8/18/2006 - Global Presence: Enhancing Youth Education and Quality of Life in Mexico

How can we work strategically to create effective linkages in our communities among public schools, universities, corporations and foundations, non-governmental agencies and state governments? And once those linkages are created, how can we use them to work towards improving public education and the quality of life of young people and their families in Mexico? That was the question that participants in the First Binational Conference of Educational Alliances held in Monterrey, Mexico this August attempted to answer. The Conference was sponsored by the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships-Mexico (www.edpartnerships.org). AFS International and AFS Intercultura Mexico, A.C. jointly participated in the Conference which was attended by numerous national and international foundations, corporate and governmental representatives.

“AFS’s purpose is fundamentally to educate our youth,” said Francisco Cazal, President of AFS International when he addressed the conference audience, “but we educate youth in a very particular manner. Our international exchange programs promote the kind of education that offers our participants the opportunity to completely change their world view. We are able to do this by creating an immersive exchange experience that allows them to fully participate in another culture’s way of life. We often say that AFS does away with the traditional classroom and opens it up to the possibility of not only learning from a teacher but from those around you – host families, the local community, and new friends. This is a compelling and strong learning experience and many of our participants report that it enhances and changes the course of their future professional and personal lives.”

An ex-AFS participant, Mr. Salvador Lopez Toledo, who is now the Director of Evaluation and Strategic Planning of Tourism in Mexico, shared the presentation with Mr. Cazal. “AFS has been around for a long time now,” said Mr. Lopez Toledo, “but the organization is constantly rejuvenated because it places the development of our youth as its foremost objective. AFS is a program that invites youth to create a kinder world, a world in which we can not only live together in peace, but one in which we respect our differences and celebrate our diversity.”

The leadership of AFS Mexico actively participated in the event. Ignacio Azcarate, AFS Mexico’s director and Maria Elena Arrendondo Rios, its chairperson, both expressed their appreciation to the conference organizers. “In a conference dedicated to creating linkages among the different entities dedicated to promoting the well being of our youth,” said Ignacio Azcarate, “we have been fortunate to meet with several prospective partners that may help us move forward with the work of AFS in Mexico.”

“This was an excellent opportunity to work together with our Partner in Mexico to help create the type of linkages that will help AFS continue to develop its programs,” said Carlos Porro, Manager of Communications at AFS International who helped organize AFS’s participation in the event, “the AFS leadership in Mexico and its volunteers in Monterrey are energetically involved in increasing the positive impact that AFS has on Mexican youth.”

In the photo: (left to right) Ignacio Azcarate, Director AFS Mexico, Salvador Lopez Toledo, Director of Evaluation and Strategic Planning of Tourism in Mexico, Maria Elena Arrendondo, Chairperson AFS Mexico, Maria Guadalupe Hernandez de Vargas, longtime AFS Mexico volunteer, Lourdes Sierra de Ortega, Chapter President, Monterrey, and Tachi Cazal, President, AFS Intercultural Programs