From the pre-program survey of the participants, we learnt that:
- Over 70% of the students are “curious and sensitive when approaching a different culture”, “willing to accept each other’s unique differences, while enjoy similarities”, “believe a deeper understanding of different cultures helps your personal growth” and “willing to contribute time and energy to build a better world for all humans and living things on earth”.
- Around 50% of the students “can apply some culture-specific knowledge to improve cultural awareness”, “can identify some non-verbal communication styles to gain understand of someone’s culture” and “know the basic definition of culture and apply simple measurements to describe one’s culture”.
- Only around 40% of the students are “aware of my ability to influence the world”.
Students obviously have interests and are willing to learn more about inter-cultures. However, they need tools and resources to uncover their potential ability to contribute and influence the world.
We, AFS are serving as one of the best learning platforms in providing intercultural learning with a variety of programs since 1914.