Cultural Exchange Program – Current Program : Youth V.I.B.E.

Youth V.I.B.E., Cultural Exchange Program 2018

Youth VIBE’s Vision is, “Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders” This year, our focus is on cultural exchange! Our intent is to expose Metro Atlanta Youth to opportunities that will allow them to become Global Citizens understanding and appreciating business, cultural and social differences throughout the world!

5 Benefits of the Youth V.I.B.E., Cultural Exchange Program

Learn About Different Culture: Working and interacting with Africans allows students to not only build personal relationships but also to learn about African culture from a local perspective.

Cross-cultural Skills in a Globalized World: Companies in all types of industries work with American partners and clients. There are also more diverse workplaces with people from many types of cultures working together. The Youth V.I.B.E. Cultural Exchange Program allows students to make new friendships and relationships, exercise their interpersonal skills and learn how to talk and interact with people from other cultures.

Learn in New Environments: Traveling and visiting in a new country and within an unfamiliar culture provides a great experience for students. Cultural exchange often involves adapting and learning about a new environment, and this flexibility is a helpful skill for our students before, during and after the Exchange program!

Continued Connections to the Country: Our SENEGALESE and KENYAN networks act as cultural ambassadors to our students. After experiencing life in SENEGAL and KENYA, international students may be more likely to return to the Africa to learn and do business. They also tend to stay in touch with their SENEGALESE and KENYAN friends and use improved cultural skills to make connections with African companies during future careers in America or abroad. In 2015, Senegal was the second fastest growing economy in West Africa behind Côte d’Ivoire and the fourth fastest in Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole. While Kenya’s interventions and increased spending on health and education are paying dividends and developing new young entrepreneurs, business and community leaders.

Make New Friends and Educational Connections: One of the best features of the Youth VIBE Cultural Exchange program is the chance to make new friends for a lifetime, both personally and professionally. Whether students are working side-by-side or meeting a new friend while traveling through Africa, the International Cultural Exchange Programs allows our students to make lifelong friendships and bridge the gap between East Atlanta, Senegal, and Kenya.

The old African proverb, “it takes a village to raise a child,” will always ring true. It is our intent to fulfill the charge and be a vessel for youth engagement, empowerment and entrepreneurship through international travel. We would like to take a group of 15 students to:

Dakar, Senegal – Spring Break 2018

Nairobi, Kenya – Summer 2018

to experience the life-changing world of business and being a global citizen.