International House Festival of Cultures

Honoring the Legacy of The Edith Coliver Festival of Cultures

This event would not be possible without the commitment of one remarkable woman: I-House alumna, Edith Coliver.

Born Edith Simon in Karlsruhe, Germany, Edith left for London with her family in1936 and moved to the United States, settling in San Francisco. She lived at I-House from 1940-43, and received her Bachelors degree from UC Berkeley summa cum laude, in international relations and languages. After serving as a translator for the U.S. Office of War Information in 1945, she returned to her native country of Germany to work as an interpreter and research analyst at the Nuremberg trials. She was the first woman to serve as a field office director for the Asia Foundation and the first woman to serve as vice president of the World Affairs Council of Northern California. She was also a member of the I-House Board of Directors, fluent in German, French, Spanish and conversant in Tagalog, Portuguese, and Mandarin.

Upon her passing in 2002, the Edith Coliver Fund was established to ensure her legacy of peace and understanding lived on under the dome. I-House is honored to celebrate Edith Coliver through the International Cultural Festival and further our mission of intercultural respect to which Edith was so steadfastly committed.

Thank you for being a part of the International Cultural Festival!  We hope you take advantage of all this day has  to offer.