Recap: Intercultural Exchange Program 2022
For a second consecutive summer our Intercultural Exchange Program brought together over 200 high schoolers across 24 countries for four weeks of cross-cultural learning and friendship. Each week, participants explored a different global issue including Culture, Mental Health, LGBTQ+ Rights, and Education.
Just like our first Intercultural Exchange Program, students were matched with a peer from a different country for the entirety of the program as Cultural Partners. Each week, these partners engaged in one-on-one discussions about the status of the week’s global issue in their respective home countries.
Additionally, students had the option each week to be matched randomly with an international peer for a friendly Culture Coffee Chat. Discussion guides were provided to help steer conversations between Culture Partners and Culture Coffee Chat partners.
Below are the global issues covered each week:
Week 1: Culture (What is culture and what does it mean to investigate issues through a cultural lens?)
Week 2: Mental Health
Week 3: LGBTQ+ Rights
Week 4: Education
Following discussions on the topics above, participants were encouraged to make a brief and insightful presentation to demonstrate how each global issues is present within their partners home country. In a new addition to this year’s program, we also offered beginner classes in 9 languages through a collaboration with Fluency for Teens.
At the conclusion of the program, Zaian Jannat Hussain from Bangladesh, Alisha Kumar from the US, Aneesh Sriram from India, Azka Sarmad from Pakistan, and Hiba Zwaine from Lebanon were recognized as our inaugural Global Scholar Award recipients. The Global Scholar Award recognizes the most actively engaged, dedicated, and consistent contributors to our Intercultural Exchange Program. Each of the recipients received a $50 scholarship reward.
