Community hubs will support international visitors and American communities across the United States.
PORTLAND, Maine, July 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) today announced the launch of One World Café™, a nationwide community engagement initiative that creates welcoming spaces for BridgeUSA international students to connect with Americans, local businesses, and community organizations.
CIEE’s One World Café will support the BridgeUSA program’s mission of fostering public diplomacy between American communities and the people of over 140 countries. One World Café will host new student orientations, cultural programs, community suppers, language exchanges, volunteer opportunities, and neighborhood gatherings that help BridgeUSA participants become active members of their host communities while giving Americans meaningful opportunities to engage with people from around the world.
CIEE will open its first One World Café locations this summer in Falmouth/Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Galveston, Texas, with additional locations planned in key BridgeUSA communities across the United States.
The initiative advances the goals of the U.S. Department of State’s BridgeUSA Exchange Visitor Program by deepening community engagement, supporting participant well-being, and expanding opportunities for cultural exchange. As One World Café grows, CIEE aims to establish a national model that strengthens local communities while advancing mutual understanding, international friendship, and peace.
“The One World Café concept came from our national BridgeUSA Celebration Tour and conversations with host employers, community leaders, and participants across the country about how we could better support the communities that make BridgeUSA possible,” said Martine Mangion, Senior Vice President of International Exchange Programs at CIEE. “Every conversation, shared meal, volunteer project, and cultural experience builds trust between people from different backgrounds. One World Café will leverage the power of community to build bridges of mutual respect between international visitors, American host employers, and American communities across the country.”
“The BridgeUSA exchange programs support 300,000 annual visitors who come to America each year and strengthen American communities from coast to coast,” said James P. Pellow, Ed.D., President and CEO of CIEE. “CIEE’s One World Café is our latest investment to support the core mission of BridgeUSA, namely, to help make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous through the power of international exchange. Having supported over 1.5 million BridgeUSA participants since 1961, we know that when people from different cultures share meals, celebrate traditions, work, or volunteer together, it builds friendships that strengthen communities, creating lifetime ambassadors for peace.”
For more information about One World Café™, visit www.oneworldcafe.org.
About CIEE:
CIEE builds bridges between different people, different countries, and different cultures through study abroad and international exchange programs that advance peace in our world. Since 1947, CIEE has supported more than 1.5 million student exchanges for participants from more than 140 countries. We change lives, our alumni change the world. Learn more at ciee.org.
Media Contact: Leslie Taylor, ltaylor@ciee.org, (207) 553-4274
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SOURCE Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE)
