6/9/2005 - German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder praises AFS-host families

Berlin, June 9th 2005. German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder received AFS exchange students and their host families in Berlin this Thursday. He thanked all the families who voluntarily host students from other countries for one-year programs. Chancellor Schröder said that intercultural exchanges are an expression of a mutual interest; host families learn about the culture of their host students, while the young exchange students develop their very own impressions of Germany and its culture. He added that the goal of the exchange is for the host students to return home with a positive picture of Germany and its people. To honor the volunteer engagement of AFS host families, the Federal Press Department had invited them to Berlin for one day.

Seventeen families and the students they were hosting from 17 different countries were welcomed by the spokesman of the German government, Béla Anda. Anda himself had spent a year in the USA with AFS in 1980. In his speech, he called his guests “ambassadors of intercultural dialogue.”

In the evening, Chancellor Schröder met with the AFS group for a photo shoot. He warmly welcomed the families and engaged in a lively dialogue with the students and their host parents. He was especially delighted about the AFS t-shirts for his own two daughters, which were presented to him by Polish exchange student Pawel Szmygien.

Oliver Hartmann, Chair of the German AFS Board, promoted AFS hosting programs. He spoke about how host families have the unique chance to experience another culture in their own living room. They learn about the way of living of people in other countries and often even reconsider their own way of life. Together, host students and their families learn to understand foreign cultures and to see things in a different way. They contribute to promoting tolerance and understanding among different cultures. Often, the friendships that emerge from these AFS exchanges last for a lifetime.