Since 2001, the Vermont Council on World Affairs has a proud tradition of welcoming distinguished diplomats, who come to Vermont to exchange views on issues of international importance. They speak at large public venues as well as at smaller, more intimate meetings with time for personal interaction and discussion.
H.E. Ambassador Zoran Jolevski, Ambassador of Macedonia to the United States, visited in February to meet with longtime partners Norwich University and the Vermont National Guard and to make new connections.
Ambassador Jolevski, Norwich University President Dr. Richard Schneider and VCWA Executive Director Dr. Gail Stevenson
chat before the Ambassador's talk on leadership to Norwich students and the community at large.
Ambassador Jolevski meets with Dr. Ira Bernstein of the UVM College of Medicine
and with Macedonian students studying at Norwich
University under a collaborative agreement
Check out great photos from the Ambassador Delattre's visit in October on our Facebook
page and read about his visit in the Free Press
H.E. Ambassador Delattre with Gail and Ashley
“My trip was not only a wonderful opportunity to visit the beautiful city of Burlington, but also a chance to enter into dialogue with Vermonters on issues that both our countries face. I look forward to continued collaboration with the Consulate general and the Embassy in the future.”
and watch Ambassador Collin's talk at Champlain College
H.E. Michael Collins speaks with business leaders at the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber
His Excellency Petr Gandalovič
Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United States
completed a whirlwind tour of Vermont. In 1989 Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution was a model to the world of non-violent social change. Ambassador Gandalovič spoke on the Czech Republic's place in Europe and the world 20 years on, as well as some possible lessons of that experience for the current Arab Spring.
With Executive Director Gail Stevenson
at Saint Michael's College
Speaking to VCWA and Lake Champlain Regional
Chamber of Commerce guests about business
Speaking to a packed house at UVM
Read the Middlebury College blog about his visit
"It was a great pleasure to visit Vermont. With its mountains it reminded me of my home region in the Czech Republic. But it was not only the picturesque countryside but the Vermonters I met that made this visit very special. I was able to get the real taste of Vermont and get to know its people. It gave me an opportunity to explore the potential for establishing closer links between Vermont and the Czech Republic, be they in trade, research, education or cultural exchange."
"I am very grateful to the VCWA for organizing my visit and for allowing me to interact with representatives from the business and academic world. I particularly enjoyed my discussions with students and came to the conclusion that Liechtenstein and Vermont have more in common than the mountains and the rural countryside: entrepreneurship, sensitivity for the environment and a well-educated population with an interest in global affairs."
--H.E. Claudia Fritsche, Ambassador of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United States
Read about her visit to Middlebury College
"During my trip to Vermont I had the opportunity to address the state legislature, meet with students and teachers, and thank Vermont’s National Guard for their sacrifices and role in fighting for democracy in Iraq. The Vermont Council on World Affairs makes an important contribution to our public discourse by sponsoring trips like this because it is vitally important to have an open exchange of ideas on issues of international importance.”
--H.E. Samir Sumaida'ie, Ambassador of Iraq to the United States
