On March 3, World Learning staff participated in Alliance Advocacy Day to promote cultural exchange programs (like Global UGRAD!) and educate U.S. Members of Congress about the many benefits these programs offer. The Alliance for International Exchange is an association that brings together member organizations from across the field of international education and cultural exchange – World Learning is one of dozens! They also gather important information about how successful exchange programs are, which you can check out on their website if you’re interested.
Representing the Global UGRAD team, Sarah Halligan and Amy Broome attended the virtual conference and spoke to Congressional offices about the impacts of cultural exchange in their states and across the country. Sarah Halligan spoke with politicians from her home state of Utah, while Amy connected with those from Texas! Other World Learning members advocated in front of Ohio and Vermont politicians – it truly shows that cultural exchange is important across all corners of the US (and the world!)
Did you know that in 2018-2019 over one million international students studies in the U.S. from over 200 countries? Not only do cultural exchange programs share ideas and help individuals (international AND American) grow their skills, they also contribute $41 billion to the U.S. economy and bring more than 1.6 million hours of service to American communities. This is just one example of the important data that the Alliance for International Education tracks in their support of the field of international education. You can find even more facts on the many fact sheets that Alliance offers, here.
World Learning is proud to foster cultural exchange opportunities through the Global UGRAD Program and many other programs!