Creating Connections
2024 is now well underway and so are our attempts to create connections here in Kalamazoo with people around the world. Youth Ambassadors from Brazil, journalists from Gabon, and leaders from Guinea Bissau fighting human trafficking joined us so far this year, with changemakers from Armenia, Argentina, Greece, India, Lebanon and the Philippines coming to Kalamazoo later this month. We are gearing up to host our second year of YLAI, with entrepreneurs from Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, Peru, Suriname and more, spending a full month with us from March 7 through April 7. There will be so many opportunities to engage with leaders from around the world in the coming weeks and we hope that you will connect with us. Breaking bread, sharing dreams and ideas, brings us all closer together, learning from each other and finding new ways to grow, individually and as communities. Catch up on what we have been up to here below, and seek out opportunities to be citizen diplomats with us here in Kalamazoo someday soon.
Brazilian Youth Ambassadors building connections in Kalamazoo
While wintery weather here and all across the country caused travel delays for the Brazilian Youth Ambassador Program (YAP) participants, the warm welcome the Kalamazoo community offered this great group made up for it!
These 15 teens (and one adult mentor) connected with a wide swath of area organizations and individuals around a program theme of Environmentalism and Social Entrepreneurship. Thanks to Read and Write Kalamazoo (RAWK), Jerico, Loy Norrix Knight Life student journalism class, Dr. Villegas’ Race/Racism Class at Kalamazoo College, Glass Arts Kalamazoo, Francisco Villegas and Natalia Carvalho-Pinto’s session on the Kalamazoo County ID program and college readiness, Air Zoo’s Aeronautical Engineering Class and docents, and Open Roads Bike. So many local people connected profoundly with this group, especially their incredible host families. Thank you! Special thanks to the Loy Norrix students who not only collaborated with the group in a two-day project but also joined their new friends at a gathering with Global Ties Kalamazoo home hospitality host volunteers, board members, and team members.
Want to learn about the similarities and differences between high school in Brazil and Kalamazoo? Check out this Knight Life interview with program participants: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2-IcrWs8O3/?igsh=ZjVpeGNoam9qb285. You can also check out the intensive reporting Knight Life journalists did in collaboration with our 2023 YAP cohort by clicking the graphic below. We'll continue to share the content this year's group created as it's released.
Gabon journalists engage with their peers in Kalamazoo
Our first International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) project of 2024 is complete after a lovely delegation of professional journalists from Gabon joined us in Kalamazoo at the end of January!
During their two days of meetings they exchanged ideas with local media makers on the future of journalism and finding creative ways to tell impactful stories. There were also several discussions around the growing issue of media deserts in the United States and how leaders in our community are working to ensure this does not happen in Kalamazoo.
One unique opportunity this group had was connecting with emerging journalists at Loy Norrix High School's Knight Life, where one participant encouraged these future leaders by saying: "Journalism is the most beautiful job in the world... you can do what you love as a journalist and nothing is impossible."
Thanks to everyone who met with this group including Loy Norrix Knight Life, Southwest Michigan's Second Wave/ On the Ground Battle Creek, Public Media Network, WMUK 102.1 FM, and NowKalamazoo. And a huge thank you to GTKzoo board member (as well as writer, biographer, ghostwriter, and developmental editor) Leeanne Seaver for hosting the group for dinner at her home!
Do you love where you live and love to welcome guests in our community?
Did the photos of our guests from Brazil and Gabon with their hosts hit you in the feels as they did for us? Would you like to be part of forging incredible memories between our international guests and members of our community? We’d love to have you join the ranks of our meal hospitality hosts - no extra bedroom needed, just curiosity and openness.
Upcoming opportunities to engage can be found on our website at www.globaltieskzoo.org/volunteer.
What’s it like to be an IVLP participant?
Have you ever wondered what participating in an IVLP program is like for our international guests beyond their experiences here in Kalamazoo? A recent IVLP participant shared a video highlighting her many experiences all across the United States. Take a look at https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2jDdxzPkIn to see highlights from Fiafia Rex’s incredible experience representing the island of Niue (where she founded the marine mammal protection/conservation NGO Oma Tafua) on her 2023 Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development IVLP program. While her trip took her to many cities, she noted that the best meal of her trip was in a Kalamazoo home. Thanks again for hosting, Lili and family!
Rex was also “super impressed by Kalamazoo’s leadership and innovation” and noted that she was particularly inspired by Business coach Melissa Angel (BizCoach) and “learned so much from an inspiring group” at Kingdom Builders.
How do we know she loved her time in Kalamazoo? This is the look she was rocking at AZO on departure:
How many Kalamazoo-y items can you spot in this photo?
We’re deeply grateful that our community offers such warm welcomes to our international guests, creating meaningful connections both professionally and personally. On February 16, Citizen Diplomacy Day, we will be reflecting on the community of people here in Kalamazoo that engages the world through our programs, making Kalamazoo and the world a better place.
We’re looking forward to honoring these citizen diplomacy contributions at a celebratory gathering this spring. If you enjoy event planning and hospitality, we’d love to have you be part of our volunteer appreciation committee. Share your interest and/or questions with us via email at info@globaltieskzoo.org.
Keep your eyes peeled for our March newsletter, which will feature profiles of some of our home hospitality hosts and professional meeting partners, including our board Vice-President Anna Popkova.
If ensuring that #ExchangeIsForEverybody matters to you, we invite you to consider supporting our work. Click the button below to donate, or text GTKZOO to 44321.
Thank you for your support,
Jodi Hope Michaels and the Global Ties Kalamazoo Team
*This blog post was originally sent as an email newsletter Feb. 9, 2024
