CHENANGO COUNTY – Chenango County was recently host to policy experts, advisors, and leaders from Europe, taking part in the US State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). The IVLP is the U.S. Department of State’s premier professional exchange program. Through short-term visits to the United States, current and emerging foreign leaders in a variety of fields experience this country firsthand and cultivate lasting relationships with their American counterparts.

The leadership program, which traces its roots to 1940, aims to open communications and create mutual understanding between U.S. and Foreign citizens in leadership roles. Of the tens of thousands of participants, more than 335 are present or former Chiefs of State or Heads of Government.

Upon the request of Ruth Ragonese, Executive Director of the International Center of Syracuse, Steven Palmatier, Industrial and Workforce Development Liaison, tailored the local itinerary to align with the program’s focus on agriculture, trade, and U.S. food policy. International Visitors typically start in Washington, D.C and travel to 4 U.S. communities over three weeks. Locally, tour stops included the Unadilla Valley Central School District’s greenhouse and Marshman Dairy Farms in Oxford.

At the Unadilla Valley Central School the visitors were introduced to the Schools’ Agriculture and Applied Science program. Both teachers and students offered presentations on approaches, applications, accomplishments, and outcomes. Outside the school, the visitors saw the greenhouse, student-built pond, composting site, forestry project, and other ongoing student projects. The visitors expressed a great deal of interest in the program and, during the several conversations with students throughout the tour, compared its hands-on approach favorably against the usual classroom experience.