CORAL GABLES, FL--(Marketwire - May 18, 2010) -  The National Council for International Visitors (NCIV), a nonprofit membership association currently marking 50 years of leadership in citizen diplomacy, will host its Southern Regional Meeting, June 2-4, 2010 at the Mayfair Hotel in Coconut Grove. The conference, co-hosted by the Miami Council for International Visitors (MCIV), is designed to deepen participants' knowledge of citizen diplomacy and global constructive interaction.

Over 100 leaders representing the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and international visitor councils from 25 U.S. states will attend the meeting, which also will promote awareness about Miami's resources available to foreign visitors and develop a better understanding of current U.S. foreign policy and its impact on local communities.

The MCIV annually brings hundreds of leaders to Miami from all over the world to meet their professional counterparts and discuss best practices. The MCIV, the NCIV member organization serving Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, is currently celebrating its 50^th anniversary year. 

Keynote speakers at this year's meeting will include Ambassador Paul Trivelli, Civilian Deputy Commander, U.S. Southern Command (www.southcom.mil); Rodrigo Arboleda Halaby, Chairman and CEO of One Laptop per Child (www.laptop.org); and Mikki Canton, Miami Dade College trustee and proponent of the Confucius Institute, a newly established Chinese language and culture teaching foundation at the College (www.mdc.edu).

The conference's opening reception will be held on Wednesday, June 2 at the historic Freedom Tower in downtown Miami. Dr. Eduardo Padron, President of Miami Dade College, will welcome guests who will enjoy Caribbean-inspired food and entertainment in celebration of Caribbean Heritage Month. 

The NCIV membership is comprised of individuals, program agencies and more than 90 organizations in communities throughout the United States. NCIV members design and implement professional programs, provide cultural activities, and offer home hospitality opportunities for foreign leaders and specialists participating in the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and other exchange programs. With leadership and training provided by NCIV, member organizations are expert at matching the resources of their communities with the needs of international visitors. Each year the aggregate efforts of NCIV members involve more than 80,000 volunteers.

The NCIV's primary partner is the U.S. Department of State. Each year, at the invitation of U.S. embassies across the globe, emerging leaders in government, business and trade, the media, health, education, academia, the arts and civic engagement are invited to visit the U.S. for a few weeks. More than 80,000 U.S. volunteers provide short-term professional and cultural programs for these visitors and host them in their homes. In 2001, Senator Arlen Specter nominated these volunteer citizen diplomats for the Nobel Peace Prize. With over 4000 participants annually, its alumni list includes more than 250 current and former heads of government such as Anwar Sadat, Tony Blair, Indira Gandhi and Nicolas Sarkozy.

To register for the NCIV Southern Regional Meeting, please visit www.nciv.org.

For more information about the MCIV please visit www.miamiciv.org or call 305-421-6344.

Contact Information:

Media Contact:
Annette Alvarez
Executive Director, MCIV
305 421.6344
agalvarez@miamiciv.org