- National Council for International Visitors
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National Council for
International Visitors
Type 501(c)(3) non-profit Industry Citizen diplomacy Founded 1961 Headquarters Washington, DC, U.S. Key people Sherry L. Mueller (President) Employees 7 Website www.nciv.org The National Council for International Visitors (NCIV) is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 1961 to promote excellence in citizen diplomacy. It is based in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
NCIV members include individuals, program agencies, and more than 90 community organizations throughout the United States. NCIV members design and implement professional programs, provide cultural activities, and offer home hospitality opportunities for foreign leaders, specialists, and international scholars participating in the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program and other exchange programs. More than one third of the community members are staffed by volunteers. Each year the aggregate efforts of NCIV members involve more than 80,000 volunteers.
Contents
History
Founding
After World War II the International Visitor Program (IVP) brought in an annually increasing number of foreign visitors to the United States. As it became difficult for the Department of State to facilitate the research and logistics of the program, they turned to private sector organizations[1] such as the Institute of International Education (IIE) and the Governmental Affairs Institute (GAI). These national program agencies (NPAs), funded by the Department of State, would work in collaboration with more voluntary, locally established centers for international visitors (CIVs) to map out an itinerary for incoming international visitors.[1]
A number of issues became evident as these private organizations functioned together. The NPAs and CIVs had been working in poor communication and coordination—both among and within themselves—resulting in a stifled exchange of skills and information and therefore programming capacity; and it was not clear as to how those organizations should be funded.[1]
Representatives from relevant organizations held many discussions to address these financial and communicative issues. On February 11, 1957, the Interim Council for Community Services to International Visitors (ICCSIV) was established to help sustain the growth of the IVP and its local organizations.[1] The ICCSIV, whose membership reflected both private and public organizations, served as a sort of Board of Directors to coordinate the efforts between NPAs and CIVs.
Members of the ICCSIV agreed to establish the National Council for Community Services to International Visitors (NCCSIV) on November 30, 1960,[1] a first step toward creating an official organization. NCCSIV adopted the acronym COSERV in April, 1961, and officially incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1965.[1] COSERV changed its name to the National Council for International Visitors (NCIV) on October 1, 1979,[1] to reflect its central role as a coordinator for CIVs and other programming agencies for the International Visitor Leadership Program.
Nobel Peace Prize nomination
Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) nominated the NCIV and its volunteers for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001.[2][3]
Members
NCIV has over 90 community based organizations,[4] called Councils for International Visitors (CIVs), throughout the United States. The role of these organizations is to organize programs for participants in the IVLP.
Citizen Diplomat Award
NCIV distributes five awards in recognition of excellent citizen diplomacy, the most inclusive of which is its Citizen Diplomat Award. NCIV presents the Citizen Diplomat Award to any individual or institution that it perceives to have "achieved a recognized standard of excellence in furthering the cause of international and mutual understanding".[5]
Past Recipients Year Recipient Title 2009 Rick Steves Author and Founder, Europe Through the Back Door 2008 Garth Fagan Founder and Artistic Director, Garth Fagan Dance 2007 Keith Reinhard Founder, President of The Stanley Foundation 1993 Maya Angelou Poet and Activist 1990 John Richardson, Jr. Assistant Secretary of State, ECA
Founder, U.S. Institute for Peace1987 J. William Fulbright Senator (D-AR) Board of directors
- Alexander Durtka, Jr. Chair,
- Carol Engebretson Byrne, First Vice Chair,
- Nancy Gilboy, Second Vice Chair
- Laura Dupuy, Treasurer,
- Carina Black, Ph.D., Secretary,
- Lawrence J. Chastang, Ex-officio, Larson Allen, LLC
- Chris Ajemian, Battelle/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Quincy Carter, Freeport Area International Visitors Council
- Tarik Daoud, Al Long Ford, Inc.
- Karen de Bartolome, Institute of International Education
- Eurica Huggins-Axum, Institute of International Education
- Beth Sabo Huddleston World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth
- Kyle Moyer, Kyle Moyer & Company
- Peter Simpson,Ph.D
- James S. Wolf
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Gibson, John S. (October 1997). The International Visitor Program: The United States Government and the National Council for International Visitors. http://www.nciv.org/index.php?option=com_phocadownload&view=category&id=9:library&download=376:the-gibson-report-1997-the-international-visitor-program-the-united-states-government-and-the-national-council-for-international-visitors&Itemid=93.
- ^ "Nomination Letter to NCIV". http://nciv.org/index.php?option=com_phocadownload&view=category&id=9:library&download=29:senator-arlen-specter-s-letter-nominating-the-nciv-network-for-the-2001-nobel-peace-prize&Itemid=93. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ^ "Boston Volunteers Among Those Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize". Business Wire. March 21, 2001. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2001_March_21/ai_71970316. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
- ^ "NCIV Members". http://nciv.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=67&Itemid=72. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ^ "Citizen Diplomat Award". http://nciv.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=111&Itemid=104. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
Articles
- U.S. Citizen Diplomats Launch Education Campaign about Islam (from America.gov August 29, 2002)
- Anti-Americanism Prompts Push for “Citizen Diplomacy” (from The New York Times July 26, 2006)
External links
Categories:- Foreign relations of the United States
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