Upcoming Visitors
“The shape of the world a generation from now will be influenced far more by how well we communicate the values of our society to others than by our military or diplomatic superiority.” --Senator J. William Fulbright
Preferred hotel for the International Visitors Leadership Program:
Welcome a stranger, send home a friend! Learn more about the benefits.
June 6-9: 8 visitors from Central and South America will be exploring energy security in the Western Hemisphere.
June 18-21: Five visitors from across Russia will visit Vermont tolearn about building sustainable local tourism,including fishing, hunting, biking, hiking and water tourism.
June 22-26: 22 visitors from Near East Asia and North Africa will be participating in Small Business Development Project highlighting the social, economic and political factors that influence and encourage the advancement of private enterprise in the U.S.
More visitors coming soon! Check out the latest visitor information on Facebook
Read an article in the El Watan daily newspaper (scroll to p. 13) by Illies Sahar, an Algerian journalist specializing in energy issues, particularly the oil and gas industry. He reports on both domestic and international issues within the energy sector and was part of the group from North Africa and the Near East who came to Vermont to study trans-boundary energy resource management in June.
Contact Ashley Sandy at 861-2343 or by email for more information.
 The Vermont Council on World Affairs is a proud member of the National Council for International Visitors, a network of almost 100 organizations across the US that bring you the International Visitor Program.
Did you know that China's new leader, Xi Jinping, visited the United States under the International Visitor Program in 1985? More than 335 current and former heads of State, 1,700 cabinet-level ministers, and many other distinguished
world leaders in the public and private sectors have benefitted from first-hand exposure to the United States
through the IVLP. We used to list the current ones, but there are just too many (54 in all). For example, did you know that right now, 22 countries in Europe have sitting heads of state or heads of government (sometimes both) who are International Visitor alumni. We make a difference! Click here for a complete list.
Past Visitors:
2013 International Visitors:
May 9-12: Eight visitors from Europe came to Vermont for a week to explore climate change and clean energy.
April 30-May 3: Four visitors from Belarus came to learn about Vermont's approaches to civic engagement in the development of rural territories.
February 27-March 6: The VCWA hosts 5 visitors from Armenia under the auspices of the Open World Program who will be in Vermont to explore local governance and meeting constituent needs.
2012 International Visitors:
December 1-9: Five experts from Kazakhstan on accountable governance/Open World Program.
October 7-10: Jan Trnka, Senior Lecturer, 3rd Faculty of Medicine from the Czech Republic visited for a program on university administration and environmental issues.
September 19-22: Three visitors from Romania visited to learn about the US judicial system, anti-corruption and the rule of law
September 15-18: Ms. Pornpan Uttamang, a scientist with the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, came to Vermont to explore environmental monitoring
September 13-19: Three visitors from China were in Vermont to learn about small business development
September 7-15th: Five experts from Serbia on green jobs/green technologies/Open World Program.
August 15-18th: Six visitors from South America visited to learn about Vermont's approaches to energy security.
July 7-11th: Mr. Philippe Raimbault of France visited Vermont for a multi-faceted program on state-federal relations, economic development, environmental issues and diversity in a pluralistic society.
July 12-17th: Four visitors from China came to Vermont to learn about rural development.
June 17-22th: Mr. Danijel Marucis, County Prefect from Brodsko-Posavska County in Croatia, came to Vermont for a multi-faceted program on fiscal federalism, economic development, border issues, pollution abatement and diversity in a pluralistic society.
June 14-19th: The VCWA hosted nine visitors from North Africa and the Near East who were in Vermont to study trans-boundary energy resource management. The members hail from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, Oman and the West Bank.
May 27-29th: A multi-regional program with 24 visitors from 23 countries came to experience a real Vermont Memorial Day celebration in Vergennes and to study NGO management. The group came from Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Botswana, Bulgaria, Burma, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mexico, Morocco, Romania, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and the West Bank.
May 13-16th: A five-person group from Georgia visited Vermont to share experiences on women in entrepreneurship, including how to successfully create and operate a women's business organization that provides access to business training, tools and resources, and business mentoring.
April 24-28th: Two visitors from France visited Vermont to explore agriculture and sustainable development.
April 19-25: A five-day multi-regional program with 19 visitors from 18 countries came to Vermont to study biodiversity preservation and environmental conservation. The group hails from Argentina, Grenada, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Liberia, Malaysia, Mexico, Mozambique, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Turkey, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. Read about the group's program here.
March 28-31: Nine high-level visitors from two different regions of Estonia were in Vermont to learn about creative industries innovation and management. Read more about this group's program and see photos here.
