Preservation Maryland had the privilege of hosting an international delegation through the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) — the federal government’s premier professional exchange initiative. We were honored to welcome a group of 10 professionals engaged in the field of preserving cultural heritage in their home countries.
While the overall focus of this IVLP cohort is “Preserving Cultural Heritage and Combating Trafficking of Conflict Antiquities,” our role in the program centered on sharing the practical, day-to-day work of preservation — and how grassroots efforts like ours strengthening community resilience, advocate for preservation, and build long-term capacity.
The group visited Baltimore to learn more about how Preservation Maryland approaches historic preservation from a community-based, impact-driven perspective. Our team shared insights into how our organization:
- Leverages grants and technical assistance to help communities protect and restore historic places;
- Builds capacity through training and workforce development, including our national workforce program, The Campaign for Historic Trades;
- Engages in advocacy to safeguard threatened historic resources across the state;
- Raises awareness about the value of heritage through education and public outreach campaigns.
This exchange offered an opportunity to explore how local work contributes to a global network of cultural heritage protection. The conversations underscored the importance of proactive, sustained investment in heritage as a tool to prevent loss, reduce vulnerability, and create lasting value in communities.
As part of the IVLP objectives, the State Department encourages these exchanges to foster mutual understanding, knowledge sharing, and the development of international partnerships. We were inspired by the visitors’ work in their home countries and found common ground in our shared belief that cultural heritage is a vital, unifying force — one worth protecting.
We’re grateful to the U.S. Department of State for the opportunity to participate in this important exchange and to the interpreters who helped ensure rich and meaningful dialogue throughout the visit. As preservationists, we are often focused on saving what’s in front of us — a building, a site, a story. But gatherings like this remind us that our work is part of something bigger: a global movement to protect history, identity, and culture for generations to come.