Gloria Majiga-Kamoto was selected for her work tackling the plastics industry and galvanizing a grassroots movement in support of a national ban on thin plastics, a type of single-use plastic. Her “great awakening,” as NPR notes, came when she saw how discarded plastics were killing local goats and affecting people's livelihoods and health. As a result of her dedicated campaigning, in July 2019, Malawi’s High Court upheld the ban on the production, importation, distribution, and use of thin plastics.

You can learn more about Gloria and her efforts on the Goldman Prize website.

Thai Van Nguyen’s journey to protect pangolins began when he was 8 years old. That was when he saw a baby pangolin and its mom being caught and killed by neighbors in his village.

Pangolins are the world's most trafficked mammal, prized as a food and medicinal source. Experts estimate that more than a million pangolins have been snatched from the wild in the past decade, threatening the species with extinction.

Thai founded Save Vietnam’s Wildlife in 2014 to help save the species. Through his leadership, the organization has rescued 1,540 pangolins from illegal wildlife trade and significantly reduced illegal poaching activities.

As Thai notes in his acceptance speech for the prize, “Thinking is not enough. Please take action.”

You can learn more about Thai’s efforts on the Goldman Prize website.

• Read more about Goats, Pangolins, and Green Nobels

In November 2019, Lar Phar Dee (“Dee Dee”) attended TechCamp Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar, where he hoped to learn how to use his blossoming career as a social media influencer to impact the world. Neither Dee nor the rest of the world could have imagined the havoc that would overtake both the world and Dee’s own country, Burma, in the year to come.

Born in a rural village, Dee grew up in his town’s only home with a generator. “I never thought I’d be able to go to a city,” he said. However, when he was 16, Dee moved to Burma’s largest city, Rangoon, where he walked hours every day to learn English from a youth pastor.

After three months of studying, Dee passed the entry exam to study for a diploma in construction engineering in Singapore. As soon as he arrived, he knew he was in a very different place from his home country. “When the taxi driver opened the door, I was shocked!” he recalled. “All the taxis had air conditioning!”

For three years, Dee balanced school alongside a part-time job to afford room and board. After finishing his studies in Singapore, he was accepted at the University of Wollongong in Australia, where he studied civil engineering. While he was there, Dee started creating videos and blogs to document his time studying abroad. In less than a year, he had over one million followers on Facebook, the most-used social media platform in Burma.

TechCamp Mongolia

In 2019, Dee was invited to participate in TechCamp Mongolia: “Countering Disinformation with Collective Innovation.”

 

 

At the TechCamp, participants joined in “Speed Geeking” sessions with industry professionals who discussed topics including creating social media campaigns, digital storytelling, design thinking, and media monitoring to combat disinformation.

For Dee, some of the most valuable skills he obtained were learning how to verify the information he shared and provide references for his viewers to do their own research. “I learned how to recognize fake news and give credit to everyone I reference,” Dee said. “If I want to talk about a book I read, I give credit to the authors. I always speak to my audience very honestly.”

As a culminating piece to his time at TechCamp Mongolia, Dee created a video explaining his strategies for improving engagement on social media. The number one tip? “Be authentic,” he says. “People are tired of fake news, fake articles, fake YouTubers, and fake personalities.”

While others created projects related to news media, Dee said that he wanted to make something relevant to his own work. “I’m a creator and storyteller,” he said. “Wherever I go, I make videos.”

Dee also connected deeply with the other participants in the TechCamp. On the first night, after the program’s welcome dinner, a Mongolian singer performed and the participants joined in with karaoke. “After singing, dancing, and drinking,” said Dee, “we all sat in a circle and talked until two in the morning.” Dee found a particular connection with fellow participants from Nepal and Bhutan, some of whom he is still in touch with.

However, in early 2021, Dee and many other Burma citizens found themselves cut off from the outside world.

Coup and Shutdown in Burma

On February 1, 2021, the Burma military took control of the country through a coup d’etat and detained many of Burma’s elected officials, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. The coup triggered nationwide protests, which the military responded to with a brutal crackdown. Security forces have killed at least 800 people since the coup. Large-scale protests began in February 2021, as the people of Burma rejected military rule.

The Burma military also intermittently shuts down the internet and social media in Burma. Dee, like countless others who make their name on the internet, was not able to be sure that he could maintain his following and post consistently and safely. When the government began releasing the names of celebrities to be arrested, Dee deactivated his Facebook page for two weeks.

