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Travel the World without Leaving Nevada

2008 Western Regional Meeting Held in Reno, NV

by Nina Busuladzic

Reno, Nevada was home to this year’s National Council for International Visitors (NCIV) Western Regional Meeting where representatives from Councils for International Visitors (CIVs), National Program Agencies (NPAs), and the Office of International Visitors, Bureau of Educational Affairs, U.S. Department of State gathered to network and share best practice ideas. Hosted locally by the Northern Nevada International Center (NNIC), the conference was an opportunity for participants to match faces to email addresses and telephone voices, reconnect with kindred spirits, and strengthen programming, development, and management skills.

At a private opening reception, held at the National Automobile Museum, participants were invited to view antique cars, walk through era-specific street scenes, and enjoy traditional song and dance performances. Dawn Gibbons, Nevada’s First Lady, extended a warm welcome to Western Regional Meeting participants. Laura Dupuy, Executive Director, Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy, and NCIV Board Treasurer presented the "coveted" NCIV Gold Star to Ms. Gibbons.

During the opening plenary, Brad Minnick, Director, Office of International Visitors, and Sherry Mueller, President, NCIV, emphasized the importance of citizen diplomacy in a time when many people around the world have an unfavorable view of America. Dr. Mueller encouraged participants to be advocates by creating quality programs, building long-term relationships with Congressional members, and building coalitions with other community organizations.

Mr. Minnick reminded the audience that our work matters, remains important, and makes a difference. He mentioned an illustrative example from Damascus, Syria, where two former International Visitors (IVs) started the first-ever “March for Survival”, a breast cancer awareness walk modeled after the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure walk in San Diego. He also recounted accompanying a group of Iraqi delegates to Walter Reed Medical Center so they could thank U.S. soldiers for their sacrifices. Mr. Minnick furthermore underscored the significance of exposing all IVs to the U.S. democratic and election process by pointing out that the first African Congress for Political Youth Leaders was created by IVLP delegates. Mr. Minnick also used the opportunity to introduce Carol Grabauskas, recently promoted to the position of Deputy Director of the Office of International Visitors, at her first regional meeting in her new role.

Concurrent workshops gave conference participants the chance to deepen their understanding of the IVLP, share their experiences, and ask questions. Several thematic topic sessions focused on subjects frequently examined by IVs. Especially relevant was the IVLP Thematic Topic: I-VOTE workshop, which provided CIVs practical tips on how to program the 2008 Elections into their visitors’ schedule. Workshop participants were asked to partake in a team-building exercise at the Incorporating Experiential Learning Into Your Programming session. Through this effort, they learned how to actively engage IVs and take them out of the boardroom and into the communities. CIVs wanting to increase their visitor numbers received specific suggestions on how to engage NPAs with their proposals in the Getting Them to Say “I Do” session.

Participants in the Western Regional Meeting were invited to experience home hospitality with NNIC volunteers to understand how interacting with ordinary American families may build long-lasting friendships. In addition, conference attendees were generously hosted at the home of NNIC board member Judge Miriam Shearing on the shore of beautiful Lake Tahoe.

NNIC home hosts and professional resources were present on panels during concurrent sessions providing unique insight into IVs’ encounters with American citizens. NNIC home hosts Larry Struve, who has hosted since the 1970s, and Anita Bevans described that visitors enter their home as guests and leave as family. Ms. Emma Sepulveda, a professor at the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of Nevada, explained that serving as an NNIC professional resource is a reciprocal exchange: not only do the visitors take something back, but local professional resources leave meetings inspired to do more. In fact, after an appointment with women delegates, Ms. Sepulveda founded a nonprofit organization dedicated to the empowerment of the Latino community through voter registration, campaigning, and education. Ms. Sepulveda indicated that encounters with IVs gave her the opportunity to travel the world without leaving Nevada. As an additional illustration of the impact of person-to-person exchanges, Dr. Antonia Neubauer, Founder and Chairperson, READ Global, spoke and shared her experience building self-supporting library community centers in Nepal and India, and improving the world – one country, one village, one individual at a time.

In her closing remarks, Dr. Carina Black, Executive Director, NNIC, emphasized that conferences such as this year’s regional meeting give us the strength to go back into the battlefield and do our work. Thanks to her leadership and tireless team, the 2008 NCIV Western Regional Meeting gave renewed meaning and purpose to the NCIV network’s vital role in shaping U.S. foreign relations “one handshake at a time.”

Nina Busuladzic is Program Director at the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy. Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina and, she moved with her family to Germany at the outbreak of the civil war in ex-Yugoslavia. They left Germany for Utah in 1999 and have resided in Salt Lake City ever since. A recent graduate of the University of Utah, she received degrees in political science and international studies.

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