2021 Windows Newsletter Finalpdf
2021 Windows Newsletter Finalpdf
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  1. WIND   WSInside:MessagefromthePresident............................................1States'4-HPenPalProgram............................................2GoingVirtual:OnlineEvents..........................................4AcademicYearPrograms................................................7-10GetInvolved.................................................................................132021 ANNUAL NEWSLETTERSTATES' 4-H INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMSwww.states4hexchange.org800-407-3314
  2. A MESSAGE FROM THE STATES' 4-H PRESIDENTDear States' 4-H Community,Yoko KawaguchiPresident & CEOStates' 4-H International Exchange ProgramsStates’ 4-H 2021 - 2022 Board of DirectorsJeremy JohnsonDirector, Virginia 4-H ProgramVirginia Tech UniversityYoko Kawaguchi President and CEO, States’ 4-HInternationalWashingtonNancy Deringer Program Leader, 4-H Youth Development,Washington State UniversityRachel Noble Extension Specialist, 4-H YouthDevelopment,University of KentuckyLauren MoonYoung Adult Representative,KansasNicol GahleyYoung Adult Representative,OregonDr. Jeff Howard Assistant Director,University of Maryland ExtensionLearning and Organizational SystemsDirectorLupita FabregasProgram Leader, 4-H Youth Development,University of MissouriDarlene Locke Assistant Professor and ExtensionSpecialist, Youth DevelopmentTexas A & M University12020 was a year of unprecedented challenges. While thesedifficult times changed us, they did not diminish us. In fact,we came to know just how resilient, courageous, adaptableand creative humans can be. 2020 also gave us reasons to bethankful and taught us the value of community and how muchwe depend on one another to survive and to thrive. I am proudto be part of the States’ 4-H community and grateful for theperseverance and commitment of our students, host families,staff, coordinators, Board, volunteers, advocates, and international partners.We eagerly wait the return of in-person programs. However, our virtual programming has broughtus new ways to connect with new friends around the world. Virtual programs have opened a doorto many additional participants who are curious about the world but perhaps were not able toparticipate in an in-person exchange. Reaching this new audience has been one of the silverlinings of this past year.Our Pen Pal Program has connected nearly 3,300 youth from around the world and we are excitedfor this summer’s Global Exploration Series and Virtual USA Summer Camp (please read page 12for more information). Connecting with new friends around the world in a virtual space hasallowed so many new global citizens to increase their cultural awareness, empathy andunderstanding of the world. Our virtual programs have also just been plain fun. We have bakedgingerbread cookies, made bento boxes, learned about Japanese Girls' Day, and made Taiwanesepaper zhongzi. Our world is at a point where intercultural exchanges are needed more than ever. Our virtualcollaborations will build even stronger exchange programs moving into the future. The future isbright, and we cannot wait to welcome our in-person exchange programs back in 2022. Thankyou again for your support, stay healthy and safe, and stay connected with us this summer!
  3. 2020-21 PEN PAL PROGRAMS2Costa RicaNorwayJapanSouth KoreaTaiwanPhilippinesFinlandUnited StatesKosovoSwedenRomaniaIN 2020, STATES' 4-H LAUNCHED THE 'STATES' 4-H PEN PAL EXCHANGE'.NEARLY 3,300 YOUTH AROUND THE WORLD PARTICIPATED!Thirteen countries participated in the pen pal exchange program, including 4-H partners fromCosta Rica, Finland, Kosovo, Norway, Philippines, South Korea, Sweden,  Taiwan and Thailand.My favorite thing about this exchange wasgetting to learn about South Korean culture. I’lladmit, when I first found out where my pen palwas from, I realized I didn’t really know anythingabout her country!New ZealandYuno is also helping me learn some Japanese, and though I’m sureI’m butchering the pronunciation, I find it fascinating. I’ve learnedhow to say hello, goodbye, good morning, good night, how to asksomeone how they are, how to tell them my name, and many otherwords and phrases. I can even tell my dog to come in Japanese!The 4-H International Pen Pal Program this summerwas a great experience. Not only was I able to makea new friend, but I was also able to explore a newculture that I was completely unfamiliar with. I havenever traveled outside of the United States, so it wasvery interesting to hear about another country fromthe perspective of a girl my age.Thailand
