International ties enrich Colorado

The very fabric of society shows the growing importance of the global marketplace. A state like Colorado, for example, is rich with connections to the international area. These include local businesses that are major exporters, such as Hewlett-Packard, and local businesses that direct large overseas operations, such as Gates and Samsonite.

But international connections are also established and nourished through schools, libraries and museums. The international exhibits of Denver's Museum of Natural History, such as its recent exhibit on the nomads of the Eurasian steppes, are a dramatic example. Other examples are alumni of programs such as the Peace Corps and student exchange programs, former Fulbright scholars and Rhodes scholars; and those active in the myriad of voluntary associations such as the International Business Association of the Rockies, the Institute for International Education, the Japan-America Society, and Many others, including, of course, immigrants.

The richness of this fabric of relationships is demonstrated by two recent events. The first is a new publication by the Boulder-based Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education titled International Programs and Centers for Instruction, Research and Public Service in the Western States. This newly updated and easy-to-use publication, edited by the commission's Frank C. Abbott, documents more than 300 programs in 15 western states related to international trade and commerce, foreign cultures and language, and other aspects of international affairs - up from 180 such programs in an earlier edition published in 1986.

More than two dozen such programs are located in Colorado. They include conventional area studies programs for Asia, Latin America, the Soviet Union and East Europe. They also include more specialized programs, such as Denver University's International Legal Studies Program, Colorado State University's International School for Water Resources, or the University of Colorado's McGuire Center for International Studies in Boulder or its Institute for International Business in Denver.

The second major development is the establishment in Denver of the Rocky Mountain World Trade Center, located on the mall in downtown Denver. The center has just concluded an agreement with Metropolitan State College to establish a trade education program.

More than a building, a movement or an organization, the center links its members in the Rocky Mountain business community to the services and programs of 76 World Trade Centers in very major global city.

Providing office space, information services, trade research services and education programs, the center network is a cost-effective way for local firms to link up to overseas business opportunities. The center has the added advantage of co-location with the information and advisory services of the regional office of the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce and State of Colorado's increasingly effective International Trade Office.