“My best friend is on the list,” he said. “Now she is hiding somewhere in the forest.” Every night at 8pm, he would watch the releases on the national TV channel, dreading the day his own name would appear on the list.

Fearing for the safety of himself and his family, Dee escaped Burma for Thailand. “When I went to the airport, I wore two masks and a face shield,” he said. “I was worried they’d recognize my voice or face, so I didn’t even speak.”

Once he reached Thailand, Dee said, “I stopped watching the news at 8pm. I started sleeping very well.” However, he still can’t continue normal life. “Now I cannot post anything on Facebook,” he said. Dee may not be able to resume his work as an influencer for six months or longer.

In the meantime, Dee plans to study for his Master’s in Business Administration. “After I finish my MBA and if the world is in a better place,” he said, “I’ll travel around the world and make documentaries.”

Freedoms of the press and of speech, both important themes at the 2019 TechCamp Mongolia, are close to Dee’s heart these days. “Everyone has their own opinions and can say how they feel, as long as they don’t attack other people,” he said. “I don’t want to do harm to others, but I always speak up.”

Dee feels that it is important to be true to himself and open with others about his sexual orientation. “I came out as bisexual the day I returned to Burma [Burma] from Australia back in 2018,” he said.

Fortunately, Dee found support in his online community. Dee’s followers, some of whom were closeted LGBTQ people themselves, used his video as a way to share their feelings. “When I came out online, more than 5k people shared my video and said, ‘Me too,’” he recalled. “It made me so happy. They were afraid to say they were bi or gay, so they shared my video post.”

Dee also found a supportive community in his cohort at TechCamp Mongolia. “One of the organizers at the American Embassy was also gay. We sat together and talked about LGBT communities in Mongolia and Burma,” Dee said.

However, Burma’s conservative society brought challenges to being out of the closet. Although most of his young social media followers had been accepting online, says Dee, he encountered discrimination when he returned home. “For the first three months, I was open about it. But after six months, I lost confidence,” Dee said. “I was disappointed in them for not accepting who I am. People would say, ‘this guy is bi, he’s gay. Don’t work with him.’”

One result of discrimination against LGBT people in Burma is the spread of HIV/AIDS. “People are embarrassed to go to the clinic,” explained Dee. “Most people don’t know they have chlamydia, syphilis, or another STD. People don’t talk much about sex education.”

Recently, Dee began working with a nonprofit organization in Bangkok to promote Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, or PrEP, a drug that can prevent HIV. Dee produces videos to increase awareness in the LGBT community of PrEP’s usage and availability. “We hope to reduce HIV cases in Burma,” he explained. “At the moment there’s many HIV cases. I have two friends who have been affected by it.”

Dee also expresses his support to fellow members of the LGBT community in Burma, especially by speaking out against stereotypical portrayals of gay characters in Burmese films. In addition, he is dedicated to promoting sex education and the use of PrEP for youth and LGBT people in Burma.

To other LGBT people in Burma, Dee says: “I wish the best for them. I hope they are happy with who they are and that they can have the freedom to express their sexuality. All I wish for is the safety and acceptance of my community in Burma.”

Fundraising for Kayah State

Even more recently, Dee has also put his efforts into fundraising for the civil war-stricken state of Kayah in Burma. The war has internally displaced over 100,000 residents into refugee camps and forest hideaways.

Dee, having seen Kayah state’s plight on social media, decided to help by leveraging his follower base to raise funds for the cause.

“I connected with an NGO from Thailand that was supposed to help the refugees,” Dee said. “But they were very slow.” Due to bureaucratic slowdowns, the NGO wouldn’t be able to send help for at least two weeks— too long for the displaced residents.

Dee decided to take matters into his own hands. In two weeks, he raised over $60,000 U.S. Dollars and used the funds to buy food and supplies for over 15,000 women, children, and elders.

• Read more about From TechCamp to Thailand: A Burmese Blogger’s Story

As part of the U.S. Department of State’s Climate Crisis Communications Campaign, we are seeking 20-second videos from exchange alumni who would be willing to speak about the need for world leaders to take ambitious steps to combat the climate crisis. Alumni may also talk about why they are passionate about tackling the climate crisis.

These videos will serve as a scene setter in the lead up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in November 2021. Speakers of all genders, age, and ethnic diversity are welcome. 

The deadline to submit your video to this Box link is Friday, June 25 by 5:00 PM EST.  

Your brief video should answer one of the following questions:

• Why is now the time for world leaders to work together to boldly tackle the climate crisis?
• Why do you care about tackling the climate crisis?

