Global Ties Detroit

Detroit, MI

Global Ties Detroit is a nonprofit organization that administers international exchange programs on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and other organizations who have an interest in promoting international relations.

Founded as the International Visitors Council of Metropolitan Detroit (IVC Detroit) in 1972, Global Ties Detroit has been connecting Detroit, and its diverse citizens, vast resources and innovative industries, to global leaders for nearly half a century. Global Ties Detroit belongs to a national network of organizations through its membership in Global Ties U.S. headquartered in Washington, DC. Each year Global Ties brings hundreds of international visitors to Detroit introducing them to the city, its citizens and the metro area’s vast professional resources.

Global Ties Detroit is governed by a Board of Directors and is volunteer membership driven by Detroiters who promote citizen diplomacy. Citizen diplomacy is the concept that the individual citizen has the right, even the responsibility, to shape U.S. foreign relations “one handshake at a time.” Along with the IVC national counterparts, the Detroit volunteers were nominated for the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.