The World Trade Center Institute (WTCI) operates as a private, non-profit, and non-political membership organization located in the

Baltimore World Trade Center Located on the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland, the Baltimore World Trade Center is the world's tallest regular pentagonal-based skyscraper (the pentagonal-based JPMorgan Chase Tower in Houston is taller, but is not regular). It was designed ...

building on the

Inner Harbor The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and landmark of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. It was described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as "the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the world". Th ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Financed in cooperation with area businesses and the State of Maryland, WTCI’s mission is to drive the growth of Maryland’s global business community. WTCI is one of the 320 members of the World Trade Center Association (WTCA), which operates WTCs in 96 countries around the world. Maryland Governor

William Donald Schaefer William Donald Schaefer (November 2, 1921 – April 18, 2011) was an American politician who served in public office for 50 years at both the state and local level in Maryland. As a Democrat, he was the 45th mayor of Baltimore from December 1 ...

founded WTCI in 1989 along with Chairman of

RTKL Associates RTKL was a global architecture, planning and design firm. The firm was founded in 1946 by Archibald Rogers and Francis Taliaferro in Rogers’ grandmother’s basement in Annapolis and grew to be one of the largest architectural firms in the world ...

, Harold Adams and a Board of Directors. After partnering with the Maryland Port Administration in 1991, WTCI was granted the World Trade Center Association license, making it the official proprietor of

and a subsidiary of the World Trade Center Association. WTCI was recognized in 2010–2012 by the Baltimore Business Journal as the Largest Association in the Baltimore area "Book of Lists 2010" Baltimore Business Journal 18 Dec. 2009: Vol. 27"Book of Lists 2012" Baltimore Business Journal 16 Dec. 2011: Vol. 33 and in 2009 as the Largest Business Networking Organization. In March 2011, WTCI was selected by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

to act as the Mid-Atlantic region’s Private Sector Liaison Officer (PSLO). The PSLO enables the region’s business community to use the World Bank program as a way to engage the private sector in international development programs. WTCI joined three other organizations in the United States with the World Bank accreditation, including the Chicago Global Mid-West Alliance, the

Greater Houston Partnership The Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) is the largest chamber of commerce in the Houston area. The Partnership is an economic development organization for the Greater Houston area. The mission of the Greater Houston Partnership is to make Houston o ...

and the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle.

History

Maryland Governor William Donald Schaefer founded WTCI in 1989 alongside Chairman of RTKL Associates, Harold Adams, and a prominent Board of Directors. With the inauguration of WTCI, Schaefer and Adams sought to expand Maryland’s global business community, foster international liaisons, and expose local businesses to opportunities abroad. After partnering with the State of Maryland Port Administration in 1991, WTCI was awarded the World Trade Center Association license, making it the official proprietor of the World Trade Center Baltimore and a subsidiary of the expansive World Trade Center Association. In 1995, WTCI created the Maryland International Business Leadership Awards program with the purpose of featuring successful leaders in the international business community. Each year, firms are recognized in areas of global business excellence, including, but not limited to manufacturing, agriculture, hi-tech, environmental, and service industries. The Governor’s Leadership Award is presented to an individual who has made concerted efforts to augment Maryland’s global business presence. The World Trade Resource Center was later opened in 1996, offering companies access to print and electronic directories and databases and providing them with information regarding matters of international trade. During the same year, WTCI merged with the Maryland International Center and acquired management over a federally funded program geared toward international visitors. Over the course of the next year, WTCI began to supervise the Maryland Sister States Program for the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development and was a recipient of the President’s E-award for excellence in exporting.

Events

The organization offers four signature events and three international business series each year.

Maryland International Business Leadership Awards

The event takes place once a year.

Embassy Night

The event takes place once a year. The first Embassy Day was held in 1988. In 2013, World Trade Center Institute held its 25th anniversary event. "Twenty-five years ago, a unique event concept was unveiled: A platform that offered the rare chance to simultaneously connect with multiple embassies, trade investment groups and area business leaders – all on one day, in one place, at one time. This concept became a reality and Embassy Night (formerly Embassy Day) was born. Since then, Embassy Night has become one of the largest gatherings of foreign diplomats and business leaders in the country."

