The Foreign Service Journal, March 2011

leaders fromTajikistan might hold long discussions with local leaders in Mis- sissippi. These unique and enlighten- ing experiences cut both ways, “globalizing” both our foreign visitors and Americans in every part of our country. The IVLP’s people-to-people diplo- macy is a powerful tool, enabling group after group to return to their home countries with a new understanding of America — one based not on media distortions, military action, or rumors and misinformation, but rather on see- ing and meeting firsthand real Ameri- cans in all their diversity. This in- creased knowledge of the U.S. then in- forms their professional work and, hopefully, has positive long-term ef- fects on international relations. An Impressive Record Nearly 300 alumni of the IVLP have become heads of state or govern- ment. These include France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, England’s Gordon Brown, Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai, Egypt’s Anwar Sadat, Kenya’s Mwai Kibaki, Mexico’s Felipe Calderón, Turkey’s Abdullah Gul and India’s Manmohan Singh. Many other distinguished world leaders in government and the private sector have come to the States on this program as young profession- als, and that has made a world of dif- ference in how they see the U.S. today. The cost of this diplomatic offensive is minuscule compared to that of our defense budget. Yet the result might last a lifetime andmultiply before it can be fully measured in each visitor’s life. The added mutual benefit from “glob- alizing” Americans more than warrants the $95 million annual cost of the pro- gram, a mere fraction of total federal expenditures. With that in mind, as our own Sec- retary of DefenseRobert Gates has said, we must make it a national priority to invest more money in diplomacy, both official and unofficial. Initiatives such as the International Visitors Leadership Program have proven their ability to change the world’s image of America. As a young Indonesian blogger text- messaged his millions of readers in Sumatra, while sailing across San Fran- cisco Bay on the final day of his IVLP program: “America is beautiful. I have seen it with my own eyes and felt it with my heart!” ■ M A R C H 2 0 1 1 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 55 These experiences cut both ways, “globalizing” both our foreign visitors and Americans in every part of our country.