Begin your response by putting the question in your answer:

• Example: “Combating the climate crisis today matters because...”
• Example: “Working together to solve the climate crisis is important because...”
• Example: “World leaders can’t afford to put off climate action any longer because...”

Video Submission Requirements: 

1. Each video should be no more than 20 seconds in length
2. All submissions must be in English
3. Anyone who submits a video must also fill out a waiver/consent form
4. Submissions are open to foreign or U.S. video contributors

• Read more about Calling All Exchange Alumni – Submit Your Video on Bold Climate Action Now!

From a shy girl who refuses to die to the impact of alumni funding, learn about the top three winners of “YALI at 10: My Life, My Community, and My World.” This creative competition was organized by the U.S. State Department, in partnership with the Wilson Center, to demonstrate how YALI has impacted YALI alumni, their personal and professional development, and their communities and around the world.

Out of more than 200 submissions of short essays, videos, poems, songs, and sketches that demonstrated personal reflection, growth, and what being part of the YALI network has meant to them, 15 winners were selected and announced at the YALI 10 Virtual Summit. Out of these 15 recipients, here is a closer look at the top three winners:  

• Dr. Chidzani Mbenge, a 2019 Mandela Washington Fellow who wrote The Shy Girl Who Refuses To Die Shy, is a medical doctor specializing in public health medicine whose broader interests include medical research, preventive medicine, and health policy. She is part of Botswana’s COVID-19 national contact tracing team, and she is also a student mentor and community development advocate. 

• 

  Uche Kenneth Udekwe, a 2018 YALI Regional Leadership Center (RLC) alumnus who produced How YALI has Impacted My Community and My Country, is an SDG health advocate, social entrepreneur, and the CEO/Founder of Natal Cares. With a master’s degree focused around Information and Communications Technologies for Development (ICTD), Uche speaks six Nigerian languages fluently and is passionate about using ICTD to solve humanity’s greatest challenges.

  Watch Uche’s winning video, How YALI has Impacted My Community and My Country:

  
   

• Hyasintha Ntuyeko, a 2015 Mandela Washington Fellow who wrote Her Period Doesn't Measure Her Potential, is a social entrepreneur and registered professional engineer. After finishing her first degree at St. Joseph College of Engineering and Technology, Hyasintha went on to found Kasole Secrets Company LTD, which develops innovative solutions to address the menstrual health crisis in Tanzania.

  
  Here's an excerpt from Hyasintha’s winning essay, Her Period Doesn't Measure Her Potential:

  For the past 6 years since my participation in the Fellowship; am so very proud that I was able to scale up my business as well as Menstrual programs to the degree that is really impactful. My first funding for Menstrual programs came from the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania ($10,000); and thereafter we have been trusted and managed to receive up to $70,000 per single Menstrual program from other partners. The leadership skills and practice gained through fellowship helped me to run and grow my team and secure local and international partnerships, something which really increased our revenue up to 10 times.

Congratulations to all the winners of the creative competition and cheers to our YALI exchange alumni!

• Read more about Creative Competition Reflects Diversity and Talent of YALI Network Alumni

When Fulbright Scholarship alumnus Zahi Hawass and his team of archaeologists began excavating in Luxor, Egypt in  2020, they were hoping to find the mortuary temple of King Tutankhamun - or King Tut, as the ancient Egyptian pharaoh is known. But when they came across mud brick formations within weeks of beginning their dig, they realized they had    stumbled upon something far greater.

The mud brick formations the team discovered eventually unveiled to them a large, well-preserved city that was soon  found to be home to a civilization nearly 3,500 years old.

“This is really a large city that was lost...the inscription that was found inside here says that this city was called ‘The  dazzling Aten’,” said Zahi, who led the team’s excavation on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor.

Thanks to inscriptions on wine vessels and mud bricks marked with the seal of a pharaonic cartouche, Zahi was able to  date the excavation site to Amenhotep III of the 18th dynasty, whose reign is considered a golden era for ancient Egypt.  This pharaoh, who was in power from around 1386 to 1353 BC, was also the grandfather of Tut, the famed boy king.

Zahi, the former Minister of Antiquities in Egypt, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 1983 to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Master of Arts degree in Egyptology and Syro-Palestinian Archaeology.

Now, as the director of ongoing excavations at Giza, Saqqara, and the Valley of the Kings, Zahi works as a guest lecturer in archaeology and a writer for various articles and newspapers. Chronicling the recent excavations throughout the region, Zahi hopes to draw in tourism in Egypt by highlighting the country’s archaeological discoveries.

