The Council on Diplomacy and International Affairs (CODIA) was founded in 1996. It was incorporated as a nonprofit, independent, organization with the following purposes:

• To provide online sources on issues pertaining to diplomacy and its role in peace and conflict resolution
• To promote the role of the Internet Communications Technologies (ICTs) in the conduct of diplomacy around the world and help "bridge the digital divide" among diplomatic missions based in Washington, DC and in New York
• To use the internet in increasing global understanding on Cultural Diplomacy, Virtual Diplomacy, E-Government, and International Trade and Investment
• To prepare young men and women become effective diplomats in democratic societies

In the past, the Council has hosted various roundtable discussions with distinguished leaders and ambassadors from all over the world. Series of lectures, forums, and discussions were held at Georgetown University, the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center, and at the vicinity of the Council's office in Pennsylvania Avenue. Some of our discussions were covered by C-SPAN Cable TV.

Roundtable discussions, seminars and forums were organized to provide students and individuals interested in becoming diplomats and foreign service officers the opportunity to interact with members of the diplomatic corps, policy-makers, government leaders, and foreign policy experts

Since its foundation, the Council has been staffed with eager and hard-working "unpaid" interns. The Council's Advisory Board is also comprised of distinguished ambassadors based in Washington, DC. Our first distinguished Honorary Chairman was His Excellency Alfredo Toro-Hardy, former Ambassador Extraordinaire and Plenipotentiary of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the White House.

The Council operates on a marginal budget and receives no outside funding. The small set-up fees from the Virtual Diplomacy Project paid by various diplomatic missions are used to pay for its basic operational costs. The Council is staffed by interns and volunteers. Students and individuals who are staff members are provided with the highest possible training and opportunities that will help them advance their careers in diplomacy, international relations, international trade, and foreign service.

Staff members are provided with all the opportunities available by sending them to various diplomatic functions, networking events with top leaders and policy-makers, press briefings, forums, seminars, and conferences.

In 1999, the Council began developing web sites among diplomatic missions in Washington, DC and in New York City to help "bridge the digital divide" (visit our Virtual Diplomacy Project ).

For four years now, the Council's Executive Director, Vince Sinning, has given lectures and motivational speeches to various schools in the U.S. (high school, college and university levels) and encouraged talented young men and women to join the Foreign Service or pursue careers in diplomacy, government, international relations, international trade, peace and conflict resolution.

As we move on to the new year, 2003, the Council would like to extend its deep gratitude to:

• Former Secretary Madeline Albright and her staff at the State Department's Bureau of Educational Programs for opening new doors to the Council to be part of the First White House Conference on Culture and Diplomacy together with over 80 leaders from around the world.
• The Honorable Richard Haass, formerly of Brookings Institution, and now the Undersecretary of State
• The Honorable Paula Dobriansky, formerly of the Council on Foreign Relations, and now the Undersecretrary of State for Global Affairs. Dr. Dobriansky was one of our speakers in our "Distinguished Policy Experts Roundtable Discussion"
• Georgetown University, for allowing us to use their facilities in our various Roundtable Discussions with World Leaders
• Alfredo Toro, son of Ambassador Alfredo Toro-Hardy, who led a group of very talented students at Georgetown University and took charge of all the events held at the university
• His Excellency Ambassador Igor Davidovic, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Bosnia and Hezegovina to the White House
• The youngest ambassador in Washington, DC --- His Excellency Ambassador Aivis Ronin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Latvia
• His Excellency Marwan Muasher, former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Jordan to the White House. As of 2002, Ambassador Muasher is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Jordan.
• His Excellency Sir Christopher Meyer, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland to the White House
• His Excellency Rubens Barbosa, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Brazil to the White House
• His Excellency Rene Leon, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of El Salvador to the White House
• His Excellency Stasys Sakalauskas, former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Lithuania to the White House
• His Excellency Leonard Iipumbu, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Namibia to the White House
• His Excellency Alfred Defago, former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Switzerland to the White House
• Her Excellency Makate Sheila Sisulu, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of South Africa to the White House
• His Excellency Davorin Kracun, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Slovenia to the White House
• Her Excellency Martin Palous, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to the White House
• His Excellency Jan Eliasson, former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sweden to the White House
• The Honorable Maheshwar Rao, Charge' d'Affairs of the Republic of Fiji Islands to the White House
• His Excellency Ambassador Bob Jalango, Permanent Reprensentative of Kenya to the United Nations, and Chairman of the UN ECOSOC Working Group on Informatics.
• His Excellency Alexandre Panguene, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Mocambique to the White House
• The Honorable Mohammed Saleh, Charge' d'Affaires of the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United Nations
• The Honorable Daniel Kottut of the Kenya Mission to the UN for his "moral and spiritual support"

The Council is grateful for the following think-tank organizations in Washington, DC and academic institutions who welcomed us in its many events and interactions with World Leaders:

• The United States Institute of Peace
• The Brookings Institution
• World Affairs Council of Boston
• Council on Foreign Relations
• The Heritage Foundation
• CATO Institute
• American Enterprise Institute
• Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
• Policy Institute for Religion and State
• JFK School of Government, Harvard University
• Institute of Politics, Harvard University
• Georgetown University
• George Washington University