The importance of reciprocating volunteer efforts
Marcel Mauss, a French sociologist, wrote an essay in 1925 titled The Gift, which analyzed the role that exchange plays in building social relationships. Mauss found that despite the assumption…
Author: AFS Intercultural Programs
Thank you to our amazing AFS volunteers!
Dear AFS Volunteers and AFS Organization Development Teams, AFS volunteers are critical to educating and empowering people of all ages to take their first steps as global citizens through our…
5 things to know about study abroad today
Study abroad is an important and life-changing experience that broadens people’s horizons and helps them develop skills needed to function in a globalized world. At the end of October I…
Helping the World Learn to Live Together
Intercultural understanding is a powerful and productive tool for building a more just and peaceful world. At AFS, we are united by our commitment to our learning to live together philosophy.…
My new family in the Caribbean
I’m spending my AFS exchange in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Two and a half months just passed by without me noticing that time is running fast. I’ve been living in a…
AFS Janus: Fall 2016 Issue
This issue of the AFS Janus features the fascinating story of Julian Allen and his long involvement with AFS, from the first year of the organization’s existence in World War…
What parenting teaches us about intercultural learning
Globalization of migration flows, shifting ideas about ethnicity and race, and intimate relations across ethnic boundaries mean that more and more of us parent children with individuals from an ethnic…
Every encounter is an intercultural experience: Linking social justice and intercultural communication
When I attended the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication (SIIC) I was excited to meet likeminded people from all over the world and to gain perspective on the sheer necessity of intercultural learning…
Becoming a local to get to know the culture
One of the best ways to get to know a culture is through the locals, you always hear this before visiting any country, and it could not be truer. But…