Our journey began for 4 World Link staff and 14 coordinators in Chicago for two days of planning and discussions about the World Link FLEX and YES Programs for next year. We were then off to Georgia and Turkey on the second phase of our annual training. While in Georgia (FLEX Country) we meet with alumni, immersed ourselves in Georgian culture, visited schools that our students come from and interacted with the people that are responsible for implementing the recruitment and alumni portions of the program. From our vantage point overlooking Tbilisi we talked with our former students about what program elements that they experienced in the USA had an impact on their careers and on the communities and country.
After four days of Georgian cultural immersion, we had a short flight to Istanbul, Turkey- a YES Country for three days of immersion and interaction in the Turkish culture. We stayed in the Sultanahmet area on the European side that was once the end of the Roman Empire and later the home of the Ottoman Empire. There is no better place to experience how cultures with their religious influences have managed to coexist over more than 1,000 years.
Please visit our Cross-Cultural Diversity Immersion Workshop 2015 blog site that is dedicated to continuing to tell the stories of our amazing cultural experiences as well as the stories of our amazing alumni that we had the honor to reunite with. Go to our World Link Facebook Page to see more photos from our travels! We hope you enjoy!
