Reflections on the Impact of the International Visitor Leadership Program - Matt Madden

The story I will tell you is about a delegation who came to Kentucky from Iran. It was a delegation of approximately 10 to 12 Iranians that are specialists in folk music.

They came to Kentucky to talk about bluegrass and to experience bluegrass music. We sent them out of Louisville, actually. We sent them to the western part of the state to a city called Owensboro, Kentucky, a city that houses the International Bluegrass Museum.

While they were there, the delegates met with a variety of different bluegrass musicians who all came out and had the opportunity to jam using their bluegrass instruments and the Iranian folk instruments, so they got to combine them.

They spent a full day in Owensboro, only to have Owensboro contact me to say that for the museum, the International Museum, it was the best day that they had experienced.
The International Visitor Program is extremely important to every single international visitor that comes to the United States, but it as just as important to the locals at the CIV level and in communities across America.

There's no question about that. Then, after they went to Owensboro, they came to Louisville and they met with an internationally renowned jazz musician, a gentleman by the name of Jamey Aebersold.

Jamey brought the Iranians into a local Baptist church, brought out some of his fellow jazz musicians, and they sat there and jammed for several hours. Jamey proceeded to take them to lunch.

You know, you can imagine what an impact this would have on the Iranians to be treated so well, considering the stereotype that they are given in-country of what the American people are.
This just completely counteracts that for that one-to-one individual interaction. At the same time, you also hear a lot of negative stereotypes about Iranians.

And now the people in Owensboro at the International Bluegrass Museum and the people - Jamey Aebersold and his musicians - they now see who these people really are and how we really do have more in common with each other than we have differences.

So, it was a fantastic moment.