International Visitor Programs

International Visitor Programs

Extending a warm welcome, personally and professionally

The International Visitor Programs provide opportunities for local volunteers and professionals to serve as citizen diplomats, bridging countries and cultures “one handshake at a time.” In 2010, 32 delegations and 185 visitors from 48 countries were welcomed through The Center and its volunteer corps.

For more information, click on the following:

International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP)

An initiative of the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, IVLP brings approximately 5,000 foreign nationals to the United States every year with a mission to promote citizen diplomacy and build mutual understanding between the U.S. and other nations.

These distinguished individuals from overseas travel to Indiana for face-to-face meetings with their professional colleagues. The exchange enables the international leaders to obtain firsthand knowledge about the United States, its people, policies and culture. Lasting business, cultural, and educational contacts with prominent professionals overseas often develop.

As the Indiana affiliate for the National Council for International Visitors (NCIV), The International Center designs and facilitates custom-tailored programs that meet visitors’ professional goals and objectives, provides cultural activities, arranges home hospitality, and makes all logistical arrangements during their stay in Indiana.

“You give your guests a chance to see America at our best, to see our warmth and our base of diversity, and our conviction that searching discussion and sincere exchanges of view can yield tangible results… As citizen diplomats, you bring world issues home to the American people in the most direct way possible.”
- Secretary of State Colin Powell, 2002 National Council for International Visitors National Meeting

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Professional Resources

The International Center provides both IVLP and individual visitors with access to an extensive network of local professionals representing many different fields, from community-based volunteer organizations, to Fortune 500 companies, to government agencies. These professionals provide visitor programming and home hospitality, enhancing the experience of those coming to Indiana, often for the first time.

Professional resource areas of expertise include:

  • Agriculture
  • Anti-Corruption
  • Arts Management
  • BioTechnology
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Diversity and Multiculturalism
  • Economic and Business Development
  • Emergency and Disaster Management
  • English Teaching
  • Environment
  • Film Industry
  • Gender & Women’s Issues
  • Homeland Defense
  • HIV/AIDS Prevention
  • Judicial System
  • Law Enforcement
  • Library Sciences
  • Museum Administration
  • Non-Governmental Organizations
  • Print Journalism
  • Religion
  • University Administration
  • Volunteerism
  • Youth & Family Issues

“The International Center International Visitor Program opens a window onto the world. It provides unique opportunities to glimpse how the rest of the world works and to share our own experiences with our visitors.”
- J. Bradley King, Election Division, Office of the Secretary of State

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Dinner Hospitality

Sometimes referred to as “dinner table diplomacy,” home hospitality pairs international visitors with local volunteers eager to share American culture and learn about life in other countries. Hospitality volunteers welcome visitors in their homes, at restaurants, even at ball games where together they enjoy friendly cultural exchange. They share ideas and opinions about everything from politics to favorite foods, learning about each other’s way of life and changing the world “one handshake at a time.”

When arranging the hospitality experience, The Center tries to match the visitor and the volunteer host via some common interest areas; i.e., the hosts have lived in the visitor’s country, speak a common language, have mutual professional interests, or are interested in the same kind of cultural activities. Visitors consistently say that the hospitality experience is among the most rewarding aspects of their programs.

“Our dinner with Bai and Tanja on July 30 was fantastic…Everyone had a wonderful time meeting these guests. Both Tanja and Bai expressed how nice it was to spend time having dinner with an American family and remarked how Indianapolis was their only destination with this kind of opportunity. They were extremely impressed that the International Center put an event like this together for them.”
- Beth Barich, home hospitality volunteer

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