Citizen diplomats can combat terrorism one handshake at a time

By Sherry Mueller

The second anniversary of the tragic sequence of events that unfolded on Sept. 11, 2001, the stark news stories that greet us daily about American involvement in Iraq, and lurking threats in other parts of the world haunt our thoughts. They prompt us to ask: Is there anything I can do, as an individual citizen, to combat terrorism -- to make the world a more peaceful place?

The answer to these questions is "yes" -- become a citizen diplomat. Citizen diplomacy is the notion that, in a democracy, the individual citizen has the right -- indeed, the responsibility -- to help shape foreign relations, as National Council for International Visitors members phrase it, "one handshake at a time."

Citizen diplomats are ordinary citizens who open their homes, offices, schools and ranches to emerging international leaders, entrepreneurs and scholars. These foreign leaders come to our country as participants in the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Program, the Fulbright Program or other exchange programs. There are thousands of volunteers hosting participants in international exchange programs. They are working hard to foster international understanding and cooperation -- to fight prejudice and stereotypes. More are needed.

NCIV is comprised of individuals, program agencies and 95 community-based, nonprofit organizations throughout the United States. The Montana Council for International Visitors is one of NCIV's outstanding members.

Each year, more than 80,000 volunteers are involved in NCIV member activities. In 2001, Senator Arlen Specter nominated NCIV's citizen diplomat volunteers for the Nobel Peace Prize. At the NCIV National Conference in March of last year, Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed these citizen diplomats:

"Your work is vital and your work leverages us in such an important way. When you open your homes, when you open your communities, when you open your hearts to visitors from around the world, you give your guests a chance to see America at our best, to see our warmth and our base of diversity, and our conviction that searching discussion and sincere exchanges of views can yield tangible results. Not only do you help to educate members of our own communities about the hopes, fears and dreams of your visitors. As citizen diplomats, you bring world issues home to the American people in the most direct way possible."

NCIV serves as the private sector partner to the U.S. Department of State in administering the International Visitor Program. Since 1940, U.S. embassy personnel around the world have identified emerging foreign leaders (members of parliament, editors of newspapers, officials from trade ministries and other leaders) to visit the United States for short programs (now three to four weeks) with two major goals in mind: 1) To connect the leader with his or her professional counterparts; and 2) To help the leader gain a true appreciation of the history, heritage, and values of the United States.

Many alumni of the International Visitor Program have gone on to prominence as their careers have evolved. For example, Margaret Thatcher participated in the program in 1967 when she was an up-and-coming member of the British Parliament. Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan, participated in the Program in 1987.

One International Visitor Program alumna eloquently captured the impact of these programs designed to give foreign leaders firsthand exposure to U.S. society, history, and values. Madhura Chatrapathy, trustee director of the Asian Centre for Entrepreneurial Initiatives, Bangalore, India said: "You welcomed a stranger and sent home a friend."

The Montana Center for International Visitors (MCIV) and other NCIV members in smaller communities play a critical role in the International Visitor Program. They provide these foreign leaders with the opportunity to "get off the beaten path." In too many foreign eyes America is defined as only New York, Washington, D.C., or Los Angeles. The innate hospitality and slower pace of smaller communities, their amazing cultural resources, such as the Museum of the Rockies, combine to make these international guests feel at home. They learn that professional challenges are comparable and that we in the United States share common human aspirations with people around the globe. Most important, visitors appreciate how difficult it is to generalize about America.

The foreign leaders are not the only ones to learn. U.S. hosts learn as much as their international colleagues. As one volunteer, who often provided home hospitality to international visitors in a small Illinois town, commented: "My daughter can discuss intelligently places her classmates cannot find on a map."

When you serve as citizen diplomats and work with International Visitors, when you support citizen diplomacy -- you are serving your country and promoting homeland security -- you are building the long-term human relationships that decrease the probability of terrorism.

In a post 9/11 world, it is important to combat the causes of terrorism. Building constructive relationships with emerging leaders around the world is perhaps the best way to achieve homeland security. And you can help.

Sherry Mueller is the president of National Council For International Visitors in Washington, D.C. She will be speaking at the Bozeman Public Library on Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m. The public is invited and refreshments will be provided

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