YLAI 2024 Outbound Exchange Award recipient Traci Furman shares highlights from her experiences as Fellowship Placement Organization host.

We say it often and we'll say it again. What we do is explore our shared humanity together. From long-term social work placements, to short-term IVLP visits, to everything in between, we create opportunities for people in Kalamazoo to engage with the world (23 countries and counting so far this fall). Read about board member Deborah's experience in New Orleans, Alberta from Germany's placement in our organization, and new intern Sofia's thoughts on her first few weeks with us.

CIP/IJAB Fellow Alberta Brown, who is in Kalamazoo this fall for an eight-week field placement at Global Ties Kalamazoo, shares her impressions of her first four weeks in Kalamazoo.

We reflect on a busy summer including the Kalamazoo Diplomacy Begins Here Summit, IVLP groups, IYLEP year seven and more. We're also preparing for a busy fall with many home and virtual hosting opportunities

In today’s blog, we share an article about the Summit and introduce more speakers. Read this take on the Summit by local journalist Mark Wedel in Southwest Michigan's Second Wave, including some great insights from attendee Janine Branch, from FHI360, who will be coming to Kalamazoo for the very first time. It might give you more food for thought on why to attend. Register now for July 11 Summit!

We're honored to introduce several of the incredible individuals who'll be sharing their insights with our community at Kalamazoo's Diplomacy Begins Here Summit. This Summit is for everybody (that's you, Kalamazoo) and will take place on Thursday, July 11 at The Epic Center in downtown Kalamazoo. Learn more about our incredible speakers and register for our July 10 welcome reception too.

Global Ties Kalamazoo, in partnership with the U.S. Department of State and Global Ties U.S., is hosting a Diplomacy Begins Here Regional Summit in Kalamazoo, MI on July 11 (Epic Center), preceded by a welcome reception on July 10 (Kalamazoo Institute of Arts). Registration is open through July 3rd. 

Save the date — July 11-12 — Diplomacy Begins Here Summit - Global Challenges: Building Locally Driven Solutions in Kalamazoo