Citizen Diplomacy – The Bedrock of World Peace
The Hospitality and Information Service (THIS) holds strong belief in the principle of Citizen Diplomacy. Individual citizens, through their travel, education, business, and residence in foreign countries – activity that is individually or privately organized – make their personal contacts the basis for improving international understanding. In President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s words, "If only people will get together, then so eventually will nations."
THIS member volunteers serve that principle by giving their time, their work, their money, and their interest, and opening their homes and their hearts to help foreign diplomats in Washington learn to know ordinary Americans and daily American life. By this effort, THIS works to demonstrate that, "Average Americans, in their natural state, are the best ambassadors a country can have."
Perhaps the best expression of the value of citizen diplomacy comes from the great American journalist, Edward R. Murrow: "The really crucial link in the international communication chain is the last three feet, which is bridged by personal contact, one person talking to another."