  4. 2020-21 PEN PAL PROGRAMS3PROGRAM ALUMNI SHARED THEIR PHOTOS FROM THEIR PEN PAL EXCHANGESTATES' 4-H HOST SIBLINGS SHARED HOW THEY CHANGED AFTER PARTICIPATINGIN THE PEN PAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMAfter hosting an exchange student, I...(N=199)% of students025507590%Enjoyed learning about peoplewho are different from me.Became more respectful ofsomeone different from me.Am interested in workinginternationally in my career.91%62%Am interested in hosting anexchange student in thefuture.78%BY THE NUMBERSPen Pal Program HighlightsClockwise from top left: A pen pal participant from Texas writes his pen pal a letter; Snack box sentby a Japanese pen pal; Abigail and Saho sharing about each other's pets; Drawing created by a SouthKorean pen pal as a gift to her new American friend.Pen Pal Program participantswere matched with a newfriend from around the world.Through the exchange ofletters, emails, and evenboxes of snacks, participantswere able to learn about theirpen pal's culture.1,679 youthUSA723 youthJapan121 youthNorway97 youthRomania458 youthSouth Korea127 youthTaiwan
  5. GOING VIRTUAL: ONLINE EVENTSStates' 4-H hosted a virtual gingerbread baking classin order to share a special holiday tradition with theglobal community that has developed over its manydecades of exchange programming! The class tookplace virtually on December 4, 2020 and wasattended by participants scattered across the globe.Jan Brinn, long-time volunteer Coordinator withMichigan State University 4-H Extension, and herformer host sister, Grażyna Tucholska fromWarszawa-Wesoła in Poland, were asked to host themaking of these traditional Polish gingerbreadcookies virtually together. Over 200 participantsregistered including youth from Japan, Egypt,Georgia, Indonesia, and the USA. Turnout for theevent measured over 120 participants.Gingerbread BakingThe virtual Japanese Girls’ Day Celebration was acollaboration between States’ 4-H, the Soga JapanCenter at Western Michigan University, and staffand 4-H youth from Kentucky 4-H and Michigan 4-H. 295 youth and 181 adults registered toparticipate from thirty states across USA. Eachsession focused on a different aspect of Japaneseculture and explored the traditional HinamatsuriCelebration. Sessions were for all age groups withinteractive activities and opportunities toshare. The participants gained general knowledgeabout Japan, cultural awareness, a glimpse intodaily life in Japan, a cooking class, origami andsongs, and had fun while making new connectionsand gaining new skills.Japanese Girls' Day
  6. GOING VIRTUAL: ONLINE EVENTSThe States' 4-H Summer Speaker Series was a six-part online webinar series that brought participant voicesto life. Exchange students from past years shared about their experiences and the impact thatinternational exchange has had on their lives. Check out these videos on our YouTube channel!Four of the youth speakers are profiled below:States' 4-H Summer Speaker SeriesMADISON HARTUP//LEX INTERN(WISCONSIN)Madison has worked withboth LEX in Japan andWisconsin 4-HInternational Programs.BREANNABURKHEAD//KOREA OB '18(KENTUCKY)Breanna traveled to SouthKorea in the summer of2018. She is a 4-H Youth in Action award recipient.TUSHILCHAVDA//YES '19-'20(INDIA)Tushil arrived as part ofthe first-ever YESProgram cohort. He spenthis exchange year in VA.DARIAPIECYZNSKA//FLEX '18-'19(POLAND)Daria is a FLEX alumniambassador in Poland.She spent her exchangeyear in KS.International Education WeekEach year during the third week in November, exchange students across the country participate inInternational Education Week (IEW). IEW challenges students to give presentations in their host communities and share the unique aspects of their home cultures. Students model their countries'traditional dress, teach their language, and even share the unique tastes of their country. The States' 4-H FLEX and YES 2020-'21 exchange students participated in IEW 2020 virtually by creatingvideos and sharing recorded presentations about their countries. Students from Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, theRepublic of Georgia, and Egypt created content that could be widely shared throughout States' 4-H onlinecommunities, reaching even more people than usual in-person IEW presentations. States' 4-H was so impressed with the positive attitudes of these cultural ambassadors.Andien (Indonesia) created a presentation that included a shortlanguage lesson introducing some basic Palembang vocabulary.Mariam (Egypt) took us on a tour of one of Egypt's most famouscities, Alexandria.5
