From Ellis Island to the United Nations, YFU volunteers from around the world came together in New York to share stories, celebrate international exchange and explore its power to create human connection, understanding and peace.
On 31 August and 1 September, YFU Australia & New Zealand’s Inbound Program Manager, Lena Hametner, joined more than 50 YFU volunteers from 20 countries at the Made Impact Storyteller Project in New York City.
The two-day experience included Storytellers Day on Ellis Island and the Made Impact Summit at the United Nations, bringing together people whose lives have been shaped by international exchange and education.
As a founding partner of Made Impact, YFU was proud to be part of an initiative dedicated to demonstrating and evidencing the transformative power of international exchange and education.
And, ultimately, it is all about the people.
“You cannot hate what you don’t know”
More than 75 years ago, YFU founder Rachel Andresen recognised something remarkably simple: you cannot hate what you don’t know.
It is an idea that feels especially relevant today.
There can be enormous distance between people — distance created by geography, culture, language, stereotypes and assumptions. When we don’t know one another, it becomes much easier to misunderstand one another.
International exchange creates an opportunity to change that.
As YFU storyteller Danila Blanco Travnicek reflected after the gathering, getting to know and understand other people requires an investment — but one that can begin simply by giving people the opportunity to share who they are and how they see the world.
This is what international exchange and education make possible.
Exchange as an investment in people
At the Made Impact Summit, the transformative potential of exchange was a recurring theme.
Made Impact founder Chris Arnold described exchange programming as a long-term strategy for peace, democracy and unlocking human potential.
For YFU, this connects directly to the organisation’s longstanding mission.
When a young person travels abroad on exchange, they don’t simply cross a geographical border.
They cross cultural boundaries.
They enter a new family, a new school and a new community. They encounter different traditions, perspectives and ways of understanding the world.
And in doing so, they have the opportunity to discover both difference and common ground.
That process takes time.
It requires curiosity.
It requires openness.
And, above all, it requires a willingness to listen.
Every exchange begins with an encounter
For many exchange students, the journey begins before they fully understand what they are embarking on.
They board a plane carrying excitement, nerves and a suitcase — but without knowing exactly how profoundly the experience might change them.
Then they meet people.
A host parent who welcomes them into a home.
A classmate who becomes a friend.
A teacher who helps them navigate a new school.
A volunteer who supports them when things become difficult.
A local community that slowly begins to feel like home.
These encounters become the stories of exchange.
And those stories can last a lifetime.
50 YFU storytellers, 20 countries, countless stories
More than 50 YFU volunteers from 20 countries joined the Made Impact events in New York.
For participants, the experience was about much more than telling individual stories. It was about recognising that all these stories are connected.
YFU storyteller Jana Brokate reflected on being surrounded by people of different ages and backgrounds, all carrying their own “books” filled with experiences of international exchange and deep human relationships across continents.
The metaphor came from Eliza Reid, author and former First Lady of Iceland, who spoke about an Icelandic saying that every person carries a “book in their belly” — stories and experiences waiting to be shared.
For YFU, the metaphor is particularly powerful.
The stories are already there.
With more than 300,000 young people having participated in YFU exchange programs worldwide, there are hundreds of thousands of exchange experiences — and millions more stories when we consider the host families, schools, friends, volunteers and communities touched by each exchange.
The challenge is not finding stories.
It is making sure those stories are heard.
From Ellis Island to the United Nations
The choice of locations made the gathering particularly powerful.
Ellis Island has long been associated with migration, journeys and people arriving in a new country in search of a different future.
At the United Nations, people from around the world gathered to discuss the challenges and possibilities facing humanity.
Between these two places, the YFU community brought a message grounded in something deeply personal:
Peace begins with people getting to know people.
At the Made Impact Summit, participants heard from an extraordinary group of voices, including Her Royal Highness Princess Dana Firas of Jordan, Eliza Reid, Deepak Ramola, April Hernandez Castillo and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jerry White.
Their stories reinforced the importance of education, connection and human understanding in creating meaningful social change.
Exchange changes more than the student
The impact of international student exchange extends far beyond the young person who travels.
When an international student comes to Australia or New Zealand, they bring their culture, experiences and perspective into their new community.
Their host family learns too.
Their classmates learn.
Their teachers learn.
Their local community gains a connection to another part of the world.
The same happens when an Australian or New Zealand student travels overseas.
This is the ripple effect of exchange.
One student can influence a family. A family can influence a school. A school can influence a community.
And those connections can continue for decades.
The stories behind international exchange
For YFU, these stories matter because international exchange is not an abstract concept.
It is thousands of individual experiences.
A student.
A host family.
A friendship.
A school.
A community.
A moment of cultural misunderstanding that becomes a moment of learning.
A relationship that crosses borders and lasts for decades.
Every story adds another piece of evidence to the wider picture of what international exchange can achieve.
This is precisely why the Made Impact Storyteller Project matters.
It gives people the opportunity to document and share the experiences that demonstrate the lasting impact of international education and cultural exchange.
Exchange matters. Stories matter. And together, they can change the world.
