AFS Brazil and CISV Rio (a voluntary, nonprofit peace education organization) provided a unique opportunity for 40 Brazilian students to find meaningful ways to tackle local social changes using intercultural tools. The EFEITO+ Global Citizenship Education Workshop & Forum held in October 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, helped the teens understand the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in context of the challenges they see in their communities. The workshop was designed to empower these young community leaders and provide skills needed to implement projects and strategies to help others. Similar events continue to be organized by AFS Brazil in partnership with local city governments.

AFS Egypt piloted the Tanweer Initiative that helped 300 children in low income communities develop critical 21st century competencies, such as leadership, teamwork and intercultural communication to improve their education prospects and become more community minded. The ongoing initiative also includes creative workshops on healthy lifestyles and developing sustainable urban green spaces. Organized in collaboration with NGOs in several small villages and towns, this AFS program will be offered in more Egyptian communities throughout 2017.

AFS-USA organized an AFS Global Prep program, a short-term study abroad experience in Hungary, to teach teenagers about the refugee crisis in Europe. The participants of the program learned from networking with humanitarian organizations, such as the Hungarian Red Cross, and from first-hand experiences by organizing activities and creative workshops for children in a refugee camp. The resulting drawings and paintings are being edited into a book by AFS Hungary.

AFS Germany facilitated AFS Global Prep Intercultural Green Summer Sessions for students from around the world to engage in intercultural learning and explore climate change, upcycling, alternative energy and sustainability. During these short study abroad programs, students learned how to become more sustainable themselves and pass on knowledge upon returning home through personal blogs, school presentations and local events.

When Oxfam needed employee training on navigating intercultural encounters within the international charity’s headquarters in Brussels, the two AFS organizations in Belgium took on this intriguing assignment. AFS Belgium Flanders and AFS Belgium French helped 30 Oxfam employees discover and understand their own cultural frameworks, and appreciate cultural differences. Oxfam employees also gained valuable insights about the impact of culture in different contexts. This included learning about organizational culture as well as the diversity of cultures in a more traditional sense (ethnic, religious, socio-economic differences, etc.). Given the success of this training, Oxfam plans to replicate it beyond their headquarters.

On Global Youth Service Day 2016, AFS India volunteers educated students (from primary school through university) and adults about the importance of road safety. The community service project, Educate, Inform & Empower used dialogue, school presentations, interactive workshops and videos to reach more than 1,000 people and engage in advocacy for policies to enhance road safety.

AFS Germany’s Diversity is Everywhere project trained 60 AFS volunteers to serve as mentors to help refugee students better navigate their local schools. Funded by the German Federal Agency of Civic Education, the program was a joint effort between AFS, NGOs and other institutions determined to improve the integration of refugees in Germany. AFS volunteers supported refugees in and outside of classrooms, through workshops, counselling and group events. They also provided intercultural training for teachers who work with refugee students, and reviewed curriculums to ensure they are interculturally sensitive.

Organized by AFS Dominican Republic, Un Día Para Dar (Giving Tuesday) raised $10,600 in 2016 in the Dominican Republic and is on the path for a growing national movement embraced by an increasing number of local NGOs. The Giving Tuesday (November 29, 2016) concept is part of an international effort to raise awareness about the importance of charitable donations. AFS Dominican Republic encourages all forms of donations on that day, including blood and clothing donations, and volunteering.

More than 40 high school students from Africa received AFS scholarships to participate in the flagship AFS High School Study Abroad program and embark on a personal intercultural learning journey facilitated by AFS volunteers and staff. The scholarship will help students like Ambani Makuya from South Africa who will go on an AFS program in the Philippines because of his desire “to be a global citizen who doesn’t judge other cultures but celebrates our differences.”

New research from Intercultura (AFS Italy) demonstrates that AFS intercultural education programs foster active global citizenship. The study showed that AFS alumni are highly likely to pursue higher education and obtain a university degree. They also go on to have successful professional careers, which usually provide more opportunities for international exposure. The study was developed in cooperation with Ipsos research firm, based on an extensive survey of nearly 900 AFSers who studied abroad between 1977 and 2012. The study results were presented during The Experience That Changed My Life international conference held in Milan, Italy in October 2016, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the National Association of Principals, and Assolombarda, the local industrial union.

AFS Intercultural Programs developed a groundbreaking project, The Volunteers: Americans Join World War I, 1914–1919. Designed to celebrate the service of ambulance drivers of the American Field Service, it also encouraged young people to continue this important volunteer tradition. AFS partnered with the National World War I Museum and Memorial (Kansas, USA) to produce a touring museum exhibit and a secondary school curriculum.

Almost 100 Argentine students preparing to participate in the flagship AFS High School Study Abroad program were welcomed by the country’s highest officials in August 2016. “I hope you enjoy and learn as much as possible from this experience, because Argentina needs young people ready to take action and leave a mark,” said the President of Argentina Mauricio Macri. Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra, an AFS alumna herself, encouraged students to approach this experience with an open mind and appreciation for cultural diversity.