What We Do

We connect emerging leaders from Kalamazoo (and across West Michigan) with their international peers, to learn, teach, share, and engage through our national partnerships with these programs:

​IVLP International Visitor Leadership Program U.S. Department of State’s premier professional exchange program. 

Open World Leadership Center One week home stay professional exchanges, funded through the Library of Congress and implemented through a number of agencies, including CIPUSA

CIPUSA We have implemented one month and three+ month social service exchange programs through CIPUSA since its inception in 1971.

Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program IYLEP-High School Arabic Youth leadership exchange in the summertime. Implemented in partnership with World Learning and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Outbound Exchange - Connecting Youth Development Advocates Across the Globe - We are working with partners in Singapore to bring together youth development advocates, both virtually and in person, to learn from each other and innovate in helping our next generations thrive in the world they will build.

Teen Talks Series’ of youth driven and developed teen talks between local Kalamazoo youth and peers in places such as South Africa, Iraq, Ireland, Singapore, Kenya and Germany. This initiative allows Global Ties Kalamazoo to collaborate with local partners to leverage international networks for the benefit of youth.