International Business Services

WTCI’s network connections’ services consist of assistance in identifying and building business relationships, access to WTCI network members, access to the Washington D.C. diplomatic community, access to the global WTCA network, and access to the World Bank program. WTCI provides multiple global intelligence services including: daily Global Strategic Briefs, containing international headlines and analysis by industry experts; International Traveler's Packages, with an in-depth overview of any country, key contacts, and tools to familiarize new-to-market travelers with local business practices and culture; and access to proprietary global trade data. In March 2011, WTCI was selected by the World Bank to act as the Mid-Atlantic region’s Private Sector Liaison Officer (PSLO). The PSLO enables the region’s business community to use the World Bank program as a way to engage the private sector in international development programs. WTCI joined three other organizations in the United States with the World Bank accreditation, including the Chicago Global Mid-West Alliance, the Greater Houston Partnership and the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle.

Professional Exchanges Program

The World Trade Center Institute (WTCI)’s Professional Exchanges Program (PEP) division is responsible for planning and implementing exchange programs for professionals abroad in a variety of countries. Exchange programs coordinated by WTCI are concentrated in various areas of expertise including freedom of the press, national security, education, HIV/AIDS, environment, minority programs, IT and the digital world, foreign policy and government, and economics and business development. WTCI’s PEP is a seasoned host, having facilitated the exchange of business partners, foreign delegations, and expatriates for over twenty years. In addition, WTCI exclusively manages the U.S. Department of State’s International Leadership Visitors Program (IVLP) for the state of Maryland. Under IVLP, WTCI arranges a series of programs for the benefit of current and future generations of foreign leaders, which attempts to illuminate best practices in a particular field of expertise. The IVLP seeks to enhance international understanding and plays a crucial role in the development of U.S. foreign relations through citizen diplomacy. WTCI is one of few organizations certified to take part in USAID’s Community Connections program, allowing it the unique opportunity to host professionals from the Republics of the Former Soviet Union. Community Connections is a program that is primarily concerned with improved cooperation and collaboration between the U.S. and visiting key agencies through new experiences in professional settings and exposure to American culture. WTCI’s Professional Exchanges Program is also involved with the

Fulbright Scholar Program The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

, a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State, and the Foreign Service Institute’s Nationals Training Program.

WTCI Founding Companies

Source: *Abell Foundation *Advance Business Systems *Arthur Anderson and Company *Baltimore Sun *BGE/Constellation Energy *Black & Decker *

Crown Central Petroleum Crown Central Petroleum, commonly known as Crown, is an American oil company that has flourished in Baltimore since the early 20th century until its recent decline due to rebranding. History Crown Central Petroleum Company or Crown, first began ...

Corp *DBED *Ellicott Machine Corp (now Ellicott Dredge) *Ernst & Young *

First Maryland Bancorp First Maryland Bancorp was a bank holding company that operated the First National Bank of Maryland. The company changed its name to Allfirst Financial in 1999 and was acquired by M&T Bank in 2003. The company operated 250 branches and more than ...

(now M&T) *Four Seas & Seven Winds Travel *Frank, Berstein, Conaway & Goldman *Giant Food, Inc *Hogan & Hartson *IBM Systems Integration Div *KPMG *Legg Mason *McCormick & Co *McGuire, Woods *MDA *MDOT *Miles & Stockbridge * NASA Goddard Space Flight Center *Perdue Farms *Phillips Foods *Piper Marbury (now DLA Piper) *Port of Baltimore *RTKL *SCM Chemicals *Semmes, Bowen & Semmes *Signet Bank/First Union/Wachovia *Trahan, Burden & Charles *University of Maryland *Westinghouse (now Northrop Grumman)

References

{{Reflist World Trade Centers Organizations based in Baltimore