Canadiana Fest is only 2 days away, and we look forward to seeing you there! Stop by our table to grab some swag, play a game, & ask about hosting opportunities including the Latin American Youth Ambassadors program Oct. 26 - Nov. 5! Visit canadianafest.fun to learn more!

We're having a blast celebrating our community with our social worker guests from Germany. Pictured here are the last Night Market of the year and Saturday's Canadiana Fest. If you spot this great group out and about, be sure to say "Hi," or "Guten tag" if you sprich Deutsch.

Congrats to Alec (Sarkozy Bakery), Joshua (Room 35) and Traci (Public Media Network). We love that these three Kalamazooans will be participating in YLAINetwork's Outbound Exchange to Trinidad and Tobago, Peru and Bolivia respectively. Yay to meaningful continued collaborations!

Our Program Manager Emma and board member Deborah had an amazing experience in New Orleans at this year's second Diplomacy Begins Here Summit hosted by Global New Orleans in partnership with Global Ties U.S. and the Department of State. See their reflections at linkedin.com/company/global…

Public art meets storytelling in the traveling #ImpactofExchange exhibit that makes its fifth and final stop at Marshall University today. Learn more at gties.us/ImpactWV

Global Ties Kalamazoo is thrilled to have Alberta Brown spending eight weeks with us in a Council of International Programs USA/IJAB work placement program. Check out her experiences so far in a blog sharing some highlights of her stay in Kalamazoo --globaltieskzoo.org/blog/cipusaija….

It's officially fall, and it's starting to feel like it, too. 🍂 If you love everything about this time of year in our region, there's nothing better than sharing that love of local with an international guest. We have hosting opportunities for everyone at globaltieskzoo.org/volunteer

It's World Teachers' Day tomorrow, and we're so excited to welcome education leaders from Switzerland and the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to Kalamazoo this week. Is there an educator who made a big impact in your life? Share your gratitude in the comments!

We had a very fun and action packed day yesterday with a IVLP group from Switzerland focused on Promoting Teaching and Learning in Diverse Classrooms at Milwood Elementary and The Kalamazoo Promise.

The application period for 2025 U.S. Youth Ambassadors Outbound Exchange opportunity for U.S. youth aged 15-17 (and adult mentors to accompany these cohorts) is open now, with priority through Oct. 21 and final deadline Nov. 11.

We are so proud of Gonzalo for being selected as a winner in the Humanitarian category in MIT Technology Review's Innovators under 35 for 2024. Congrats to all the YLAINetwork alums who won this year. Interested in hosting a YLAI fellow in 2025? Email [email protected]!

We can't believe we only have one more week to spend with this year's CIP/IJAB cohort. This eight-week-long program has flown by quickly, and Kalamazoo will miss our friends from Germany, pictured here volunteering at Open Roads Bike Program.

Our hearts are so full following yesterday's farewell gathering with this year's CIP/IJAB cohort at The HUB. Thanks to all the home and professional hosts, GTKzoo board members, and community members who joined us. See more of their visit at: flickr.com/photos/cikalam…

Bienvenido a Kalamazoo, #LAYA2024! Welcome to Kalamazoo, LAYA 2024, and thanks to the host families who welcomed these youth ambassadors with open hearts and open arms at the Kalamazoo airport yesterday. We're so excited to spend the next 10 days with this great group.

It's been such a joy connecting this IVLP cohort with their peers in our community. See photos from their time in Kalamazoo at: flickr.com/photos/cikalam…

You haven't heard from us in awhile, and that's because it's been an explosive time of community building, hosting everyone from everywhere all at once, with eight programs overlapping across the past three weeks Stay tuned for more updates about what we have been up to!