Welcoming the world to Iowa
Outbound Programs
We work to create global community – meaningful connections that find common values and economic opportunity. Iowa International Center offers two professional exchange programs – the International Visitor Leadership Program and Community Connections Program – among other work to welcome the world to Iowa.
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 Sehgel Foundation’s generous support helps create lasting connections between Iowa businesses, organizations and individuals and their global counterparts.
by the numbers: international exchange
$44,122 in federal funding infused into Iowa’s economy
165 Iowa students engaged with emerging international leaders
$120,536 spent on hotels, retail, food and entertainment
2,944 hours donated by community volunteers
793 hotel nights booked in Iowa
1,327 points of engagement with Iowa professionals
168 emerging global leaders from 77 countries
$1,429,792 in total economic impact
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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Community Connection
The Community Connections Program provides 3-week, homestay-based practical training opportunities in the U.S. for participants from post-Soviet states and Serbia. Visitors travel to the hosting city for hands-on professional enrichment, site visits, and cultural activities. Since 1996, the Iowa International Center has hosted over 400 visitors through this prestigious program.
The Community Connections Program is sponsored and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. USAID operates the Community Connections program in conjunction with World Learning and local programming agencies such as the Iowa International Center, which develop and implement local projects. All Community Connections participants are recruited through an open competition and selected by local USAID Missions.
Call (515) 282-8269 for more information.
