On Saturday, November 14th, GCIV will host the 2009 Atlanta Summit on Citizen Diplomacy at North Atlanta High School. The summit will promote an understanding of diverse values and cultures, educate participants about global perspectives, and further mutual understanding.  GCIV aims to raise awareness about cross-cultural understanding and the responsibilities of citizen diplomats through this interactive summit.  It will feature concurrent workshops including regional briefings, introductory language classes, global business forums, cross-cultural communications seminars, and more.  Please put this exciting event on your calendar and stay tuned for more information!

My how time flies!  In early July, fourteen Fulton County high school students, as well as GCIV and Fulton County staff members, will experience the 2009 Fulton County Global Youth Leadership Program - a collaboration between GCIV and Fulton County's Office of Children and Youth.  The program aims to introduce a new generation of Fulton County leaders to the institutions, politics, and people of other countries and to expose metro Atlanta's future leaders to non-local approaches to meeting universal challenges.

With support from several generous sponsors, GCIV and Fulton County took a delegation of young leaders to South Africa last July, and then we welcomed a counterpart delegation to Atlanta in October.  This year we are organizing a similar youth leadership exchange with Germany.  This enriching educational experience would not be possible without the support of this year's supporters:  the Atlanta Foundation,  Ernst & Young, the Fulton County Development Authority, Georgia Pacific, Georgia Power, and the Kiwanis Club of Atlanta. Click here to read more.  Be sure to read GCIV's blog in July for frequent updates from Germany!

In June 2009 GCIV coordinated a professional exchange program through the US State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program for MV Bill, a Brazilian rapper-turned-social activist. Bill is from City of God, a town ravished by poverty and the drug trade. After his success in the music industry, he has devoted much of his time and efforts to giving back to the community through a network of community centers. While in the US, he traveled to Atlanta, Washington, DC, New York City, Los Angeles, and Houston.  The program was designed to give our guest the opportunity to meet with professional counterparts to discuss programs for youth and hip hop culture.  While in Atlanta, Bill met with representatives from the Ludacris Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Hip Hop Congress, Fulton County Juvenile Court, WREK Atlanta, and the Jean Childs Young Institute for Youth Leadership. We at GCIV hope to hear of his continued progress, and are grateful we had the opportunity to host him here in our community.

Have you ever  wanted to learn Spanish, or perhaps just dust off the knowledge you already have?  GCIV has partnered with Olé Atlanta to offer Spanish language classes to our members at a 20% discount.  Their highly-qualified language instructors are  scheduling classes that start mid-August, from beginner to advanced levels.  Classes will be held at GCIV's downtown office.  Sign up today, as this offer is available for a limited time only!  For more information visit www.oleatlanta.com or contact Olé at info@oleatlanta.com.

GCIV's membership is critical to the success of our organization, as it serves as an important indicator of community support for the U.S. Department of State and other agencies that rely on us to arrange programs for hundreds of international visitors each year. Becoming a member is easy - just visit our membership page to download an application. You can now pay for your membership online using paypal!