Georgia Council for International Visitors

The mission of the Georgia Council for International Visitors (GCIV) is to foster professional, cultural and educational experiences that connect Georgia citizens and international leaders to cultivate positive global change. Our vision is to be the Georgia organization that allows every citizen the opportunity to be more globally engaged through people to people connections.

Founded in 1962, GCIV is a nonprofit organization that works with the U.S. Department of State and other federal agencies to develop a broad spectrum of professional and cultural international exchange programs for emerging global leaders. Our non-partisan citizen diplomacy programs provide Georgians with unique opportunities to share best practices, insights, and friendship with distinguished visitors to the United States.

GCIV administers the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) in Georgia. Launched in 1940, the IVLP seeks to build mutual understanding between the United States and other nations through carefully designed professional visits to the U.S. for current and emerging foreign leaders. U.S. ambassadors consistently rank the IVLP as most effective in a long list of public diplomacy tools at their disposal. In 2001 our national network was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to foster international understanding, and more than 590 IVLP participants have gone on to serve as heads of state or government.