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AIFS Global
Awareness Invites Southport Residents to
"Get Involved" for International Education Week
Press
Release
November 12, 2005 – Southport,
North Carolina (NC) - The
American Institute For Foreign Study (AIFS) is inviting Southport
residents to get involved in international education to celebrate
International Education Week 2005 (November 14-18).
AIFS Global Awareness, a grass
roots educational program that promotes multicultural understanding
throughout the world, will celebrate its one-year anniversary during
International Education Week (IEW). To commemorate both events, AIFS
is issuing this call to action to help teach children and adults
alike about the world beyond their own countries. A new website has
been launched for IEW, full of Global Awareness stories, photos, and
ways for everyone to get involved. The new site is located at
http://www.globalawareness.com/iew/
International Education Week
is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of
Educational and Cultural Affairs and the U.S. Department of
Education.
The Global Awareness program
is dedicated to educating people about different countries,
cultures, and customs through interaction, communication and
experience with exchange program participants from around the world.
With Global Awareness, AIFS, a leading international exchange
organization, will help to eliminate stereotypes. Through this
effort, AIFS hopes to combat anti-American sentiment and improve
relationships around the world.
Global Awareness and AIFS join
the worldwide celebration of IEW, a week which offers a unique
opportunity to reach out to people in every nation, to develop a
broader understanding of world cultures and languages, and to
reiterate the conviction that enduring friendships and partnerships
created through international education and exchange are important
for a secure future. IEW is designed to promote programs that
prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future
leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the
United States. AIFS offers a myriad of such programs and is hopeful
that, through these programs and their participants, the world can
be changed for the better. Since its founding in 1964, AIFS has
provided exchange opportunities for more than one million
participants.
"The timing is perfect,"
remarks William Gertz, President and CEO of AIFS. "This is a very
special week for the international education community and our
Global Awareness campaign to help ensure that the mission and
message of International Education Week is understood."
How Students Can Get
Involved
Through AIFS, Southport students have many opportunities to get
involved and help make an impact on the world. Academic Year in
America (AYA), sponsored by the AIFS Foundation, facilitates
exchange programs for hundreds of high school students around the
world. AIFS Summer Advantage enables high school students to spend
their summer abroad in six exciting locations. College students are
able to choose from more than 20 programs and locations and spend a
semester, year, or summer abroad. The Global Adventures Project
(GAP) is an exciting volunteer program where students spend three to
twelve months of their 'gap' year in Brazil, South Africa, India or
Australia.
How the Community Can Get
Involved
AIFS also offers opportunities for non-students in the Southport
area to join the celebration of international education. Families
can open their hearts and minds by hosting an exchange student with
AYA or volunteer as a Local Coordinator. Families in need of
childcare can explore the option of Au Pair in America, AIFS'
live-in childcare solution. This exchange program also helps teach
children international education skills, including the learning of
other languages, cultures, and traditions.
Au Pair in America has
launched "Meet Your Global Neighbor," a Global Awareness program
dedicated to educating American students about cultures and customs
in different countries through interaction with au pairs from around
the world. Participating au pairs engage in classroom activities and
discussions that support existing curriculum with age-appropriate
modules enhancing cultural understanding.
One Global Awareness project
saw American students studying abroad at the University of
Stellenbosch in South Africa through AIFS, volunteer to work in
Kayamandi, a poverty-stricken local township located on the
outskirts of Stellenbosch. The student volunteer efforts included
time at the primary school teaching English, doing arts and crafts
with the students, and playing sports. The outreach efforts of the
international college students in Kayamandi have led to waste
removal, construction of a basketball court, painting of the
schools, and building houses.
Another example of the Global
Awareness project in action is the Youth Exchange and Study Program
(YES), an innovative high school exchange program funded by the U.S.
Department of State's Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs.
Developed after the attacks of 9/11, YES focuses on placing students
from Muslim countries with American families and schools. AYA has
placed YES students from Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Turkey throughout America.
AIFS and its family of
companies, based in Stamford, Connecticut with offices and partners
worldwide, organizes cultural exchange programs throughout the world
for more than 50,000 students each year.
If you would like to 'get
involved' with Global Awareness and AIFS, contact Danielle Carpino
at (800) 727-2437, ext. 5168 or
dcarpino@aifs.com. Or
visit the new AIFS Global Awareness International Education Week
website at
http://www.globalawareness.com/iew/.
To learn more about
International Education Week, visit
http://iew.state.gov.
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