A Letter From the President

World Learning changes lives.

That sounds like a bold claim, but I have the good fortune of observing examples of deep change emerging from our programs around the world every day.

Consider the story of Nadine Channaoui, a fall 2008 student on our SIT Study Abroad program Bolivia: Multiculturalism, Globalization, and Social Change. During her program, she conducted Independent Study Project research on the plight of migrant children. Through this work, she learned about the lack of literature available to children in local languages. Working with people in the local community, she wrote and illustrated a bilingual children's book (Spanish-English). Her effort galvanized other students, who wrote and illustrated a series of seven children's books. Over the last year, she has worked with a team of World Learning staff, local community members, family, and friends to raise money to publish the books. Together they have set up a Web site and are working with bookstores in the United States to sell copies, which allows them to send books to Bolivia.

Nadine's work is making an impact in Bolivia, but it has also changed lives closer to home by making others more aware of and concerned about the world beyond their backyards and borders. She has also demonstrated the power of relationships across borders that endure and continuously take on new meaning.

This is just one example of the cascade of change inspired by World Learning’s programs.

Our programs help people, institutions, and communities to develop the concern, the knowledge, and the commitment to create a more peaceful and just world. We accomplish this progress in four ways:

• We send young people abroad on academic and cultural exchanges that explore critical global issues. This year, close to 3,000 students will participate in The Experiment in International Living and SIT Study Abroad programs in more than 50 countries around the world. Through their experiences they will build bridges across cultures that will last for decades.
• We welcome international visitors and students to the United States for exchanges and academic programs. Among the more than 1,000 visitors this year will be French-speaking Africans studying good governance, Central Asians looking at ways to promote peace through arts, and a group of Turkish and Armenian high school basketball players. Every program promotes mutual understanding and cooperation, while also helping participants acquire the skills and knowledge needed to create strong societies.
• We implement international development programs. Each of these programs works at the local level to educate individuals and strengthen the capacity of communities and institutions. For example, in Ethiopia we are working with teachers to enhance the ability of schools to support orphaned children, while across Eastern Europe, we are implementing training programs on topics of importance to local governments.
• We deliver graduate and professional programs through SIT Graduate Institute. This year more than 600 students will participate in programs that prepare them to be agents of social change. They will study sustainable development, conflict transformation, international education, management, teaching languages, and intercultural relations and social justice.

At its core, World Learning is about bridging cultures and transforming lives. We bring people together across cultures to exchange learning and build friendships, and in doing so transform the lives of all who are involved. From program participants to homestay families to our faculty and staff, lives are changed as people acquire a deeper understanding of themselves and the critical issues that are shaping our world.

As I travel to visit the thousands of people who are part of the World Learning family, I am continually humbled. These individuals and communities demonstrate that people of good will and commitment to the fundamental dignity of human life can be a powerful, sustaining light in the world. They are forward-looking, seeing the world not only as it is, but as it could be. They have chosen to be agents of change.

I feel fortunate to be a member of the World Learning community and welcome you to be part of it as well.

Adam Weinberg
President and CEO