German-US-American Youth Exchanges – USA-Special 2022
Make a wish: What do you hope to see in the future in terms of German-American youth exchange?
the virtual exchange creates a foundation on which the youth organizations in the sister cities can build a sustai- nable, long-term relationship for further exchange and dialogue on these issues (and others) in the future, as well as in-person exchanges in their respective countries once the Covid-19 pandemic has been overcome. One of the project’s goals was to strengthen local youth engagement. One could argue that there are other ways to achieve this than transatlantic exchanges. What makes international exchanges such a unique civic learning opportunity for all parties involved? As someone who personally took part in exchange pro- grams to Germany, I believe they are extremely valuable because one is forced to step out of the daily life you con- sider to be normal and to look at issues from a different perspective. Both similarities and differences can lead to greater understanding or to finding best practices that can lead to better ideas and policies which improve the quality of life in communities. Overall, exchanges broa- den people’s horizons and openness to considering dif- ferent ways of approaching issues while simultaneously trying to solve similar challenges or take advantage of common opportunities. Looking at this from a municipal perspective, trans - atlantic exchanges can seem challenging and over- whelming, especially if built from the ground up. You are one of the initiators of the German-American Sister Cities Youth Forum . Do you have any advice for munic- ipalities who wish to go forward with their idea of a German-American youth exchange? My recommendation is to start small and to take advan- tage of virtual exchanges to start building a relationship before expanding to a larger in-person exchange that requires greater planning and funding to implement. And in terms of finding a partner in the other country for the exchange, there are 100 sister city partnerships between U.S. and German cities that can serve as a great foundation. From personal experience, each of the youth organizations approached for this project indicated that this type of exchange was on their “to do” list and was of great interest; all that was needed was someone to pick up the phone or to send an e-mail suggesting the idea. I’m also happy of course to provide more advice to anyo- ne who calls me too!
Recent elections in both the United States and Germany showed that the next generation is engaged, committed, and motivated to take action on serious issues confron- ting our local communities and the world. My wish would be that our respective governments would invest more resources and dedicate greater funding to exchange op- portunities that bring youth together to share ideas and learn from one another. Every one of the 100 sister city partnerships between Germany and the United States should have an exchange and the infrastructure to sup- port them. Our governments talk about enhanced trans- atlantic cooperation, so as one of the participants in our exchange said, “Be the change you want to be.”
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Robert Fenstermacher is Chief Content Officer with the American Council on Germany . Following multiple experiences in Germany beginning with a high school exchange in West Berlin in 1987, he has pursued a 30-year career working on German-American exchange programs.
Web: acgusa.org
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