From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Meridian International Center

American public diplomacy organization

Summary

American public diplomacy organization

Field	Value
name	Meridian International Center
logo	Meridian International Center Logo.jpg
formation	1960
headquarters	1630 Crescent Place NW, D.C.
location	Washington, D.C.
leader_title	President
leader_name	Stuart W. Holliday
website

The Meridian International Center is a non-partisan, nonprofit, 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.

The organization is headquartered in the historic Meridian House and White-Meyer House, both in the Meridian Hill neighborhood and designed by John Russell Pope.

History

[[Meridian House]], located in the [[Meridian Hill]] neighborhood

In 1960, Dr. Arthur A. Hauck, a member of the American Council on Education and former president of the University of Maine, worked with the Ford Foundation to purchase the Meridian House from Gertrude Laughlin Chanler. The house was to serve as the headquarters of the nonprofit organization Washington International Center.

In 1961, four additional organizations joined the Center: the Foreign Student Service Council, the Governmental Affairs Institute, the Institute of Contemporary Arts, and the Institute of International Education. The American Council on Education passed the title of the Meridian House to the Meridian House Foundation.

In 1974, the Department of State approved a proposal by Meridian to take over the implementation of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) from the Governmental Affairs Institute. In 1987, Meridian acquired the White-Meyer House and grounds from the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation.

In 1992, Meridian was renamed Meridian International Center.

Programs

The Meridian House and the White-Meyer House are adjacent to each other and serve as venues for events, including corporate conferences, weddings, special events, and receptions.

Events

The Center organizes several large events each year. The most prominent one is the Meridian Ball, which usually takes place in October.[[File:2014 Meridian Ball.jpg|thumb|Meridian's 46th Ball]] In 1969, Meridian launched an annual benefit, the Meridian Ball, with associated dinners at the embassies and residences of foreign ambassadors and Meridian’s own White-Meyer House in Washington, D.C.

Awards

Meridian presents the Meridian Cultural Diplomacy Award. Its 2023 recipient was the former Meridian president and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), Lee Satterfield.

References

"With Flurry of New Programs, Meridian Moves With the Times". The Washington Diplomat.
"Arthur Andrew Hauck - Office of the President - University of Maine".
Team, Meridian International Center. "Two Historic Houses for Your Next Event - Meridian International Center".
Team, Meridian International Center. "The Meridian Ball {{!}} Meridian International Center".
"Carlyle, GM, Wal-Mart's $50,000 Fund Autumn Galas: D.C.". Bloomberg.com.
Anna, Angelique Gingras. (2022-11-15). "First Fashion Gala brings world designers to DC; Amusement at Meridian Ball".
(2021-10-26). "PHOTOS: 53rd Annual Meridian Ball - Washingtonian".
Team, Meridian International Center. "2022 Culturefix {{!}} Meridian International Center".
"Assistant Secretary Satterfield to Deliver Remarks and Accept Award at Meridian International’s cultureFIX".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

non-profit-organizations-based-in-washington,-d.c. organizations-established-in-1960 1960-establishments-in-washington,-d.c. meridian-hill

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Meridian International Center — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report