Within the newly unveiled city, Zahi’s team also identified several neighborhoods that housed residential and administrative areas, as well as a large bakery, a workshop used to produce bricks and jewelry, and a cemetery. Human remains in the city were uncovered as well – further proving that life in the small city existed nearly four centuries ago.

When asked about his most recent excavation in Luxor, Zahi reflected that this finding could be considered “the most important discovery” since King Tut’s tomb was unearthed in 1922. As excavations continue, he said, he hopes to discover whether or not the city was repopulated once Tut re-established Thebes as the capital.

“The mission expects to uncover untouched tombs filled with treasures,” said Zahi. “Only further excavations of the area will reveal what truly happened 3,500 years ago.”

• Read more about Making History Through a Momentous Discovery

For the last six years, Fisha Rashid - an alumna of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) program and founder of the Big BWN Project -- has been raising the bar for entrepreneurs and young professionals across Brunei. This year, in honor of Fisha’s voluntary efforts supporting business growth and community development, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II recognized Fisha as the 173rd Commonwealth Points of Light.

Fisha’s project started with an urge to help young leaders and entrepreneurs realize their own potential. Fisha said she realized that there was a “a lack of role models, low self-confidence, a lack of technical expertise, and limited access to appropriate networking and advisors” across the region. She and her team discovered a critical niche to fill – to encourage those with business ideas to take the leap and follow their passions. 

Her platform has empowered young professionals to ultimately become leaders within their communities by running and managing their own businesses. 

But the Big BWN Project doesn’t stop there. Fisha’s team has also made it a priority to implement these initiatives within local communities and to address key challenges affecting the growth of enterprises across the country, and by doing so, her team is helping to enact sustainable change to the business landscape across the country,

While Fisha is helping others to expand their skill sets and build up their confidence, she attributes much of her own professional success to her YSEALI Fellowship.

“I believe the exchange enhanced my knowledge and accelerated my professional development – especially my people skills, my critical thinking skills, and problem solving skills, which have been beneficial for my role as the link between the community and the locals,” Fisha says. 

In addition to the skills she gained throughout her exchange, Fisha notes that her fellowship opened her eyes to the impact small businesses can have – particularly by learning about the Arkansan Regional Innovation Hub, where many of the programs there inspired her to run and develop her own center in a water village in Brunei. The experience also provided access to a vast network of fellow exchange alumni she could meet and learn from – and, from whose advice she gradually refined and expanded upon to start the Big BWN Project. 

Fisha believes that local youth are the catalysts to providing significant economic impact to countries, and her work has shown first-hand the importance of supporting these youth to advance national growth and prosperity. Since 2015, the project has successfully supported more than 300 projects and community impact initiatives by bolstering access to business resources and helping youth seek out business opportunities and mentors. Fisha explains that this mission is ever-important to strengthen the resiliency of the country and to combat a growing dependency on government subsidies, as well as an increasing unemployment rate. 

Congratulations, Fisha!

You can learn more aboout Fisha’s commitment to doing more for her people and country on the Big BWN Project website. 

• Read more about Paving A Brighter Economic Future Across Brunei

“When you find something that gives you fulfillment – that money cannot give – you need to keep going,” says Saad Abid, award-winning IVLP alumnus, environmental activist, community organizer, and national surfing champion.

Saad, who has spent his life pushing the limits, found his passion when he returned to his home country of Morocco after years working abroad. He joined us on MentorTalks on June 2 to talk about his path from surfer to environmentalist and community organizer, his recent struggles, and how he’s moving forward with his latest project, Saad Sees America. 

Learn how Saad went from setting up the Bahri Association, a non-governmental organization that aims to protect the ocean and raise awareness amongst youth, to his participation in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) “Galvanizing Youth for Environmental Protection,” what he’s gained from his IVLP experience, and how we can work toward a greener future, his recent struggles.

Saad was originally inspired by his father, who played soccer and would take him to the beach during his games, and as he slowly began to take up surfing, the feeling of riding the waves struck him with a feeling of excitement and adrenaline. Surfing, to Saad, was an ever-changing environment, with each wave providing a new challenge to overcome. As he continued to surf, he learned that this skill – flexibility and the ability to adapt to new environments – would come in handy throughout life.

During MentorTalks, Saad also answered several viewer questions and shared tips from his career as an entrepreneur. Whether it’s training for an Ironman triathlon or starting one’s own business, According to Saad, it matters less what you do, “as long as you believe in what you do, and you have this feeling of fulfillment that you did something important for your country.”

