We are a nonprofit organization that arranges professional appointments and cultural activities for over 350 international leaders sent to New Orleans each year from the U.S. State Department International Visitor Leadership Program, and other government and private agencies. Our council is part of a nationwide network of 90 councils that cooperates with the National Council for International Visitors (NCIV)

Who are our international visitors?

Our international visitors travel to New Orleans under the auspices of U. S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program. The participants, nominated by U. S. embassies, are chosen for their past achievements and future potential. They shape the political, economic and social future of their home countries. Among the thousands who have participated in the IVL program since its inception, are more than 140 current and former chiefs-of-staff, over 600 cabinet-level ministers and many other distinguished leaders from the public and private sectors. Hundreds of these visitors have risen to important positions in their countries, for example, Margaret Thatcher, Frederik W. de Klerk, Oscar Arias Sanchez, Tony Blair, Anwar Sadat, Morihiro Hosokawa and Richard Von Weizscker. The former U. N. Secretary General, Boutros-Boutros Ghali of Egypt, was an international visitor in 1976.

What is our purpose?

We link our guests with local citizens through professional meetings and cultural activities. We give the citizens of the New Orleans area the opportunity to learn first hand about cultures, conditions and trends throughout the world. At the same time, the international visitor develops an understanding of life and values in the United States.