In March, we had the privilege of hosting “Sustainability and Economic Development in the Blue Economy,” a U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) delegation from the Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Vanuatu, dedicated to fostering a sustainable oceanic future.
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This is the power of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP): Building meaningful, lasting connections that keep us together while 5,969 miles (9,606 km) apart. In April 2021—five years after arranging Saad Abid’s local IVLP experience—we at Global Ties San Francisco partnered with Saad’s Association Bahri to engage our respective communities in a series of Earth Month challenges to #RestoreOurEarth.
In October 2016, Global Ties San Francisco hosted the Our Planet: National Parks and National Monuments in the United States delegation from Germany. Sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Berlin and administered by Cultural Vistas, this exchange sought to provide German park rangers with a deeper understanding of how the U.S. National Park System manages biodiversity, information and education, and history and culture preservation throughout its collection of parks. Coinciding with the centennial of the U.S. National Park Service, this 2016 study and exchange trip featured an interdisciplinary group of eight representatives of German national parks, EUROPARC Deutschland, and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Over twelve days, the group traveled to Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and California, visiting several historical sites and national monuments along the way.
Global Ties San Francisco arranged the group’s discussions on preservation, park management and strategic partnerships, public relations, community engagement and education, and youth stewardship with professional peers at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy — both headquartered at Fort Mason, a former U.S. military installment — and at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. The visit also included hospitality and cultural programming for the group — starting with an afternoon taking in the grandeur of Muir Woods National Monument, named after naturalist John Muir.
