2010-2011 Annual Report
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The diversity and depth of our 2010-2011 programming year truly reflects the Minnesota International Center's efforts to reach
"the heart of America." Our statewide audience continued to grow - to 52,000 - as our programs offered engagement, education, exchange and enjoyment.
Our public programs for both community and corporate audiences provided a range of topics for discussions both around the dinner table and the conference table. From Ambassador Ryan Crocker speaking on the changes to diplomacy since 9/11, to a half-day business symposium on doing business with France, to a forum with former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and Imam Faisal about Islam and the West - these and other topics all added a dimension to any conversation about America's role in the world - today and in the future.
One of the jewels in MIC's crown is the U.S. State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), whose mission is to offer both professional and cultural exchanges for emerging leaders from around the world as a building block in the foundation of trust and understanding between the U.S. and other countries. This year, MIC arranged appointments for visitors here on myriad professional programs - from human trafficking, to food safety, to adoption, to interfaith dialogue. Minnesota and the Twin Cities are recognized as home to such diverse and important resources for this program that international visitors are no longer intimidated to come here in the winter!
In the area of civic engagement, there is little to rival MIC's
Great Decisions discussion groups. In the words of Noel Lateef, president of the Foreign Policy Association, "A creative and well-crafted foreign policy rests on a bedrock of public support. Such support can only come about with a public that is conversant in international affairs"; a statement which precisely describes the
Great Decisions program and its participants. In the coming year, MIC will be partnering with The Star Tribune to introduce an even wider audience to the layers and intricacies of U.S. foreign policy through a series of editorial articles on the 2012
Great Decisions topics.
The need for international education in the classroom has never been greater and
MIC's World Cultures Days opens doors for our youngest community members to join the conversation about the world, exploring different cultures and lives - comparing and contrasting but not judging.
Engagement, education and exchange do not exclude enjoyment! MIC's
Celebration of France gala was magnifique, chaired by MIC board member Nathalie Joly. Our new
Culture through Cuisine program offered wonderful opportunities for MIC members to meet at local ethnic restaurants and, going forward, we are arranging networking events for MIC members looking to build their international careers through our
enRoute program. And don't forget the definition of enjoyment - our ever-popular
WorldQuest in the Twin Cities and Duluth, and two
WorldQuests in the Workplace at Ecolab and General Mills.
Your generosity to MIC has made it possible for us to deliver the world to Minnesota for the past 58 years. With your support we will continue to have a strong and enduring impact on our community and our world.
Carol Engebretson Byrne, MIC President Susan Plimpton, MIC Board Chair
