The International Center organized a study tour of Mexico in 2005 to help officials become more aware of the cultural and economic settings from which many of Georgia’s Hispanic immigrants come. The tour also sought to help them better understand how cultural similarities and differences affect government interaction with Hispanic populations. Seventeen local government officials met with counterpart government, nonprofit, community, public safety, and social services officials as well as university experts and citizens.

The tour participants subsequently helped develop a new instructional course that was incorporated into the Carl Vinson Institute of Government’s governmental education curriculum for Georgia’s local officials. The Center has plans to expand the program to include state and federal government officials. In the future, a research component will be added to the program that will provide decisionmakers with the policy-relevant information needed for innovative and effective responses to the changing demographics.