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...
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...
When a group of six Russians on an Open World Leadership project arrived in Pensacola at the end of 2018 to examine waste management, the local community welcomed them warmly. On the first day in town, the visitors held a discussion with the Youth Diplomats to answer questions and to share their own culture with...
For four exciting days in November 2019, Gulf Coast Diplomacy hosted a group of nine professionals from Austria, Costa Rica, Fiji, Mongolia, Namibia, Sweden, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, and the United Arab Emirates. The U.S. Department of State invited these visitors to participate in an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) which was arranged at the national level...
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...
During the week of Thanksgiving, nine visitors from India came to Pensacola via the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) on a project titled U.S. Society and Culture. Objectives for this U.S. Department of State project included examining cooperative efforts in promoting tolerance, interfaith dialogue, and the work of grassroots organizations. Their project started locally with...
Programs focusing on entrepreneurship help underscore the impact of international exchange around the world. The multiregional project Women in Entrepreneurship was no exception and highlighted entrepreneurial efforts in the U.S., particularly those initiated or managed by women. This project for the International Visitor Leadership Program also examined strategies for job creation. On the group’s first...
In August, five visitors from Australia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam arrived in Pensacola as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program titled Land Rights: Protecting Communities and their Rights. They met with City Council Executive Don Kraher to discuss the city’s history and environmental issues, and took a site visit to Project Greenshores with...
This June, six visitors from Russia traveled to Pensacola for eight days as part of the Open World Program. Their focus was on women in entrepreneurship. While in Pensacola, they stayed with host families Leigh and Kent DeSantis, Larisa Reyes and Tim Chandler, Wendy and Chris McCullar, JoAnn and Ken Roberts, Faye and Robert Robinson,...
