By Karen Vister | SDUN Reporter
       Lauren Ventura | SDUN Editor

The San Diego Diplomacy Council (SDDC) has moved its headquarters to a historic home at 3604 30th Street bringing the eclectic neighborhood international flavorn and a place to host visitors from all over the world.

“North Park has an international ambiance, openness, and energy that is the perfect compliment to our work. It is the ideal location to explain America to our visitors. They are often astonished to discover how similar Americans are to themselves and how our similarities outweigh our differences,” Cath DeStefano, executive director, said.

Recently, the council hosted a 13-person delegation of Afghani officials and welcomed a multi-country delegation of federal, state and local officials from South Asia. Last summer the council welcomed students from Iraq who spent three weeks in San Diego studying community activism.

“The students stayed in local homes to give them a real experience f American life and to give the host families memories they will never forget,” Terry Williams, president of the SDDC board of directors and a home host, said. “Personally, t helped me put a face on the conflict in Iraq, and to develop a deep compassion for these young people who have had a first-hand experience of the horrors of war.”

Enrique Meza, director of programs, Cath DeStefano, executive director, and Kristina Leano, program
coordinator, are currently organizing the arrival of delegations from Haiti and Syria. The delegation of women from Haiti will be studying solutions for gender-based violence.

After a recent three-week visit by a delegation from Azerbaijan, neighbors in North Park’s Switzer Highland neighborhood established a neighborhood-to-neighborhood relationship with a neighborhood in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The San Diego delegation, including Martin Kruming and his daughter, Meghann, has since visited their friends in Baku as guests of the Azerbaijan government. SDDC supporters can accompany visitors to their meetings, introduce visitors to tourist spots, and open their homes for meals or overnight stays. Membership for the SDDC is open to anyone interested in supporting national understanding and cooperation, constructive economic connections and peaceful interaction.

For more information, visit sandiegodiplomacy.org or call (619) 291-8105.