February 16-21: Five visitors from Egypt visited Vermont to explore the relationship between government and civic organizations in the United States.
2011 International Visitors:
September 21-24: Four vistors from Poland visited Vermont for a program on climate change and energy security.
September 17-21: A group of doctors, surgeons, and hospital administrators from Syria came to Vermont to examine community wellness programs, hospital associations in a rural environment, and supplemental hospital functions.
September 10-15: 12 visitors from Australia, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam visited here as part of a Young Ambassadors program, which aims to develop future leaders under the auspices of the US-ASEAN Business Council.
September 10-14: Five visitors from Indonesia, New Zealand, Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand visited Vermont as a part of of a larger multiregional group that was in the U.S. to complete a program on energy efficiency in the APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation) region.
August 24-27: Mr. Luis Galante of Portugal, former Senior Advisor to the State Secretary of Forests and Rural Development in Portugal, visited Vermont to study sustainable forestry practices and forestry management at the state and local level.
August 18-23: Two visitors from Brazil came to Vermont to study the promotion of legal wood and wood products.
August 17-20: Eight visitors from Russia visited Vermont as a part of their program on youth activism and civic engagement
August 17-20: Seven visitors from Russia visited Vermont as a part of their program on eco-friendly farming, including energy-saving farming technology and energy production, reducing pollution of soil, and reducing dependency on harmful fertilizers.
August 3-6: Five visitors from Azerbaijan visited Vermont as a part of their program on ecotourism and national parks, an emerging growth sector in Azerbaijan.
July 27-August 2: Seven academic and government officials from China examined economic development through agriculture, urban economic development and tourism promotion, and small business development.
July 24-25: Nine visitors from Qatar visited Vermont as a part of their program on anti-money laundering strategies.
July 10-24: The VCWA hosted 12 high school students from Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary for a two-week program on
“Young Leadership for Central Europe."
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Central European Students with State Rep. Rachel Weston (Burlington)
In exchange, four young Vermonters and one adult participant traveled to Serbia and Hungary in August.
July 14-20: Six visitors from Egypt came to Vermont for a program on science education in the U.S., including environmental education, experiential education, and professional and curriculum development. Read about the group's visit here and see some great photos.
May 15-18: Chanrith Khuth from Kampong Cham Province in Cambodia visited Vermont to explore innovations in the development of solar energy systems for rural communities.May 17-19: Five visitors from South Asia were in Vermont to explore food security and sustainable development.
April 16-20th: Seven visitors from Latin America explored Vermont’s approaches to global sustainability challenges.
April 27-30th: Two visitors from Turkey came to Vermont to explore rural women’s rights and development.
March 31-April 5th: Eight visitors from China (including Tibet) visited Vermont to explore sustainable tourism.
March 4-24th: The VCWA hosted 10 visitors from two republics in southern Russia on the border with Georgia, Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachevo-Cherkessia for a three-week program of technical training in the promotion of mountain tourism under the auspices of the Community Connections Program.
Russian Team Takes Bronze in South Burlington
Two teams of our Russian visitors learning about mountain tourism in Vermont competed in the HowardCenter Curling Challenge in March 2011 and Team Dombai went home with the bronze. Thank you to the Lake Champlain Chamber and Colchester Rotary for your support of this worthy and fun cause!
March 12-16th: The VCWA hosted four visitors from Poland on the theme of international law enforcement and cooperation.
March 2-5th: Jean-Francois Brakeland of Belgium, Head of Unit for Compliance Promotion, Governance and Legal Issues, European Commission Directorate General for the Environment (European Union) visited to gain a better understanding of the implementation mechanisms of U.S. federal and state environmental laws concerning nature conservation, waste management, oil pollution and air quality. He also learned about procedures for creating new legal instruments to protect the environment at the state and federal level.
February 4-12th: Five visitors from across Russia met with Vermonters around the theme of accountable governance. This group is visited under the auspices of the Open World Program. Read about the group in the Burlington Free Press:
 The Vermont Council on World Affairs
works with the International Visitor Leadership Program of the U.S. Department of State, the Open World program of the Library of Congress, and the Community Connections program of USAID in scheduling meetings and events for visitors from around the world. We have hosted more than 2,500 visitors in the past, and we continue to welcome new visitors to Vermont.
Delegates visit Vermont to study and engage in issues as diverse as alternative energy, national park
management, grassroots democracy, law, rural health care, and youth leadership.
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Bringing a World of Ideas to Vermont
