AFS Intercultural Programs is pleased to announce the January/February/March/April 2013 issue of AFS Intercultural Link Newsletter volume 4, issue 1 – Global Edition, which can be shared with everyone interested in learning more about intercultural education.

The AFS Intercultural Link News Magazine is the quarterly magazine on intercultural learning in the AFS Network. The magazine features content shared by the Intercultural Learning Work Group as well as other AFS Partners and guest writers, including information on trends in intercultural education, interviews with experts in the field and overviews of upcoming and previous conferences.

Intercultural

The study found that “employers are under strong pressure to find employees who are not only technically proficient, but also culturally astute and able to thrive in a global work environment.” 

Artists Striving to End Poverty

ASTEP and SIETAR NY will be joining forces for an interactive presentation on the “role of the arts in overcoming cultural and societal barriers.” Through the integration of drama, music, dance and other creative activities, youth experience more self-confidence, self-control and self-identity. In ASTEP’s approach, arts can also be a means to work with groups and teach conflict resolution and collaboration in age-appropriate ways and within their own communities.

Non-formal education organizations like AFS encourage its volunteers, staff and others around the world to join forces with like-minded organizations like ASTEP who are local in the community and offer space for youth to develop interpersonal and intercultural awareness.

One keynote speaker will be Bryan A. Stevenson, founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, and professor at New York University School of Law. You can see Bryan A. Stevenson in this Ted talk on the topic of social justice.

Another keynote speaker will be Dr. Janet Bennett, Executive Director of the Intercultural Communication Institute, sponsor of the of the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication, and director of the Master of Arts Degree in Intercultural Relations sponsored by ICI and the University of the Pacific. Dr. Bennett’s work in the intercultural field is well-known around AFS. She is one of several key theorists in the materials and programs prepared and delivered by the AFS Education & Intercultural Learning Team.

Click here for a list of the concurrent conference sessions. Registration is still open, if interested in attending click here.

In 1985, the United Nations declared 5 December as International Volunteer Day, to formally recognize the millions of people around the world who participate in volunteer activities and make visible their contributions on the local, national, and international levels. In celebration of this year’s International Volunteer Day, Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, has shared this message:

“Founded on the values of solidarity and mutual trust, volunteerism transcends all cultural, linguistic and geographic boundaries. By giving their time and skills without expectation of material reward, volunteers themselves are uplifted by a singular sense of purpose.”

AFS also extends its heart-felt thanks and appreciation to all of its 43,905 active volunteers, who dedicate their time, energy, and passion to AFS in so many ways! We invite you to view the below video from AFS’s President and CEO, Vincenzo Morlini, as well as visit the AFS Intercultural Programs website today for special information related to International Volunteer Day.

Happy International Volunteer Day!

This project was initiated by a group of Missouri students who were able to produce 114 video testimonials from people including former President of Portugal Jorge Sampaio, Rabbi Arthur Schneier, Auma Obama, and activist and athlete Beatrice Faumuina to shed light the fundamental commonalities that people of diverse backgrounds and ages hold.

“Journeys of Belonging tackles mistaken religious, cultural and gender identity stereotypes like the inaccurate assumption that non-Westerners hold contrary values to those of Americans, the British and other Europeans.”

You can find the videos on the official website and sort them by topic or person interviewed. This project will also continue with a panel discussion in Washington DC in December (check website for updates) in which the speakers will build on some of the topics arising from the videos: personal identity, the relationship between religion and democracy, the “us versus them” mentality and many more topics.

“Part of what it means to develop the skills to live in multicultural, diverse societies is to recognize that we are the product of diverse strands of identity. Personal stories play an important role,” Emmanuel Kattan, Project Manager, Our Shared Future.

We leave you with a short video as an introduction to the project Journeys of Belonging.

The article first reviews the Cultural Immersion Programs at Indiana University‘s School of Education, which places students who will become certified teachers in an eight-week or semester program where they teach full-time in a new cultural environment. This environment can be abroad, on Navajo reservations in the Southwest of the United States, or in multicultural urban schools in the U.S. The main purpose of this experience is to immerse the future teachers as active participants of the host culture, working with students and other teachers and completing a project and written assignments that allow them to “dig below the surface of that cultural iceberg.” The School of Leadership and Education Sciences at the University of San Diego requires that all students have an international experience during the course of their program. This requirement, which seemed controversial at the beginning, has been accompanied by a wider offer of international programs that do not necessarily equal studying abroad. International experiences can also occur in the San Diego community, in multicultural environments or courses that allow students to explore the impact of international and intercultural relations in the local context, or working with international scholars or partners in the San Diego area. The objectives of the program are to “develop a deeper understanding of another culture; appreciate its differences and similarities; consider its gifts and challenges; and understand the educational and practical implications of cultural diversity and globalization issues.”

Charlotte West also features the efforts of University of Maryland‘s College of Education in developing an infrastructure that allows students, professors and departments to create international initiatives. A key part of this infrastructure is a university-wide international advisory committee that captures cross-departmental dialogue and acts as a hub to share ideas, resources and best practices to enhance international and intercultural programs across the school. This “think-tank” came along with the creation of an Office of International Initiatives, travel funds for students and professors, and an initiative to create an international experience requirement in certain programs. In their view, this intercultural educational experience should be “integrating, rather than adding on, a global perspective across all course content.” At AFS Intercultural Programs, we also want to foster an intercultural learning experience for our AFS Volunteers and Staff by providing the opportunity to understand international and intercultural challenges in our daily work. We value and admire the initiatives of like-minded professionals and organizations that believe that cultural immersion and exchange can enhance our learning experience, not only that of our participants, and can help us grow as professionals and as individuals.

Two AFS Staff members, Anna Collier (AFS International) and Carolyn Rehn (AFS-USA) are collaborating with a session titled “A Global Curriculum for Intercultural Competence Development,” where they will be presenting the AFS Intercultural Link Learning Program. Attendees will learn more about Intercultural Learning and the way in which AFS develops a collective intercultural competence and a language around intercultural topics.

To attend the SIETAR-USA Conference, you can still register on the website and get ready for four days of exciting intercultural opportunities and learning experiences with the keynote speakers, concurrent sessions and other opportunities to connect with professionals and researchers.

Can’t make it to the SIETAR-USA Conference? SIETAR Baltimore (October 17) and SIETAR Metro New York (October 23) are organizing events this month in the US.

If you are in Japan, the Japan Intercultural Institute is celebrating its 2012 Annual Conference on November 11 in Tokyo. The title of the one-day conference is “Developing Global Leaders: Education and Training for Language, Culture and Confidence” and it will cover a wide variety of topics such as intercultural leadership, bilingualism and biculturalism in a globalized world, and intercultural understanding. To check the presentations, the special workshop and the keynote speaker, go to the conference’s website in the previous link and request a reservation.

Wherever you are, we encourage you to connect with Intercultural Education specialists in your area!

This year’s conference took place in Moscow, Russia on the 18^th of August, and was held at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. It is one of the three conferences that together make up the AISEC International Congress, an international event to plan projects for social and economic development. At the Global Youth Voice event, two AFS staff members had the opportunity to take a more active role and act as facilitators for one of the sessions.

Tom McLeod, an AFS returnee (Australia 2000-2001) and current Intern at the AFS Russia office in Moscow, along with Nonna Kovrizhnykh, Partner Director of AFS Russia, and Organisational Development Coordinator Natalia Zakharova facilitated a session on Intercultural Dialogue and Tolerance. The 10-day conference hopes to foster a positive global impact in the way youth collaborate and interact, and aims to build a global perspective for future generations.