First Friday with the IVC

“I destroy my enemies by making them my friends” -Abraham Lincoln

And so begins the website of Philadelphia’s remarkable IVC, the International Visitors Council. The IVC are incredibly dedicated peacemakers, but as they are more the suit and tie crowd and less the Quakers in natural fabrics marching with signs, or street activists with giant banners and puppets, they tend to be off the radar for most groovers, hipsters and peaceniks.

Still, the IVC are Citizen Diplomats IN ACTION, setting up endless meetings, visits, tours, and simple sleep overs for foreign business people, government officials and students here in Philadelphia. They work tirelessly promoting Philly, its culture, its business environment, its friendly people, and there is a fabulous ripple effect both for the benefit of our local economy, and for the impressions of America these folks take home to share with others… all based on their experience of the States as represented by their experiences in Philly.

As a quiet way of getting involved and being of service, me and my wife Kristin, and our young sons Thornton and Ellis have offered our home for the occasional visit by international guests. We’ve had a ’salaryman’ from Japan stay over, and the evening ended up with a riotous game of Wii and Guitar Hero. We recently hosted four Fulbright scholars, two from Germany and two from Pakistan, over for an evening of barbeque and shootin’ the breeze.

We’re not wealthy Americans, we’re regular folks who perhaps lean a little towards the Addams Family in approach to life, but every time we’ve hosted someone, my kids experience good people from other lands, and those foreigners experience a friendly welcome, Philly based and American as apple pie, though I’d like to think we at least have an exceptional crust.

Take a look at their site, and spend a few minutes with their HOME page and their WHO WE ARE page. I think you’ll be floored that all this has been going on for years, right here, right under our noses. They have a GREAT sister cities program linking Philadelphia with cities around the world, including Aix-en-Provence, who’re are sending a cultural contingent over next week for a number of events, including folk dance and… food, of course!

There will be 20 plus Aixois staying over, and if you have any space in Center City for a few nights, don’t be shy… leap right in!

What is Citizen Diplomacy? It’s the right - if not the obligation - of each citizen to help shape U.S. foreign relations - “one handshake at a time.”

Learn about the IVC
http://www.ivc.org/home
http://www.ivc.org/who_we_are
http://www.ivc.org/hosting_opportunities