We are in the business of humanization and this opportunity to directly engage across difference, in our small corner of the world, is a small step that we can take to combat all forms of othering. As you will read, we have grown our board, are about to host young Jordanian leaders through UJLEP, and have many people coming to Kalamazoo from across the world with whom you can engage in Kalamazoo over the coming weeks and months.

It’s been a busy and inspiring month for our team and program participants alike as we opened up with our largest ever Kalamazoo contingent attending the Global Ties U.S. National Meeting, welcomed YLAI 2024 and prepare for lots of spring activity.

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

As we begin the new year, we hope for more peace and joy. We reflect on just how much we were able to connect and explore our shared humanity through our work here locally in 2023.

We welcomed a record number of guests to Kalamazoo last month — more than 100 people from all across the world in nine distinct programs creating meaningful connections.

So many updates! Features about our work, StoryCorps conversations to listen to, and some ten delegations from all over the world coming to Kalamazoo this fall.

Reflecting on our busy summer, saying farewell to Yesenia, and sharing fall plans.

June went by in the blink of an eye and here we are in mid-July. We had our first YLAI cohort, welcomed our new Program Manager, and hosted several IVLPs