Welcoming the World to Iowa
International visitor Programs
Sehgal Foundation International Visitors Center
The Sehgal Foundation International Visitors Center enables Iowans to build new partnerships on a professional level, develop new friendships on a personal level and create new learning opportunities on an educational level through international professional exchange programs. The Sehgal Foundation’s generous support helps create lasting connections between Iowa businesses, organizations and individuals and their global counterparts.
We work to create a global community and meaningful connections that find common values and economic opportunities. Iowa International Center offers a professional exchange programs – the International Visitor Leadership Program to welcome the world to Iowa.
By The Numbers: International Exchange
Calculated Impact from 2023 and some of 2024:
$98,213 in federal funding infused into Iowa’s economy
$219,027.51 spent on hotels, retail, food and entertainment
456 hours donated by community volunteers
975 hotel nights booked in Iowa
191 emerging global leaders from 66 countries
International Visitor Leadership Program
What do Margaret Thatcher, Hamid Karzai, Nicolas Sarkozy and Helmut Kohl have in common?
All are alumni of the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).
Since 1976, the Iowa International Center has participated in IVLP as a hosting organization, coordinating programs throughout Central Iowa for international delegates visiting Des Moines.
IVLP brings over 5,000 visitors a year to the United States on themed projects, focusing on diverse topics including economics, agriculture, the arts and the U.S. electoral system. Each participant is identified by embassy staff in their home country as a leader or potential leader in fields such as food safety and public health, the U.S. electoral system, intellectual property rights, biotechnology regulations, veterinary practices, and agribusiness.
More than 200 current and former Heads of State, 1,500 cabinet-level ministers, and many other distinguished world leaders in government and the private sector have participated in IVLP.
The Iowa International Center serves as a facilitator during the visitors’ stay in Des Moines, coordinating professional meetings with delegates’ Iowa colleagues, visits to educational institutions, business tours, speaking engagements, job shadows, and hospitality dinners. These meetings have provided the starting point for many of the lasting personal and institutional ties between Iowa and other countries around the globe.
The Iowa International Center is a proud member of Global Ties U.S.
Call (515) 282-8269 for more information.
Get involved
Is your business invested in Iowa? Join our commitment to strengthening Iowa’s welcome to the world.
All Iowans seeking to create global community can join us in welcoming and sharing knowledge with international visitors.
Virtual exchange
Iowa International Center offers virtual programming, expanding the benefits of international exchange without traveling. Contact us for details.
Custom programs
Iowa International Center produces custom professional exchange programs for visitors and for Iowans examining global challenges, expanding professional growth and supporting foreign policy priorities through Open World and other partnerships. Contact us for details.
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