AFS Statement of Purpose
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.
The Core Values and Attributes of AFS
AFS enables people to act as responsible global citizens working for peace and understanding in a diverse world. It acknowledges that peace is a dynamic concept threatened by injustice, inequity and intolerance.
AFS seeks to affirm faith in the dignity and worth of every human being and of all nations and cultures. It encourages respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms without distinction as to race, sex, language, religion or social status.
AFS activities are based on our core values of dignity, respect for differences, harmony, sensitivity and tolerance.
Adopted at the 1993 World Congress.
AFS Vision for the Year 2020
We pursue our mission by providing quality intercultural learning opportunities for a growing number of young people, families, other stakeholders and wider audiences, thus developing an inclusive community of global citizens determined to build bridges between cultures.
Real life experiential learning, supported by structured reflection, is the core of our programs. We endeavor to link our intercultural learning opportunities to the defining global issues facing humanity. We reach out to past, current and future participants, volunteers, and other stakeholders using the media and technology they use.
Volunteers and volunteerism are who we are. Our organization brings about changes in lives through and for our global community of volunteers.
We are recognized as an educational organization by schools and the appropriate authorities. We work to create a regulatory environment that supports our programs.
As a learning organization, we welcome change and critical thinking. We are innovative and entrepreneurial in advancing the strategic directions, working together with others whenever appropriate.
AFS Board of Trustees
AFS is a leader in intercultural learning and offers international exchange programs in over 50 countries around the world through independent, not-for-profit AFS organizations, each with a network of volunteers, a professionally staffed office, and headed up by a volunteer board. AFS Intercultural Programs provides worldwide leadership, coordination, support, quality control and development of AFS organizations and programs.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
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| Floria Arias |
Turrialba, Costa Rica
Co-founder of Bufete Chaves & Arias |
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| J. Brian Atwood |
Minnesota, USA
Dean of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota |
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| Nils-Joachim Bauer |
Hamburg, Germany
COO & VP,International Affairs of Datenlotsen GmbH, Inc. |
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| Francisco (“Tachi”) Cazal (ex-officio) |
New York, USA
President, Chief Executive OfficerAFS Intercultural Programs, Inc. | |
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| Maureen Erasmus |
London, UK and New York, USA
Former Global Head of GMI Corporate Strategy, Merrill Lynch |
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| Prof. Carlo Fusaro |
Florence, Italy
Professor & Director of Department of Public Law, University of Florence |
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| Dr. Ricardo Garay |
Asuncion, Paraguay
Dean of Graduate Studies,National University of Asuncion |
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| Francisco dela Fuente Guerra III |
Makati City, Philippines
Vice-President, Developing Markets – ASEAN & Korea, S.C. Johnson |
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| Christian A. Kurtén Chair |
Helsingfors, Finland
Nokia Networks (retired) |
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| William Meserve Vice Chair |
Massachusetts, USA
Senior Counsel, Ropes and Gray |
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| Don Mohanlal |
London, UK and New Delhi, India
President and CEO of the Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation in India and United Kingdom |
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| Ginny Radford |
Auckland, New Zealand
Managing Director, Cobalt Communications Ltd. | |
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| Henrique Ramos |
Natal-RN, Brazil
Architect and Founder,Tekton Arquitetura |
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| Ernesto Rey |
Bogota, Colombia
President, Links S.A. |
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| Kerry Sin |
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Lawyer, RAJA ARIFF & SIN | |
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| Tsugiko Scullion |
Old Greenwich, Connecticut
Former Advisor to the Executive Director,Japan Committee for UNICEF |
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| Keith Stock |
Connecticut, USA
Senior Managing Director & Chief Strategy Officer, TIAA-CREF |
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| Madeleine Ströje Wilkens |
Sweden
Former ambassador of Sweden to Iceland | |
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| R. Müge Yüzüak |
New York, USA
Chief of Staff,Citigroup Global Consumer Group |
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| LIFE TRUSTEES | ||
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| Ward Chamberlin, Jr.# |
New York, USA
Vice President and Managing Director, Channel Thirteen/WNET, New York
(retired); President, Chamberlin Associates |
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| Norman C. Eddy# |
New York, USA
Clergy, United Church of Christ and Coordinator, East Harlem Interfaith
(retired) |
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| Arthur Howe Jr.# |
Connecticut, USA
AFS International President (1965-1971) |
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| Dr. Richard M. Hunt# |
Massachusetts, USA
The University Marshal, Harvard University (retired) |
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| Sachiye Kuwamoto |
California, USA
Regional Director, Japanese-American Citizens League, California |
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| Edwin R. Masback, Jr.# |
New York, USA
President, Masback Hardware Company (retired) |
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| # World War II AFS ambulance driver. | ||
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| EXECUTIVE TEAM | ||
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| Francisco (“Tachi”) Cazal | President and Chief Executive Officer | |
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| Dominik Scherrer | Chief Information and Consulting Officer | |
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| Christine Vogel | Chief Development and Branding Officer | |
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| Dr. Urs-Rainer von Arx | Vice President and Chief Financial and Operations Officer | |
Safety and Risk Management
A hallmark of AFS is its attention to managing the risks of educational exchange.
A risk is a chance that something could go wrong, and AFS puts a priority on its work to control and reduce risks for participants on AFS exchanges.
Risk Management doesn’t just mean buying insurance and talking about safety. It’s an entire system of methods and procedures that looks at where problems could occur on exchanges and how best to address them. At AFS there is a team of people focused on this goal.
Risk Management doesn’t guarantee that a difficulty can’t occur anywhere in the world, but it does head off many that might otherwise interfere with a good exchange experience. AFS uses internal tools like Quality Standards for screening and training, and external tools like professional monitoring of country conditions, to help keep risks from turning into problems.
On the occasion when something does go wrong, AFS is known for the quality of its response. If someone gets ill or hurt, for example, AFS’ excellent travel/medical program allows us to put their care first. If someone needs help in their host country, the AFS support network of thousands of returnees and volunteers provides someone local to assist. Sometimes even a problem can turn into a success, through good risk management.
International exchange is a journey for a participant into something new, and new things can bring risks. Risk Management at AFS makes it possible to embrace the new and still have a safe, successful exchange.
