MEETING

People-to-People Citizen Ambassador Program

Identifier
NFAI.E.00006466
Preferred Name
People-to-People Citizen Ambassador Program
Library of Congress Naming Authority
People-to-People (Organization). Citizen Ambassador Program [info:lc/authorities/names/n88290657]
Biography/History

The concept of People to People represented part of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s lifelong crusade for peace. He believed that everyday citizens wanted a more peaceful world and could achieve it more effectively without government interference. 

After a July 1955 meeting with Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev, President Eisenhower shared in his report to the nation: “The subject that took most of my attention was the possibility of increased visits overseas by the citizens of one country into the territory of the other nation.”

The result was the launching of the “People to People” initiative on September 11, 1956, under the U.S. Information Agency. This program of “personal diplomacy” emphasized nongovernmental contacts between people.

With his term of office nearing an end, he sought a way for the organization to be funded in the private sector. President Eisenhower engaged his good friend, J.C. Hall, the founder of Hallmark Cards, Inc., to help continue this valuable work. Hall agreed, and People to People International (PTPI) was incorporated as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization in the State of Missouri on October 31, 1961, with the offices moving from Washington, D.C., to Kansas City.

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