The Hollings Center for International Dialogue is a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to fostering dialogue between the United States and countries with predominantly Muslim populations in the Middle East, North Africa, So
uth Asia, Eurasia and Europe.
In pursuit of its mission, the Hollings Center convenes dialogue conferences that generate new thinking on important international issues and deepen channels ofcommunication across opinion leaders and experts. Since its inception, the Hollings Center has convened dialogues that fall into three main categories:
- Next-Generation Dialogues provide a venue for a rising generation of experts from Muslim-majority countries to engage in cutting-edge discussions with their American counterparts on issues of shared importance.
- Higher Education Dialogues foster exchanges of ideas, expertise, and best practices across university communities in the United States and the Muslim world.
- Regional Policy Dialogues cover challenging topics that link Muslim-majority nations and the United States and engage a broad spectrum of practitioners, academics, economists, civil society leaders and think-tank experts.
The Center issues reports on its dialogues and funds a small grants program. The grants enable select participants to pursue collaborative projects that build on critical issues raised at the dialogue events.
About the Hollings Center
The Hollings Center was established as a non-governmental organization by the U.S. Congress in 2004 and 2005, primarily through the efforts of Senators Ernest F. Hollings (Democrat, South Carolina) and Judd Gregg (Republican, New Hampshire). Congress created a trust fund to support the Center’s programs, and the trust fund is administered through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State. A distinguished Board of Directors oversees the Center’s work as a non-partisan, non-governmental organization.
The Center’s official name is the International Center for Middle Eastern-Western Dialogue, but it is more commonly known as the Hollings Center in recognition of Senator Hollings whose efforts were crucial to its foundation. Senator Hollings retired in 2005 having achieved a notable 39-year career in the U.S. Senate.
The Hollings Center is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and maintains a representative office in Istanbul, Turkey. Its core programs take place in Istanbul—a city whose historic role as a crossroads makes it an ideal venue for multinational dialogue.
The Hollings Center is registered as a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization in the United States and as a foreign non-profit organization in Turkey.