• Read more about Pushing the Limits with Saad Abid

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While exploring in the Busa mountain range in the South Cotabato region in the Philippines, exchange alumnus Kier Mitchel Pitogo and his colleague Aljohn Jay Saavedra rediscovered a small population of Guttman’s Stream Frog, which was previously believed to be extinct.

According to the Herpetological Notes paper, Kier and Aljohn reported their rediscovery of what they say may be the rarest amphibian in the Philippines, and possibly, the world.

With support from USAID Philippines' biodiversity assistance program, the pair of biologists stumbled upon the frog species while traversing through the mountain range in 2021. The stream frogs were rediscovered living in the forest of Mount Busa on the island of Mindanao. They are brightly colored frogs, first identified in the wild in 1993 – but they were never seen again, until now. 

The frog species has eluded herpetologists and confused scientists who have tried – yet failed – to spot the species in the wild. Even for Indigenous peoples, who act as guides for researchers and scientists, Guttman’s Stream Frog has been impossible to identify. The local government holds no records of the species, and as a result, little is known about the frog. 

With the lack of studies on its natural history, scientists believe that the frog species occurs in “high-elevation, hard-to-access streams, and it probably has little to no tolerance to disturbance.” As a result, it has avoided scientists, making this discovery even more significant. 

Kier Mitchel Pitogo, one of the scientists, is an alumnus of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) program. “My YSEALI experience has allowed me to meet many promising young people across the region who share my passion for biodiversity,” Kier said, adding, “The cross-cultural exchange of learnings and practices improved my understanding of the many conservation issues in the world. And I think this is the beauty of exchange programs - not only [do] you get to know about others’ cultures, but also of their worldview.”

When speaking about the rediscovery of the Guttman’s Stream Frog, Kier reflected on what this means for the greater scientific community: “The most rewarding part of the rediscovery is the attention it has given to the Busa Mountain Range, which is currently being proposed as a protected area. The end goal of all my research studies in the BMR is for its protection and conservation, considering that it hosts the largest remaining primary forest block in my home region.”

Kier and his colleague’s discovery has been published in major news outlets, such as the Manila Bulletin, Philippine Star, Remate and GMA News. Little is known about Guttman’s Stream Frog, but its rediscovery emphasizes the need to protect its fragile habitat and support wildlife conservation.

Kier wants to inspire young scientists to pursue their dreams, and not lose hope. “Young people have the grit to lead in pursuing the things that we’re passionate about. I hope that my story will inspire more young people to start and lead their conservation journey. It's never too early to start.”

• Read more about YSEALI Alumnus Spearheads Mysterious Rediscovery of Rare Stream Frog

“True diplomacy, to me, is not so much about imparting knowledge,” says Carla Dirlikov Canales, internationally renowned opera singer and U.S. Arts Envoy. “It’s about learning and acquiring knowledge.” 

During her April 20 interview on MentorTalks, Carla spoke about her first time in China as an arts envoy and the tremendous impact of that exchange experience on her life. “I thought, as an opera singer, I would work more in Europe. I prepared myself linguistically and had done most of my early work there. And the first time I went to China, I was very moved by the people. There was a director who heard me on that trip as an arts envoy… who was a casting director for the National Center for Performing Arts (NCPA), and… very graciously, he offered me the chance to sing two major roles, including “Carmen”... That “Carmen” production is what has changed my life.”

Having served as a U.S. State Department Arts Envoy since 2005, Carla’s career has spanned across countries and continents – she has received worldwide acclaim and is best known for her portrayals of Bizet’s “Carmen,” which she has performed close to 100 times in over a dozen countries and at top international venues in Europe, Asia and Latin America. 

Employing music to showcase America’s rich diversity of culture and connect people have been core tenants of Carla’s career. As an artist, she sees how music connects, but she also sees the superpower of the arts: “...I think our universal [language] is our power to feel… and that’s what unites us, and music offers us a tool to explore those feelings… but ultimately, the superpower of the arts is to open our capacity to imagine, and it’s through that imagination that we can see a better world… to see a place where we don’t have the divisions, either domestically or internationally, that keep us apart…”  

