted activists working to register voters, a social worker establishing the first domestic violence shelter in her country, and doctors exploring breast cancer awareness and outreach practices. We see a diversity of project themes and are honored to introduce Northwest Florida to professionals who consistently challenge us to expand our worldview.
With the March 2020 pause of in-person programming, the Gulf Coast Diplomacy team began exploring ways to reconnect with these visitors through informal online chats and exchange reunions. We heard updates on their work, engaged them in Q & A sessions, and asked them to present their experiences to local teens through Youth Diplomats & Camp Global.
As 2020 progressed, we recognized another element of citizen diplomacy was missing from the repertoire, a connection with the stellar locals who regularly meet with IVLP & Open World participants. These are the people who make citizen diplomacy a reality in Northwest Florida, for it is their willingness to discuss mutual areas of expertise that makes crafting exchanges between professionals possible. We missed connecting with them and learning about the differences they are making right here at home. While we wait for in-person exchanges to resume, we are showcasing some of the professionals who make citizen diplomacy — and our community — thrive.
