Community of Practice: Connecting Youth Development Advocates Across the Globe

Global Ties Kalamazoo collaborates with local partners to leverage international networks for the benefit of youth and those who work to lift them up.

Colleagues International was originally created as a seasonal exchange program for youth workers in the WMU School of Social Work in 1971. We have continued to evolve and expand beyond our original scope to become the professional citizen diplomacy organization we are today. During this dual pandemic, we are working to extend the opportunity of meaningful international exchange experience to youth development advocates and youth in Kalamazoo with peers around the world.

At present, we are working with KYDnet, cohort members, and international leaders from Singapore, including Miruna Ranjan who visited Kalamazoo in October 2022, and are youth workers in their home country, to launch a series of exchanges (virtual and in-person) between local Kalamazoo and Singapore. We are excited about the potential of this project.