Global Ties Alabama hosts Hungarian delegation in visit to America

MADISON COUNTY – Washington D.C., Birmingham, Hoover and Huntsville were stops on the itinerary for a delegation from Hungary, which Global Ties Alabama hosted recently.

Office of International Leadership, an agency of the U.S. Congress, sent the delegation of Hungarian elected individuals and staff officials to Huntsville during Feb. 11-19. The group included five business professionals, bicultural facilitator and an interpreter.

Before arriving in Huntsville, the participants completed an orientation in Washington D.C. Delegates had policy meetings with members of the U.S. Congress, including Congresswoman Terri Sewell, representing District 7 in Alabama.

In Alabama, delegates collaborated on best practices “for a bird’s eye view into Alabama’s state and local government and policy,” Jacquelyn Gates Shipe said. Shipe serves as Chief Executive Officer of Global Ties Alabama.

The Hungarian visitors met with legislative leaders, the Mayor of Birmingham, city councils and staff in Birmingham and Hoover, Associate Justice of Supreme Court of Alabama and leaders in the Birmingham metro area.

The group also met to hear about community policing including legal framework, funding, sustainability and the importance of ethics in business development. The Hungarians also attended an overview of Birmingham’s homeless conditions and the city’s available services.

As Global Ties Alabama has coordinated in years past, the delegation stayed in homes of residents who served as hospitality hosts.

With headquarters in Huntsville, Global Ties Alabama or GTA promotes global peace through citizen diplomacy. GTA was founded as the International Services Council of Alabama in 1965 as an outreach of the Huntsville Rotary Club. The club welcomed international military trainees to Redstone Arsenal and connected them with the community.

In the late 1960s, the U.S. Department of State designated GTA to implement the International Visitor Leadership Program for Alabama. GTA designs personalized programs of study for emerging international leaders that American embassies select and send to Alabama by the U.S. Department of State.

Programs reflect the professional and cultural interests of the visiting leaders, while supporting the foreign policy goals of the U.S. Department of State. Global Ties Alabama promotes international relationships through citizen diplomacy and enriches Alabama’s education, commerce and global awareness.

Global Ties Alabama’s office address is 4920 University Square, Suite D in Huntsville. For more information, call 256-532-3560, email GTA3@MadisonCountyAL.gov or visit globaltiesalabama.org.