Education

International Diplomacy Council Brings the World to Bay Area Classrooms

Three African visitors with students and teachers at Oakland Technical High School.

These visits build citizen diplomacy and global understanding one handshake at a time.

In March, globes and atlases in Bay Area high-school classrooms came alive. Leaders from three continents exchanged ideas with Bay Area students as part of the ongoing Education Enrichment Program of San Francisco's International Diplomacy Council (IDC).

Women leaders from 17 African countries visited a world history class at Oakland Technical High School. A group of economists from Vietnam visited a foreign policy class at Palo Alto High School. An Indonesian journalist spoke with the journalism academy at Fremont High School before being interviewed on their radio show. And at Newcomer High School in San Francisco, a Polish national from the Ministry of Justice discussed how to combat human trafficking.

"I liked the atmosphere that they brought with them," said one student at Oakland Technical High School about the African women visitors. "They had a lot of joy and were very interested in our country."

Through the program, Bay Area students and teachers have the unique opportunity to meet with international visitors who are recognized by American embassies in their countries as the decision-makers of tomorrow. These foreign nationals help Bay Area students develop an understanding of the cultural richness of other nations. In return, the distinguished visitors can experience and better understand American schools and culture.

Franca Gargiulo, a member of IDC's board of directors, emphasized that these visits "build citizen diplomacy and global understanding one handshake at a time."

Since its inception in 1997, the Education Enrichment Program has conducted 247 visits with 634 international visitors at 56 Bay Area schools. IDC expects to conduct 75 visits with 125 visitors at 60 different schools during the 2001-2002 academic year. The program has been hosted by 13 districts in Alameda, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Solano counties.

Part of the National Council of International Visitors, IDC is the largest in a network of 97 independent councils across the country that work with the U.S. State Department to provide professional, cultural and educational meetings between select foreign visitors and U.S. residents.

Lists of upcoming visitors can be found at www.diplomacy.org. If you would like to arrange for a visit to your classroom, please contact IDC at schools@diplomacy.org.