From our first 30 participants in 1946 to more than 8,000 exchange participants in 2026, AFS has grown a global community of over 500,000 alumni from different educational programs– plus tens of thousands of volunteers, host family members, staff, and delegates of the AFS Youth Assembly.
These AFSers are people who – just like the volunteer Ambulance Drivers who founded the organization during WWI – understand the urgent need to create bridges of understanding across cultures, and friendships across borders.
In an increasingly interconnected yet polarized world, AFS is a global movement of people committed to making the world a more just and peaceful place. That’s why, today, AFS International is thrilled to launch the official AFS Global Alumni Community.
Get Involved with the official AFS Global Alumni Community
Connecting with an alumni network isn’t just about looking back to your experience, but a unique way to build a community for life.
- Vibrant community and lifelong connections: Reconnect with old friends, build new relationships at high-profile regional levels, and maintain a powerful community with shared values. Start by joining our social media groups: LinkedIn & Facebook.
- A Global Alumni Newsletter: Launching today, this new bi-monthly publication will land in your inbox every two months, on the last Monday of the month. It will highlight alumni milestones, feature inspiring stories from every generation, and share fresh ways to get involved across the network. You can share your personal story or update by emailing us at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you!
- Exclusive alumni benefits: Being part of this community comes with special perks, events, and resources created just for AFS global alumni. Looking ahead, you can expect global alumni awards, scholarship opportunities across AFS programs (both in-person and virtual), and alumni discounts, with more benefits — including mentorship programs — as this network grows.
Many AFSers are already engaged in AFS alumni associations in their own countries (want to reconnect with AFS where you live? Find AFS in your country!). The official Global Alumni Community is your opportunity to connect across borders with AFS alumni from all around the world.
Your Invitation: Reconnect Today!
An incredible community is only as strong as the people who participate in it. Whether you had your AFS experience five years ago or fifty years ago, your voice and your journey matter to this network.
What you can do in this Community
The AFS Global Alumni Community includes:
- A way to find fellow alumni. Connect with AFSers from your program or your city — confirm your contact info to make sure fellow alumni can find you too. Access the tool here.
- Update your information, this way, we can provide you with all of the opportunities to come.
- Career webinars, alumni reunions at the virtual, local and regional level, connecting alumni across industries and countries, and other ways to network across the global community!
The AFS effect lasts a lifetime. We are so excited to reconnect, rediscover our shared roots, and build the future of this amazing community together.
Welcome home, AFSers!
About AFS
AFS Intercultural Programs is an international, voluntary, non-governmental, non-profit organization, founded in 1914, that provides intercultural learning opportunities to help people develop the knowledge, skills, and understanding needed to create a more just and peaceful world.