  7. 2020 STATES' 4-H VIRTUAL ANNUAL CONFERENCEOur newest program partner joinedthe virtual conference to introducetheir team and share details aboutour new Outbound exchangeprogram in Argentina. According toGabriel Valfre – Executive Director of4-H Argentina – Argentina is thenewest 4-H country in the world! Ournew partnership with Argentina willfeature group lodging and culturalexperiences rather than ourtraditional focus on individualhomestays.Taiwan 4-HDuring Taiwan 4-H's virtualpresentation, Secretary-GeneralCharlene Len shared about the richhistory of Taiwan 4-H, typical campactivities, and their growinginternational partnership withStates’ 4-H. Charlene also sharedabout the structure of Taiwan4-H including its 302 Farmer'sassociations and 40 Fishermen'sassociations.   Many thanks toCharlene and her wonderful programstaff!4-H ArgentinaH I G H L I G H T SH I G H L I G H T SIn a year filled withchallenging circumstances,States’ 4-H International heldits very first VirtualConference from October 7 – 9,2020. Although the formatwas adapted, the goals of theannual conference remainedthe same -- to convene oursupporters and provide aspace for mutual learning,best-practice sharing, andcommunity building.While we dearly missedseeing everyone in person,the online nature of theconference this year didprovide some uniqueopportunities forengagement.We were able to increase participant registration numbers and involve more international partnersthan ever before. Established tracks of coordinator-led breakout sessions allowed attendees to choosebetween the following topics:States’ 4-H coordinators, volunteers, and international partners.6Korea 4-HByeong-ho Kim (Director of the Korea4-H Association) joined our virtualconference to discuss the growingpartnership between Korea 4-H andStates’ 4-H, as well as his ownpersonal experience visitingWashington state in 2017. He wasjoined by Sangwon Kim, whoprovided wonderful details andanecdotes about the delegateexperience in both Korea and theUnited States.H I G H L I G H T SAdapting Programming to a Virtual Learning EnvironmentDiversity, Equity, & Inclusion in States’ 4-H ProgrammingProgram Innovations & Best Practices
  8. 2020-'21 ACADEMIC YEAR PROGRAMSMany of our year-long high school exchange students join 4-H clubs. Below, our three2020-2021 high school exchange students share what they learned about 4-H duringtheir exchange year.4-H INVOLVEMENTAYANE / JAPANI learned that being myself isvery important and when I amstruggling, nothing can changeunless I take action. Do nothesitate to ask someone forhelp and be confident. Byparticipating in 4-H programs, Icould know the differences inour culture, food, and life style.KYOSHIRO / JAPANBy participating in 4-H program,l could see all the aspects of theUS. Before I came here, I knowabout this country only on TV orthe Internet. I still can’t tell youexactly what America is, but lcan tell you what kind of peopleI met and the wonderful timethat I spent with them was.SEORIN / S. KOREA7Thanks to 4-H, I couldexperience the real Americanculture, and meet friends whohave different cultures with me.I learned how to acceptdifferences and overcome it. Itis a good chance to expandone's horizons, and theexperiences will help you.
  9. 2019-'20 ACADEMIC YEAR PROGRAMSDue to conditions created by the pandemic, the StateDepartment's Bureau of Educational and CulturalAffairs (ECA) decided to transition the Future LeadersExchange (FLEX) and Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange &Study (YES) Programs into virtual exchange programs. Participants pushed through their disappointment tofully jump into the the virtual exchange.The FLEX/YES students were matched up with volunteerhost families and 'virtual peers'. Each month, ourYES/FLEX students and their virtual host families havea few different opportunities. States' 4-H shares a discussion topic, an activity, and two webinars thatstudents and host families are welcome to attend. The overall goals of the virtual exchange are the sameas an in-person exchange - to encourage: culturalsharing, mutual understanding and respect, new relationships, cross-cultural learning, and fun!The positive attitudes of our virtual exchange studentshas been a wonder. Students have embraced thechance to connect with one another virtually and tocreate new international friendships. FLEX and YESvirtual exchange students will become full programalumni and we look forward to following their journeysas they become the leaders of tomorrow.My goals for this virtualprogramming is to promote thecultural exchange between mynative country and the U.S. and getto know American people whilesharing our interests and traditions-Mariam, Republic of Georgia(2020-2021 States' 4-HYES Program student)2020-'21 VIRTUAL ACADEMIC YEAR PROGRAMSFLEX & YES Virtual ExchangeInternational Women's Day presentation led by FLEX alumna, ViraKondratyuk (Ukraine, MT '14-'15)8Participants said goodbye to 2020 by doing a year-end wrap up triviagame. THANK YOU TO OUR VOLUNTEERVIRTUAL & IN-PERSONHOST FAMILIESFOR OUR '20-'21 ACADEMIC YEAR STUDENTS!AK: Haltom Family, Mariam/GeorgiaID: Torgersen Family, Kyoshiro/Japan;Onur/TurkeyKS: Anderson Family, Andien/IndonesiaKS: Ingalsbe Family, Hoorain/Pakistan;Zhanbuu/KyrgyzstanKS: Koch Family, Lum Yea/BangladeshKS: Magill Family, Ayane/JapanKS: Meiwes Family, Maksym/UkraineKS: Payne Family, Seorin/KoreaMT: Spaulding Family, Mariam/Egypt;Tomas/Lithuania
