AFS USA, one of AFS Intercultural Programs’ member organizations which runs all of AFS’s exchange programs to and from the US, has recently launched a brand new section on their website that aims to provide inspiration and answers to some of the questions above. Their Educators website offers a variety of resources and tools that are not only relevant for US based Educators, but that can also be used by other teachers around the world.

Browse the Teachers Toolbox that includes suggested lesson plans and curricular resources or learn about the AFS Educational Goals. The portal also presents the various offerings AFS USA has for schools: group educational programs, scholarship opportunities for individual students or AFS school clubs are some of the examples.

Do you want to receive Education and Intercultural Learning news from AFS USA? Subscribe to the Global Classroom Newsletter that will bring new inspiration directly to your inbox every three months!

We are happy to share a fun, informative activity brought to you by AFS Intercultural Programs, Inc. that you can use to bring Intercultural Learning concepts to life!

Stretch Your Cultural Comfort Zone® is an exercise that aims to raise awareness of personal preferences in cultural contexts and encourages users to explore the boundaries of their comfort zones. The exercise is built around several cultural dimensions as defined by Geert Hofstede and Edward T. Hall. It asks participants to identify with one of the extremes* on six different scales representing six different dimensions, then try out activities or tasks that represent the other extreme and are not necessarily comfortable to them. The activity can be used as an interactive and self-guided display, or it can be used in a training situation with space provided for facilitated reflection and discussion. While the original activity is in English, all the documents are able to be edited and transformed into other language versions. We invite you to make your own language version using the templates provided and share them with others who are interested in working across cultural differences.*For the purpose of this exercise, participants are asked to pick one of the extremes on the dimensions scales; the authors acknowledge that reality is much more complex.

If you answered yes, then this training is for you: Summer Academy on Sustainability from an Intercultural Perspective in Istanbul, Turkey, from 22 July – 2 August, 2013.

Different ideas about energy politics and the sustainable use of resources can easily lead to misunderstandings and conflicts. But the fact that cultural reasons may be behind these conflicts is not often taken in consideration. This Summer Academy, cooperatively organized by InterCultur (subsidiary of AFS Germany), Karlshochschule International University, AFS Turkey and Istanbul Kültür University, approaches these topics from an intercultural perspective.

The two week Summer Academy offers courses aimed at developing solutions for intercultural challenges in international energy politics and environmental ethics, among other ecological issues. A particularly interesting aspect of the Academy is the innovative combination of university lectures and practical workshops, as well as the cultural diversity of the group (participants from 15 different countries are expected). Participants will have the opportunity to gain immediate intercultural experiences and to network with people from all over the world. This is one of the things that make this and other Summer Academies such a memorable experience!

The Summer Academy is held in English and is open to anyone aged 18–35 with a demonstrable interest in the fields of sustainability and intercultural encounters, especially undergraduate students and young professionals. Participants can earn academic credits according to the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). We pleased that we will be able to award several full and partial scholarships to qualified applicants for the Academy (scholarship application deadline is on May 12, 2013).

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Barbara.Langholf@intercultur.de.

AFS is dedicated to providing intercultural learning opportunities to a wide range of audiences. This Summer Academy is just one way that AFS is extending its offerings into the community and academy fields. Contact your local AFS organization today to see what is happening near you!

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.

Tasks related to this fellowship include:

• Supporting the Education team’s communications and media strategy: internal stakeholder communications as well as working on an external media plan that includes social/digital media (www.afs.org/blog/icl, our digital library, Facebook), conferences, etc.
• Managing the AFS Intercultural Link News Magazine: coordinating article submissions with authors from around the world, writing (as appropriate), editing and proof reading articles, contributing to design and layout, finalizing production and distributing to our global readership.
• Plus additional responsibilities related to education and intercultural learning in AFS as a part of a team comprised of fun and passionate people who work to help people improve interactions across cultures.

Skills: For this fellowship, candidates should:

• Have strong communications skills from strategy development to content creation (especially writing) to production (digital and otherwise);
• Have excellent planning and organizational skills with high attention to detail;
• Be highly creative, solutions-oriented, and pro-active;
• Have basic or better design sensibilities & layout skills;
• Be technology-savvy and able to work in various online and digital environments;
• Be interested in intercultural communications, global skills development and/or international relations and education;
• Be able to work both independently and as a part of a collaborative team;
• Have excellent spoken *and* written English skills (fluency two or more languages preferred);
• Familiarity with AFS or intercultural exchange programs a plus, but not required.

The fellowship is full-time for a commitment of 9 to 12 months. It is based at AFS Intercultural Programs’ offices in NYC, covers some expenses and provides a stipend.

Intercultural Link Newsletter Magazine

If you meet these requirements and are interested in applying for the fellowship, please e-mail AFS International at icl@afs.org. Provide a brief description of yourself, examples of how you meet the listed requirements for this fellowship, your motivations for applying for this fellowship, and what you could bring to this fellowship. In addition, please attach a current resume and two writing samples in the form of a newsletter article and/or blog entry.

We regret we cannot reply to all inquiries.

AFS is an international, voluntary, non-governmental, non-profit organization that provides intercultural learning opportunities to help people develop the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to create a more just and peaceful world.

Everyone who participated in the IDD made wonderful contributions to furthering the awareness of intercultural learning. As well, many stayed connected through IDD’s facebook page, which is where the winners of the photo and video contest were announced. Congratulations to the winners from AFS Hungary and AFS Russia!

Watch the best video and see the best picture on the IDD facebook page!

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!

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.

Originally an ambulance service that was active during both of the World Wars, AFS, or American Field Service at the time, rescued wounded soldiers from the front lines, regardless of their nationality, and brought them to a hospital to be treated. Soon after the end of the Second World War, AFS changed its focus to become an exchange program working to increase global peace and international understanding. Today, AFS still upholds intercultural interconnectedness as a standard practice as it provides intercultural learning experiences to a wide range of audiences. To learn more about AFS’s rich past, visit the AFS Archives online, or in-person (at the AFS-USA New York office) where you can see World War I and II helmets, uniforms, photos, letters and other types of memorabilia.

This is a photo of Howard Brooke, just after his ambulance collided with a tank going in for attack. It was taken in the winter of 1943 – 1944 near Ortona, Italy. (Photograph by John C. Cobb II)

A group of U.S. American volunteers and British soldiers in Tunisia in 1943.  Pictured from left to right: Bill Cobb, Gordon Ellis, Bombardier Jones (Medical Orderly), Bob Orton (AFS Volunteer), Dick Corse, Doc Brown, Tom Jones. (Photograph by John C. Cobb II)

These are just a few examples of the images that are available in the AFS Archives. If you wish to view any of this material in person, or learn more about the archives, you are welcome to contact Nicole Milano, the AFS Head Archivist (nicole.milano@afs.org) or call (212) 479-1129.