International Visitors Program
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is the home for Arkansas’s International Visitor Program, which
receives government officials, nonprofit leaders, and journalists from
other countries sponsored by the U.S. State Department. Approximately 130 of
these visitors a year come to Arkansas, mostly to Little Rock, but also
to Hot Springs, Harrison and Jonesboro. They typically spend three
nights here, have appointments with their professional counterparts, and
eat dinner in the home of a local volunteer. The purpose of the program
is to provide exposure to American culture and information about their
own profession to rising leaders in other countries who are likely to
have influence on issues that affect U.S. foreign policy. These
visitors usually come while in their 30s, and many become heads of their
ministries or even heads of state. Previous visitors in the program
have included Tony Blair, F.W. DeClerk, and Hamid Karzai.