  10. 2019-'20 ACADEMIC YEAR PROGRAMSI will start from the end. I didn’t want to leave, I didn’t want this to come to an end,or at least not so soon. I went to the airport with a heavy, full of fear and sadness,heart. I was still far from realizing that this dream has ended.I am Viktoria Marinova from Bulgaria and I spent my exchange year in Eagle River,Alaska. If I have to describe this experience in one word, it would definitely be theword unforgettable. It started with piles of paperwork, but all that effort was worthit. The trip to the final destination was long and tiring, full of excitement andcomplicated emotions.My first couple of days were for me and my host mom to get to know each other,and to settle in this new home. Then I started school and faced some challengeswith choosing the right classes and getting used to this completely differenteducation system. I loved the yellow school buses! I was only taking classes that Ienjoyed, but my favorite one was JROTC. I loved everything about it – the PT, theuniform inspection days, the educational classes, but I most of all the people.My host family consisted of my host mom and our three dogs. I am so grateful forthis person. We built a strong life-long connection. She helped me go through myhard times, and taught me some truly useful lessons. Besides that, she kept mebusy with numerous activities. We went golfing, hiking, shopping, visiting herfriends. We also did some Alaskan things like going on a glacier tour, ice fishing,visiting nature centers – the list is endless.My exchange year was full of challenges and adventures. I enjoyed every second ofit. And I am happy that I met all these new people, and had a chance to dive in theirlifestyle and culture, while sharing my own. I loved the country and the state, I lovedthe people and the diverse cultures. I would definitely recommend to everyone, whogets a chance to experience this, to fully enjoy it. To get the most of it and to givethe most of themselves.My Year in AlaskaBy Viktoria Marinova, BulgariaViktoria (right) and her host mother, Jill, on a trip to one ofAlaska's many glaciers.Hi guys!! I’m Yamato from Japan. I was a foreign exchange student inKentucky in 2019. I'm  so happy to share with y’all about my experiencesin KY and reflections since I came back to Japan. Firstly, have you everfaced any struggles that you do not want to try or are afraid of? And ifyou have, did you ever wonder if you could transcend your ability, skill,and fear? In my case, I had a hard time fighting with mathematics eversince I was in junior high because I constantly made careless mistakesand got lower grades which lost my motivation to study. I have anunforgettable memory from my American high school when I got to aska question about the struggle that I faced. I’m very thankful to my mathteacher in Kentucky for literally changing my worldtoward mathematics. I went to her classroom every morning to askquestions that I encountered and I enjoyed that environment whichmade me want to know more about math. Thinking differently from the others is not quite easy, however, I realizethat it’s relatively easy to take what you want to see. In other words, Finding a New MeBy Yamato Yokoyama, JapanAt the beginning of this program, I was dreaming of being a global person, working at an international organizations such as theUN, where I thought I could help people who have been suffering from poverty, refugees camp, etc. These are still the goals that I'dlike to  achieve in the future, but instead of aiming to work internationally, I decided to take a little  detour to challenge differentcareers. I hopefully want to major in computer science and  business in college which is quite attractive to me, even though I havenot decided what to  do with that major specifically. I’m taking this detour to become a skillful man who can apply  techniques andexperiences to solve the problem. But for the best part is that new version of  me, pursuing the career that I did not expect in thefirst place.  Throughout this exchange year, I was updated to a new version of myself and I’d love to discover unearthed talent andpossibilities that we will face soon!!  Thank you for reading this  and hope you’re going to have a great day!!when you want to overcome something and you think you cannot handle it by yourself, you should not see the subject itself, butpeople around you because there are always friends or teachers who you can count on. This is applicable for anything regardless ofwhat you are working on so I can't wait to try new things!! Yamato (far left), with his host family, the Sizemore family. 9
