Visitor Exchange Program Partners

U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program

The International Visitor Leadership Program annually brings to the United States approximately 5,000 foreign nationals from all over the world to meet and confer with their professional counterparts and to experience America firsthand. The visitors, who are selected by American Foreign Service Officers overseas, are current or potential leaders in government, politics, the media, education, labor relations, the arts, business and other fields.

Among the thousands of distinguished individuals who have participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program since its inception more than five decades ago are more than 200 current and former Chiefs of State, 1,500 cabinet-level ministers, and many, many other distinguished leaders from the public and private sectors.

U.S. Department of State Citizen Exchanges Division

Professional Exchanges – The ECA Citizen Exchanges Office provides grants to U.S. nonprofit organizations to carry out exchange programs that support the professional development of foreign participants. The purpose of each exchange program is to engage with foreign leaders in critical professions, to demonstrate respect for foreign cultures, and to promote mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries.

Youth Exchanges – The Youth Programs Division is committed to empowering the successor generation and establishing long-lasting ties between the United States and other countries through exchange programs and institutional partnerships. Programs focus primarily on secondary schools and promote mutual understanding, leadership development, educational transformation, and democratic ideals.

National Council for International Visitors

The National Council for International Visitors (NCIV) is a national network of program agencies and more than 90 community-based organizations. These non-profit groups design and implement professional programs as well as provide cultural activities and home hospitality opportunities for foreign leaders, specialists and international scholars.

Citizen diplomacy is the idea that the individual citizen has the right, even the responsibility, to help shape United States foreign relations "one handshake at a time."

By opening their homes, offices and schools to foreign leaders participating in the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and other exchanges, NCIV member citizen diplomats foster international understanding and cooperation, constructive economic connections and peaceful interaction.

Download and read NCIV’s "A Salute to Citizen Diplomacy".