How did Carla serve as a virtual envoy in 2020? Why is she advocating for a U.S. Secretary of Culture and Creative Industries? And how is she shaping the conversation around cultural diplomacy through her fellowship at Harvard? Watch Carla’s interview on MentorTalks to learn the answers to those questions and more.  

~~~

Carla Dirlikov Canales - Singer, Advocate, Entrepreneur

Carla Dirlikov Canales brings global experience bridging cultures through performing arts. She is an internationally renowned mezzo-soprano opera singer, best known for her portrayals of Bizet’s “Carmen,” which she has performed nearly 100 times in more than 12 countries. 

A social advocate and cultural entrepreneur, Carla is the founder of The Canales Project, an arts advocacy organization that uses performance and music to address issues and promote conversation about cultural exchange and identity worldwide. She served as co-creator, CEO, and artistic director of programming for the Culture Summit, a forum held in Abu Dhabi to convene arts and policy leaders from around the world on issues of cultural diplomacy and is also a long-time arts envoy for the U.S. Department of State. 

Carla has been a member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities Turnaround Arts Program, was selected by Foreign Policy Magazine as one of its 100 Leading Global Thinkers and won the Medal of Excellence from the Sphinx Organization, which was presented to her at the Supreme Court by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. In each case, she was the first opera singer ever to receive the honor. 

Carla is currently at Harvard University serving as a 2021 Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellow, the youngest fellow in the history of the program to date.

• Read more about Putting Ourselves in the Shoes of the Other

Aseel Nawafleh participated in Student to World: Art in Action during summer 2020 with her peers from Jubilee Institute in Amman, Jordan. Student to World is a virtual exchange program that engages youth in the U.S. and MENA. Youth explore global issues via activities, media resources, and stories created by their peers from around the world, and at the end of their journey, create an action plan to benefit their local and global communities. The Art in Action theme explores how art contributes to social movements and positive change. Other Student to World themes include Overcoming Bias, Pandemic, Global Hunger, Ocean Health, Human Rights, Women's Rights, Mental Health, and Sports.

Student to World demonstrates the power of virtual exchange, connecting youth who would not otherwise have exposure to the experiences of their global peers, opening their eyes, expanding their worldviews, and shifting their perspectives. Aseel describes a dramatic shift from how she was before her exchange and now. “Before this program, I was a typical Jordanian girl who never talked to someone outside her community, I barely used English as everyone I talked to speaks Arabic,” she said. “Over years, I was building this wall between myself and the world. I only knew about other countries and cultures from Wikipedia and the social media platforms I use.” When youth complete the Student to World program, they are invited to join the seat at the table program, a global community of teens that comes together to connect across distance and difference in meaningful ways. Since July, Aseel has attended over 24 hour-long seat at the table conversations – one of the most frequent participants. She also applied and was selected to be a member of the GNG Brain Trust, made up of youth representatives from 8 countries. The Brain Trust has bi-monthly meetings with GNG program staff and has worked individually and as a group to provide input on all aspects of the seat at the table program – from content, to user experience and functionality, to marketing and recruitment.

From her participation in these programs, Aseel has developed many valuable new skills and competencies, including global awareness, cross-cultural communication, and collaboration. Likewise, she reports that her experiences with both Student to World and seat at the table have developed her English proficiency, creativity, critical thinking, and leadership skills. “I can understand myself and my community in a better way now,” she said. “Communicating with people from different backgrounds and different personalities allows you to reflect on your own and understand it in a better way. This also helps you define the problems found, and defining the problem is the first step towards solving it.”

As an 11th-grader, Aseel is not yet sure where her career path will take her. However, her virtual exchange experiences have made her consider studying or working internationally. For Aseel, connecting with others has led not only to academic development but also to personal growth. She believes Student to World and seat at the table have made her a more compassionate person. “I believe that virtual exchange programs make us more compassionate. Talking to people from all around the world and [reading or] listening to their stories make you look at the world from a different perspective,” she said. “Due to the influence of the media, we usually link countries and cultures with politics, economics and stereotypes. However, when you listen to stories told by people from that country, you get to understand them and even relate to them. This influences our opinions and actions, making them more compassionate and more understanding.”

Overall, GNG programs have had a positive and unique impact on Aseel’s life. Her alumna status at such a young age highlights the way that virtual exchange provides a launching point for a lifelong opportunity for growth, to see the world and its humanity and to dream bigger.

“I would say that the biggest outcome is that [virtual exchange] has changed the way I think and look at things, I became more aware of the things happening in the world. It has made me dream bigger. This will definitely influence the decisions that I am to take in the future, without my participation things could’ve been way different,” she said.

• Read more about Developing Compassion and Dreaming Big Because of Virtual Exchange