The Value of Cultural Exchange
JT Senior Vice President Jessica Thunberg contemplates the value of cultural exchange after presenting to Greenheart International’s Alumni Global Council.
I recently had the honor of presenting on strategic communications to a group of smart, passion-driven young leaders from Bangladesh, the Philippines, Ghana, California and Georgia who are part of Greenheart International’s Alumni Global Council summit. The group spent a week in Chicago participating in a series of workshops and immersion experiences mapping out a Purpose Project they plan to undertake to make their community back home a better place.
I began by asking the group to share a little about their Purpose Project and one experience that impacted their life. Almost all shared how a cultural exchange program or international family travel as a high school student changed their life by opening their eyes to and helping them gain a better understanding of other cultures. One young man shared how he saw his homestay mom respectfully answer criticism from neighbors about her housing a Muslim. He shared that her words of compassion and understanding in response to the neighbor taught him that we all can get along, and that if it hadn’t been for that experience, he likely would not have pursued a life path in which he wants to make his community better.
Listening to these young leaders took me back to my own cultural exchange experience when I was 15 years old. I traveled to France, Germany, Switzerland and Spain through People to People, which was founded by President Eisenhower. It was my first time out of the country. During the trip, our group leader would often say, “Different isn’t good or bad. It’s just different.” This phrase resonated with me on the trip and has stuck with me my whole life.
Fast forward to 2005, when JT coordinated a trip to Moscow for a delegation of poets and authors participating in the Library of Congress Open World Leadership Center program. The goal was to strengthen cultural ties between the United States and Russia. It was an incredible experience and a reminder that we have more in common than we sometimes remember.
I recognize it’s not possible for everyone to experience a cultural exchange program, but, boy, I wish it was – because maybe, just maybe, we’d have a deeper appreciation for the fact that different isn’t bad or good. It’s just different.
I was so inspired by the Greenheart alumni. I’m confident they will succeed in changing their part of the world for the better.
PEOPLE
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