Every summer since 2006, the Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellowship brings over 40 students from around the world to the United States for three weeks, to discuss current world issues and explore the ways in which they pertain to young people around the globe. Malta has been sending a representative every year, and this summer hosted a reunion for some members of the 2006 group, who recently told Mariane St-Maurice about their experiences.
Learning about the world… and each other
They had all arrived there by some sort of chance. Some had filled out applications, others had gone through interview processes, and some had been recruited. One had even written an essay just to win an iPod. Yet somehow, 45 young people from around the world found themselves in North Carolina, United States, in the summer of 2006 to discuss world issues and to debate on then current hot topics.
The students made up the first group of a programme called the Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellowship Initiative, which has since become an annual happening and has grown to encompass nearly twice as many participants. They were, in other words, the guinea pigs, or “the pioneers”, as Alexandru Sinca, a 19-year-old from Romania who was in that first group, put it.
All the students from that first year were nominated by either teachers or State officials to represent their country in a three-week stay in the United States, during which they would discuss various world issues and learn about the workings of the American government. Most participating countries sent either one or two students, while the US sent 10 representatives from different States.
The first week of their stay, the students took classes about things such as the American Constitution, which they could apply during their second week, when they visited multiple historical sites around the country. Namely, they went to Philadelphia and Washington, DC, where they had the opportunity to witness the Senate in action and ask questions about the Middle Eastern situation to a committee dedicated to that particular topic.
Of course, they also had time to do fun things, which included being interviewed by the BBC and being guests on The Voice of America, a very popular radio show, as well as going to Busch Gardens, a famous amusement park.
The main focus of the three-week programme was the third, which was made up of team debates in the Lincoln-Douglas style, or American Style. The students were put in different teams and had to research topics such as the possible addition of Turkey to the European Union, and then face each other in debates.
This was a fun activity for them, as all are outspoken and were chosen particularly for their activism and interest in the topics. “I was picked by my school because I’m one of the most argumentative of people,” said Jenny Pullicino Orlando, 19, who was sent as the Malta representative.
Dana Bloomquist, 19, had been involved in a debate team but calls her trip to North Carolina, from Minnesota, a “fluke”. A debate captain of hers had passed an application on to her, but “the form was so long I didn’t bother filling it out. Then, one night, I couldn’t sleep and decided to do it”. A few weeks later, she said, she received an email inviting her to go.
Mr Sinca from Romania was noticed at a public speaking competition and was later emailed to join the programme. For me the description looked appealing and was convincing enough for them to go on this adventure. In addition, all expenses for the trip were paid, and each student was given a weekly stipend for activities outside the programme.
The United States State Department sponsors the programme and shoulders all the costs, and obviously supporting the idea behind the programme, which now describes itself as one that “aims to foster relationships among the younger generation of Europeans, Central Asians and Americans in order to advance the global freedom agenda, to serve as a basis to build strong links and awareness of shared values, and to enable youth to face together the challenges of global circumstances in the 21st century”.
On top of all the activities aforementioned, the students who participate in the programme also have a home stay weekend in pairs, and a day of community service. During the former, they live with an American family and do different activities such as canoeing, hiking, or simply learning the ways of their host family. The day of community service gives them the chance to help out with different things in small groups, such as working in a potato field, in orphanages, a kindergarten for disadvantaged children and in food factories. Helping others always gives a good feeling, as the 2006 crew seemed to have had a lot of fun doing their respective activities.
Out of everything they get from the programme, however, it seems that the most important is meeting each other. Two years after their experience in North Carolina, the “pioneers” of the programme continue to keep in touch and have an annual reunion in one of the students’ country. Last year, they met for two-and-a-half weeks in Denmark; this year, they spent the same amount of time, at the same time of year, in Malta, and next year will do the same in Slovenia.
The idea of meeting every year originated in 2006, when the group just wanted that summer to never end. However, unable to defy time, they instead agreed to keep in touch and meet every year. Last summer, while in Denmark, they blogged and posted videos and advice on the web to help the 2007 group, who was meeting at the same time in the United States for their three-week experience.
This year, touring Malta together, the students look like a group of lifelong friends on a holiday. “We were strangers,” said Mr Sinca, before Ms Pullicino Orlando finished “but we all clicked immediately.”
Although the programme provided the students with an opportunity to learn about important issues and debate hot topics, and continues to do so for other students every year, the most important part was the relationships that are fostered, and turn lucky acquaintances into overseas bonds of friendship.