Business Council for International Understanding

Last updated

The Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan, membership organization that encourages dialogue between business and political leaders in different countries. It holds events, briefings and programs for networking and education. Membership comprises more than 200 companies.

Networking is a socioeconomic business activity by which businesspeople and entrepreneurs meet to form business relationships and to recognize, create, or act upon business opportunities, share information and seek potential partners for ventures.

Contents

History

BCIU was formed November 10, 1955, at the White House Industrial Cooperation Council Conference, as an initiative directed by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was established with the purpose of improving foreign understanding of business practices within the United States, [1] thereby lifting a national image that had suffered greatly through the course of the Cold War. [2]

Dwight D. Eisenhower 34th president of the United States

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was an American army general and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was a five-star general in the Army and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forcein Europe. He was responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43 and the successful Invasion of Normandy in 1944–45 from the Western Front.

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city is New York City. Most of the country is located contiguously in North America between Canada and Mexico.

Cold War Geopolitical tension after World War II between the Eastern and Western Bloc

The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union with its satellite states, and the United States with its allies after World War II. The historiography of the conflict began between 1946 and 1947. The Cold War began to de-escalate after the Revolutions of 1989. The collapse of the USSR in 1991 was the end of the Cold War. The term "cold" is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two sides, but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars. The conflict split the temporary wartime alliance against Nazi Germany and its allies, leaving the USSR and the US as two superpowers with profound economic and political differences.

The organization was intended to operate as a part of a larger Eisenhower program, called People to People; however, in 1958, the umbrella initiative was shut down after failing to amass an adequate amount of independent funding. BCIU survived the initial decentralization of direction and support, and has continued to perform many of its original duties. [3]

Activities

Corporate to Government Event Building

BCIU organizes conferences and receptions for its member companies and relevant government officials to address issues of common concern. The initiative to organize a conference is taken by BCIU members, U.S. government officials, or foreign government officials. The specific format of these meetings is typically left to the discretion of the host.

Government contracts

BCIU is a pre-qualified Indefinite-Quantity Contractor (IQC) for the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). Since 2006, BCIU has bid for opportunities to plan and manage orientation visits, conferences, and training programs in support of USTDA objectives. Once awarded a contract, BCIU is responsible for project implementation, which can include a series of meetings, site visits, roundtables, conferences, and receptions with foreign delegations. [4] BCIU performs similar functions for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. [5]

United States Trade and Development Agency Government agency

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1961 to advance economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle income countries.

Overseas Private Investment Corporation government agency

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) is the United States government's development finance institution. It mobilizes private capital to help solve critical development challenges and, in doing so, advances the foreign policy of the United States and national security objectives.

Training

The organization provides commercial diplomacy training to the U.S. foreign service and other U.S. officials involved in trade promotion agencies for the sake of improved intercultural literacy. All training programs are conducted at the Foreign Service Institute. [6]

Ambassador Consultations

BCIU organizes consultations with American businesses for outgoing ambassadors to update them on current business and commercial matters affecting their country of jurisdiction.

Business practica

BCIU organizes a program that places Foreign Service Officers into companies for two to three months to gain practical experience after having completed the Foreign Service Institute’s economic and commercial training course. [7]

Foreign Service Officer member of United States Foreign service

A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic missions, though some receive assignments to serve at combatant commands, Congress, and educational institutions such as the various U.S. War Colleges.

Past functions

From 1957 to 1990, BCIU operated a cross-cultural training institute with support from American University. [8] Launched by the Eisenhower administration as the BCIU Institute, the program was designed to prepare international executives to meet the personal and professional challenges inherent to working abroad. The curriculum of the BCIU sessions included language and cultural training, as well as briefings on the current state of the U.S., its foreign policy, and its slipping image abroad. [6] The program now runs as the Intercultural Management Institute as a part of American University’s School of International Service.

Annual gala

Since 1984, BCIU has held an annual Gala in New York to celebrate partnerships within international trade and diplomacy. In 2003, BCIU introduced the Dwight D. Eisenhower Global Leadership Award, which honors a member of the business community for their leadership and achievement in the international arena; recent honorees include Sergio Marchionne and Mukesh Ambani.

Related Research Articles

Christian Herter American politician

Christian Archibald Herter was an American politician who was the 59th Governor of Massachusetts from 1953 to 1957 and United States Secretary of State from 1959 to 1961. His moderate tone of negotiations was confronted by the intensity of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in a series of unpleasant episodes that turned the Cold War even colder in 1960-61.

Council on Foreign Relations think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), founded in 1921, is a United States nonprofit think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs. It is headquartered in New York City, with an additional office in Washington, D.C. Its membership, which numbers 4,900, has included senior politicians, more than a dozen secretaries of state, CIA directors, bankers, lawyers, professors and senior media figures. It is known for its neoconservative and neoliberal leanings.

International Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most representative business organization in the world

The International Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its 6 million members in over 100 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise.

American University School of International Service

The School of International Service (SIS) is American University's school of advanced international study, covering areas such as international politics, international communication, international development, international economic relations, peace and conflict resolution, global environmental politics, and U.S. foreign policy.

Sister Cities International organization

Sister Cities International (SCI) is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between communities in the United States and those in other countries, particularly through the establishment of "sister cities". More than 2,000 cities, states and counties are partnered in over 140 countries around the world. The organization "strives to build global cooperation at the municipal level, promote cultural understanding and stimulate economic development".

Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation

The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation was established in 1983 to "promote understanding and cooperation among the nations and peoples of Asia and the United States." The Foundation honors Mike Mansfield (1903-2001), congressman from Montana, Senate majority leader and U.S. ambassador to Japan. The Foundation is a registered nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and works with the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center at The University of Montana.

William Smith Culbertson was an American diplomat and soldier.

The Council of American Ambassadors (CAA) is an association of non-career United States ambassadors. A nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, the CAA comprises over 200 members whose ambassadorial service collectively extends over five decades and eleven U.S. presidents.

China Investment Promotion Agency is the investment promotion agency of PR China. It is in charge of "Inviting in" and "Going global" two-way investment promotion work in line with China's economic strategies and is engaged in cooperation with international economic organizations, foreign investment promotion agencies, chambers of commerce and business associations on behalf of the Ministry of Commerce.

Clarence Francis was a business executive and internationally recognized expert on food.

The U.S. President's Committee on Information Activities Abroad was created in 1959 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in order to review the findings and recommendations of the Committee on International Information Activities in its report dated June 30, 1953, and consider changes in the international situation which affect the validity of the findings and recommendations in that report.

Harsha de Silva Sri Lankan politician

Harsha de Silva is a Sri Lankan economist and politician. He serves as a member of Parliament of Sri Lanka, as the Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution ans was the State Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs and served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. Fletcher is well-ranked in its masters and doctoral international affairs programs. As of 2017, the student body numbered around 230, of whom 36 percent were international students from 70 countries, and around a quarter were U.S. minorities. The school's alumni network numbers over 9,500 in 160 countries, and includes ambassadors, diplomats, high ranking military officers, heads of nonprofit organizations, and corporate executives.

United States cultural exchange programs, particularly those programs with ties to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the United States Department of State, seek to develop cultural understanding between United States citizens and citizens of other countries. Exchange programs do not necessarily exchange one individual for another individual of another country; rather, "exchange" refers to the exchange of cultural understanding created when an individual goes to another country. These programs can be regarded as a form of cultural diplomacy within the spectrum of public diplomacy.

Science diplomacy is the use of scientific collaborations among nations to address common problems and to build constructive international partnerships. Many experts and groups use a variety of definitions for science diplomacy. However, science diplomacy has become an umbrella term to describe a number of formal or informal technical, research-based, academic or engineering exchanges.

Agri-Energy Roundtable (AER) is a nonprofit and non-governmental organization accredited by the United Nations and established in 1980 as a forum for encouraging dialogue on cooperative energy and agricultural development between industrialized and developing nations. AER conducts international conferences, regional seminars and workshops, trade missions and technical assistance for the formation of autonomous indigenous counterpart associations.

Commercial diplomacy is diplomacy that focuses on development of business between two countries. It aims at generating commercial gains in the form of trade and inward and outward investment by means of business and entrepreneurship promotion and facilitation activities in the host country. Commercial Diplomacy is pursued with the goal of gaining economic stability, welfare, or competitive advantage.

Meridian International Center non-profit organization in Washington, D.C.

The Meridian International Center is a non-partisan, non-profit, public diplomacy organization founded in 1960 and located in Washington, D.C. It works closely with the U.S. Department of State and other U.S. government agencies, NGOs, international governments, and the private sector to create programs and partnership.

References

  1. ↑ "Department of State Bulletin Volume 41".
  2. ↑ "The Business Council for International Understanding - Report on the Plenary Meeting", Sam Meek Papers: International Marketing Series, September 26, 1956 [JWT Archives]
  3. ↑ "George Allen to Christian Herter" (PDF).
  4. ↑ "USTDA Conference RTM Contractor List" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-15.
  5. ↑ "OPIC Partners Program". Archived from the original on 2012-08-20. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  6. 1 2 Hachtmann, Frauke (2009), Promoting Consumerism in West Germany During the Cold War: An Agency Perspective, Johns Hopkins University Press
  7. ↑ "Address to the Business Council for International Understanding".
  8. ↑ "Intercultural Management Institute".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.