12/5/2006 - AFS Announces the 2006 Galatti Award Winners
AFS Intercultural Programs proudly announced the winners of its 2006 Galatti Awards for Outstanding AFS Volunteer Service on December 5, 2006 to coincide with the celebration of International Volunteer Day. The winners of this year’s Galatti Award were Franz Greimel of Austria, Maria Aparecida de Barros Forini of Brazil, Yasuko Araki of Japan, and Nina Jackalyn Crawford of New Zealand. The 2006 Galatti Award winners will be invited to New York City in connection with the AFS World Congress and the celebration of the 60th Anniversary of AFS in October/November 2007.
In a message to AFS volunteers announcing the winners, Francisco Cazal, President of AFS Intercultural Programs Inc. said that “I know that AFS volunteers are energized by the mission and vision of our wonderful organization, and that they hold a deeply ingrained belief that intercultural understanding will help create a more just and peaceful world. On this special day I congratulate our Galatti Award winners and salute all the AFS volunteers who give of their time and energy every day for our organization.”
The Galatti Award, established in 1983 and named after AFS founder Stephen Galatti, honors AFS community volunteers whose commitment and exceptional dedication have advanced the mission and goals of AFS at the grass-root level. It is the most prestigious commendation granted by the AFS International Board of Trustees. For AFS, volunteerism is key in carrying out its mission of making it possible for individuals to become responsible global citizens as well as active participants in the creation of a more tolerant and peaceful world.
Although he was the driving force of AFS, Galatti relied heavily on the corps of volunteers he developed over the years. Even in the early days, he knew that the success of AFS depended on substantial volunteer support. Because of Galatti’s foresight and commitment to community service, AFS today continues to value its volunteers and recognize them as the lifeblood of AFS programs.
Past winners of the Award, as well as this year’s winners, come from a variety of places and backgrounds, share a deep commitment to volunteer service and an unparalleled sense of caring, leadership, and solidarity. They have selflessly served the organization and its participants and envision volunteerism as a gift, not only to AFS, but to society at large. Gallery of previous Galatti Award Winners.
The AFS network is run by over 30,000 active volunteers in more than 50 countries around the world. AFS’s unique model of volunteer-run programs is rooted in the vision of founder Stephen Galatti, who built and transformed AFS from a volunteer ambulance service that served during both World Wars into a global network of partner organizations that now provides cross-cultural experiences to more than 11,000 students each year.
The Winners Franz Greimel was introduced to the AFS world when he hosted a student from the United States in 1987/88. After that, he sent his oldest son on an AFS exchange program to Canada. Right from the beginning, Franz was convinced of the importance of the AFS mission of building peace through intercultural understanding. He became an active volunteer and revitalized the volunteer recruitment process in Vienna, growing the number, quality and satisfaction levels of the local volunteer corps. He has also distinguished himself for his fundraising and leadership skills. Thanks to Franz’s dedication the Vienna chapter was stabilized, the volunteers have been empowered and are eager to live up to the international AFS standards of quality and excellence.
Maria Aparecida de Barros Forini stands out among the more than 1,000 excellent volunteers in Brazil. Her work with AFS reflects the passion and persistence with which she approaches her AFS volunteer activities. She started her relationship with AFS as a host mother in 1977 and has since then become a very active volunteer making her local AFS chapter one of the most honored and recognized in Brazil. She has established vital and dynamic partnerships with her community that have tremendously enhanced the experience of the AFS students who come to Brazil and has at the same time made it possible for many Brazilian young people to make the most of their AFS experience. Maria has the gift of uniting people around a dream and have that dream become a reality, and she has done just that with her dedicated work for AFS.
Yasuko Araki was an AFS student from Japan who traveled to the United States in 1956-57 for her AFS year. Her experience with AFS nurtured a deep understanding of the AFS mission and instilled in her the importance of effective volunteer activities at the grass-root level. She became active as a volunteer for AFS only a month after her return to Japan. Since then, she has not only served as an AFS Chapter President but has remained active as a volunteer and supported AFS in every possible way. Yasuko founded the AFS Kyoto Chapter, the oldest chapter in the Western Japan Region. She has overseen and encouraged the work of hundreds of young college volunteers who have engaged in AFS activities. In her 49 years of service to AFS she has given not only of her time but also of her belief in the delivery of the best possible quality services to the AFS population.
Nina Jackalyn Crawford’s involvement with AFS began in 1980 when her daughter went to Japan on her AFS program. In 1980 she joined the South Auckland Counties Chapter and in 1983 she hosted a Japanese student. Since that time she has been totally committed to the mission and ideals of AFS. Her excellent organizational skills and awe-inspiring ability to remember names and faces of those who have passed through AFS, even after many years, have benefited AFS and helped strengthen its profile both in her local community and on a national level. Nina has excellent diplomatic skills and is great at conflict resolution. Her recruitment and support of volunteers has been a vital part of her service to her local chapter and to AFS in New Zealand.
How the Galatti Award Winners are Selected
The nomination process for the Galatti Award was revised this year with the purpose of creating greater volunteer involvement in the nomination process and to expand the awareness and overall impact of the award among our volunteers. The nomination guidelines and nomination forms were available on-line beginning August 1 through September 30, 2006.
A special website was made available for this year’s Galatti Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service nominations allowing volunteers around the world to nominate other volunteers. All nominations that were received on the website were forwarded to each nominee’s AFS national office. The national winners for each of the nominating AFS Partner countries were selected according to the local procedures in place at the national AFS affiliate offices.
CRITERIA/ ELIGIBILITY
The national winners were selected using the following criteria:
Initial nominations were made via the AFS web site by local volunteers around the world (each initial nomination had to be supported by at least 3 volunteers); from these, AFS Partners selected a national winner to be considered for the international Galatti Award. The final selection from among the national winners was made by the members of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of AFS International.
To be considered for a nomination for the Galatti Award a nominee must:
Be an AFS volunteer who have provided at least five (5) years of outstanding support to AFS at the grass-roots level.
Be a local AFS volunteer who has not previously received the award and/or who was not serving on an AFS Partner Board or the Board of Trustees at the time of nomination
The following are additional considerations that the AFS Partner offices were asked to keep in mind when selecting their national winners:
- Commitment to AFS mission
- Overall impact of their volunteer performance
- Leadership skills
- Increase of AFS visibility
- Number of nominations received
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