International Discoveries - Edition #3 (Feature Story - IVCKC)

International Visitors Council

            Kansas City is known for many things, but one of the things that many people aren’t aware of is that Kansas City is one of the 94 councils in the US to have a visitors’ council under the National Council for International Visitors. The International Visitors Council of Kansas City is a non-profit organization with a purpose to improve our city’s global understanding of international cultures through exchange programs.

            The programs within the organization tend to host meetings, school visits, events and home hospitality to connect with the foreigners visiting the area. These programs have had an impact on the community and the world. “It gives people and local organizations an opportunity to meet with people from all over and learn about each other’s culture,” said Courtney Brooks, KCIVC Program Associate.

The program brings in about 4,000 leaders and specialists to the United States per year to meet and experience what the international visitor programs have to offer. The programs usually cover professional topics such as national government, education, economics, journalism and many other things.

The International Visitor Leadership program has had over 190,000 participants ever since the program started in 1940. The program exchanges have more than 30,000 exchanges that are operated by the US Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs.

The process for an International Visitor program would usually last about three weeks with visits in four US cities with councils and meeting with both the public and private sectors in the organization related to the subject. In the past 5 years, the most common subjects were foreign policy, journalism, democracy, counter-terrorism and civic education.

Many International Visitor Councils especially the IVCKC believe it’s important for college students to get involved in their programs. “It’s important for college students to know that we (IVCKC) exist and Kansas City has a great international community. I think it’s set up in a way that nobody realizes what’s out there and this definitely something for college students who want to pursue anything international,” said Courtney Brooks. Many of these visitor councils hope to attract more members to their programs to expand the horizons of our country to learn more about international cultures.