Today, Sandy Rosenthal, founder of Levees.org met with a group of seven international visitors in a special program with the U.S Department of State who were in New Orleans to focus on empowering civil society.

The group included representatives from Algeria, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Burma, the Czech Republic, Serbia, the Ukraine and Zimbabwe.

Ms. Rosenthal met the group at the site of the east side London Avenue Canal breach which will soon also be the site of a Open-air Levee Park. She spoke on Levees.org’s work in holding the federal government accountable for the levee failures. 

Today’s presentation was organized through the New Orleans Citizen Diplomacy Council which is a nonprofit organization that arranges professional appointments and cultural activities for over 500 international leaders sent to New Orleans annually by the U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program and other programs. As one of approximately 90 councils nationwide, and the only council in Louisiana, the NOCDC aims to promote cross-cultural relationships and mutual understanding.

Among the thousands who have participated in the IVL program since its inception are numerous distinguished leaders from the public and private sectors including: Nicolas Sarkozy; Margaret Thatcher; Frederik W. de Klerk; Oscar Arias Sanchez; Tony Blair; Anwar Sadat; Morihiro Hosokawa; and Boutros-Boutros Ghali.