  11. THANK YOU TO OUR COMMUNITY!2020 Fundraising OverviewSince 1972, over 61,000 youth across the United States have participated in a States’ 4-H exchange program. Over 8,000 of theseyouth have traveled overseas for cultural immersion programs. For the vast majority of these youth, it is their first experiencetraveling outside of the United States. The ongoing Coronavirus pandemic has drastically affected our ability to build and sustainthese life-changing exchange programs. Embedded in our work is the belief that positive youth development occurs by taking youthpeople out of their comfort zones and providing them with the chance for personal growth through experiential learning.THANK YOU, DONORS!AK: Haltom FamilyAK: Yon FamilyCA: Mora FamilyCO: Harrison FamilyCO: Karr FamilyCO: Richards FamilyHI: Chen FamilyID: Zender FamilyIL: Haning FamilyIL: Kane FamilyIL: Million FamilyIL: Miller FamilyKS: Waldren FamilyKY: Noble FamilyMI: Crawford FamilyMI: Dingledine FamilyMI: Kuhn FamilyMI: Rohrer FamilyMI: Sorgenfrei FamilyNE: Caldwell FamilyNJ: Hennig FamilySD: Hinkle FamilyVA: Byrum FamilyVA: Seibert FamilyWA: Burnham FamilyWA: Henry FamilyWI: Kempfer FamilyWI: Lendved FamilyWI: Schatzinger Family10By participating in a States’ 4-H exchange program, the next generation of young leaderswill have greater empathy and mutual understanding with people from differentbackgrounds, as well as greater cross-cultural competencies. Our programs are hugelytransformative for our participants, most of whom come from rural communities with littleto no ethnic diversity and few opportunities for international travel.States’ 4-H has always sought to keep the financial barriers to international exchange asminimal as possible for our participants. As a non-profit organization, our program fundsare reinvested into the development of future opportunities for youth. States' 4-H is verygrateful to the generous donors who contributed to support our exchange programs duringthis challenging time. A list of donors is posted on the right side of this page. We would liketo express our heartfelt gratitude to our supporters for helping to develop the nextgeneration of global citizens.
  12. LOOKING FORWARD11States' 4-H was very excited to develop a new partnership with4-H Argentina/JUVIPS Fundación. According to Gabriel Valfre –Executive Director of 4-H Argentina – Argentina is the newest 4-H country in the world!4-H Argentina is a non-profit organization that developsprogramming for under-served youth in the region of Cordoba.These programs include a music academy for students usingrecycled instruments and a soccer program to promote socialinclusion, leadership and health. 4-H Argentina wasestablished in 2015 when the JUVIPS Fundación asked theInternational 4-H Board to join the 4-H movement. Since then,4-H Argentina has continued its work implementing programsand community projects that empower young people andstrengthen the community while promoting healthierNew Partnership:Argentina 4-H/JUVIPS4-H Argentina staff and volunteers. 4-H Argentina is a non-profitorganization that develops programs for under-served youth."The School of Music is based in the periphery of Córdoba and it allows more than 60 under privileged youth to develop theirtalent as musicians or to find a path to progress in their lives. Many of them play recycled instruments made of the trashcollected from  the landfill.América Unida, the Soccer School, hosts more than 120 kids and teenagers from the northwest periphery of Córdoba to open adoor for them to social inclusion and a healthy life, and the possibility to begin a route to high sports performance."States' 4-H and 4-H Argentina have jointly developed a new exchange program opportunity for American 4-H youth. The two and ahalf-week exchange program combines volunteerism projects, language classes, cultural activities and sightseeing. Participantswill have the chance to work directly to support 4-H Argentina programming while also learning Spanish, attending an overnightcamp, and visiting 4-H clubs in and around the city of Cordoba. Participants may also have the chance to visit a working farm andparticipate in other cultural activities organized by Argentina 4-H. Unlike States' 4-H's other travel programs, the 4-H Argentinaexchange will offer group accommodations. Spanish language knowledge is recommended but not required to participate in thisprogram.The 4-H Argentina program is a unique way to develop your global perspectives, your cross-cultural competencies, and yourunderstanding of a new culture.Youth participate in one of 4-H Argentina's core projects: crafting musical instruments using recycled materials. lifestyles. 4-H Argentina has a special focus on children and young people and engage with these youths' communities andneighbors to support their programs. As described by Gabriel Valfre,Read About Our SummerPrograms on the Next Page!Staff from 4-H Argentina leading craft activities for youth inCórdoba. States' 4-H has developed a new group exchangeprogram to Argentina, beginning in summer 2022. 
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