THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL BRINGS
THE “NEXT GENERATION” OF WORLD LEADERS TO THE TAMPA BAY REGION 

From Albania to Armenia, from Kosovo to Kyrgyzstan, from Ethiopia to the European Union, from China to Costa Rica, from Uganda to Uruguay…The International Council brings the world to the Tampa Bay Region.

The International Council brings a unique “world” audience to the region – global emerging leaders – as the official host organization for the United States Department of State in the Tampa Bay Region.

Among the 190,000 official visitors brought to the US under the IVLP since its inception in 1940, more than 200 current and former Heads of State and 1,500 Cabinet-level ministers, and business and opinion leaders have seen first- hand how we in the United States live, work and play. At any given point during the year, approximately 250 IVLP emerging leaders are on projects in the United States.

At present, one-fourth of the United Nations member states have an IVLP alumnus as head of state or government, among them, past and present:
•   President Nicolas Sarkozy, France
•   Prime Minister Gordon Brown, United Kingdom
•   President Felipe Calderon, Mexico
•   President Mwai Kibaki, Kenya
•   President Abdullah Gul, Turkey
•   President Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan
•   Baroness Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister, United Kingdom
•   Indira Gandhi, former Prime Minister, India
•   Anwar Sadat, former President, Egypt
•   Tony Blair, former Prime Minister, United Kingdom
•   Oscar Arias, former President, Costa Rica and Nobel Prize Winner




In 2008, the INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL hosted 204 visitors from 85 countries in Tampa Bay’s seven counties. The INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL of the Tampa Bay Region has hosted in excess of 1,500 international visitors from more than 130 countries since 2000. The INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL has been frequently selected by the State Department for high-visibility “Special Interest Projects”, hosting emerging leaders from Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries following their formal visits at the White House and with Cabinet officials.



The International Council averages 40 programs per year for around 200 global emerging leaders, or approximately one program a week! Programming includes professional meetings and hospitality, allowing our visitors to experience how Americans work, live and play. It is vitally important that international visitors see our cultural and educational resources, and to meet Americans in social settings, to learn what we are really like, and see that we live in harmony regardless of political, social or religious differences. Informal, “home hospitality” gatherings – whether at a baseball game, a museum, at the beach, or at a backyard BBQ – are the best ways in which our cultural values are conveyed and exchanged, and where long-lasting friendships are formed.

The International Council of the Tampa Bay Region, Inc. is the official "United States Department of State Council for International Visitors" in the Tampa Bay Region, for the " International Visitor Leadership Program". Since its founding in 2000, The International Council has hosted over 1,500 international emerging leaders from more than 130 countries. The International Council of the Tampa Bay Region is a 501-c-3 private operating foundation under the US Tax Code (FEIN: 59-3651710). Contributions to the International Council are deductible as charitable donations for Federal income tax purposes.