We are observing this Centennial Anniversary to share our pride in the achievements of our founders—the courageous volunteer American Field Service (AFS) Ambulance Drivers who served in World Wars I and II.
We especially honor their creativity and foresight when in 1947, they transformed AFS from a wartime volunteer humanitarian aid program to a groundbreaking international high school student exchange program with a noble vision: to help build a more peaceful world by promoting understanding among cultures.
Since 1947, millions of young women and men, families, volunteers, and teachers have taken their first steps to becoming global citizens by joining an extended global family through AFS.
As we commemorate our past, we confidently face the future, pledging to make our intercultural learning, exchanges and volunteer programs even more inclusive and innovative.
We invite all the members of the AFS family, and our friends and supporters around the world, to celebrate our Centennial Anniversary—and work with us to make AFS even better in our second century.
Vincenzo Morlini, President and CEO, AFS Intercultural Programs.