As you may have noticed, we occasionally share information from Alliance for International Education and Cultural Exchange. goAUPAIR is an official member of Alliance and we support the organization’s tireless efforts in support of international educational exchange.

For a better understanding of what the Alliance for International Education and Cultural Exchange organization, we wanted to share a snippet from their newly redesigned Web site.

"The Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange is an association of 79 nongovernmental organizations comprising the international educational and cultural exchange community in the United States. Founded in 1993 after a merger of the International Exchange Association and the Liaison Group for International Educational Exchange, the Alliance serves as the only collective public policy voice of the exchange community.

Our mission is to formulate and promote public policies that support the growth and well being of international exchange links between the people of the United States and other nations."

We will continue to post relevant content from Alliance on our blog to help keep our readers abreast of the latest news regarding international diplomacy and educational exchanges. Feel free to contact goAUPAIR with any questions regarding Alliance or how you can play a part in international diplomacy.

As the Obama administration and many other international organizations strive to increase international diplomacy, many are turning to non-traditional media. In order to reach youth across the world, organizations like Alliance for International Education and Cultural Exchange are using social media.

For millions, social media has become the new way of communication and for others it has become a new and effective tool for international diplomacy. Where else can you send messages, share photos, chat and interact with a worldwide community?

Recently Jared Cohen, social media expert on the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff, spoke with NPR about the place of Twitter and other social media in international relations and civil society.

"The main idea behind the Alliance of Youth Movements is to recognize that civil society has fundamentally changed. You still have your traditional NGOs and organizations that are out there doing great grassroots work. But you also have a new cadre of civil society actors, and these are the young people who, you know, they have a URL or a Web site instead of an office, they have followers and members instead of a paid staff, and they use open-source platforms instead of having a robust budget."

Social media provides an open door to reach millions of youth. For example, when Au Pairs come to the United States, they stay in contact with their family and friends primarily through Twitter, Facebook, blogs and Skype. After an Au Pair leaves a Host Family, it is not uncommon for Host Families and Au Pairs to stay connected through various forms of social media. With the ability to post pictures, comments, stories and talk for free, the world has become a little smaller with social media.

Alliance for International Education and Cultural Exchange held their annual board and membership meetings last week in Washington, D.C., October 21- 22, with a record attendance of 110 representatives from Alliance member organizations. The meetings covered new initiatives, policies and the launch of their new Web site.

Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Judith McHale, was on tap and told Alliance members at the 2009 Alliance Membership Dinner last Wednesday evening, “The single most important and valuable thing we do is exchanges.”

McHale’s comments bode well for both Au Pairs and Au Pair Agencies. As families continue to host great Au Pairs, there is no doubt that our international relations will improve.

In addition to McHale’s address, highlights of the meeting included remarks from Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO), a former exchange student who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee; the presentation of the Alliance Award to Sharon Waxman, a member of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy’s staff and an instrumental supporter of exchanges; the launch of the new Alliance website; election of new officers and board members; and significant modifications to the Alliance by-laws to allow the organization to better meet the challenges of the future.

The changes to the Alliance by-laws and governance set a tone that permeated the entire two-day event: building on the Alliance’s past success to position the organization for the future. Another significant change was also unveiled during the meeting: the Alliance’s newly redesigned Web site. With its contemporary design and expanded features, the new website aims to better serve Alliance members while reaching out to a broader and more diverse audience.

Following the task force meetings, Alliance members gathered for dinner to hear Under Secretary McHale, who continued the theme of praising past accomplishments while setting an eye on future goals. Following her praise for Alliance members’ “extraordinary work on behalf of all the exchange participants,” McHale noted she was not content with the status quo: she said that even though the Obama Administration was off to a “fast start” with regard to public diplomacy, she is looking to “continue to use our exchange programs as powerful, peaceful, and wide-ranging levers to support our long-term foreign policy goals” and to scale up many of the exchange programs on which Alliance members work.

In addition to McHale’s remarks, the Membership Dinner featured the presentation of the Alliance Award to Sharon Waxman, a former staff member for Sen. Edward Kennedy who played a crucial role in the creation of the Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program in 2002. Alliance Executive Director Michael McCarry relayed the story of the unprecedented speed at which YES was created. He attributed this to two factors: having a “master legislator” in Sen. Kennedy leading the way, and having a “fabulous staff member” in Waxman working closely with the Alliance to make it all happen. Waxman reminisced that though she has moved on to the Department of State following Sen. Kennedy’s passing, her work with him on the creation of YES and the promotion of exchanges remain some of her most enduring memories of the Senate.

As a member of the World Youth Student & Educational Travel Confederation, goAUPAIR periodically receives critical updates regarding travel and international affairs. The WYSE Travel Confederation works with its members, sector associations and partners around the globe to:

• Promote the personal, social, economic and cultural benefits of youth travel, student travel and international education
• Support the development and success of student and youth travel specialists, and the critical role they play in a multi billion Euro global niche industry.
• Develop innovative travel and educational products & services for youth and students, such as the International Student Identity Card (ISIC), language study programmes, and work abroad experiences
• Provide trading, networking and knowledge-sharing platforms

As the H1N1 Virus is still a major concern for individuals across the globe, we wanted to share the following facts from the latest email from WYSETC.

Key facts:

1. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the virus will continue to spread globally in its current form – it is a mild influenza that has a very low fatality rate. The virus has caused severe and fatal illness in young and healthy people – but the number of such cases remains extremely small.

2. At this time the WHO reports that there are no variations of the virus reported.  No cases of a more serious virus have been detected and WHO continues to advise against any travel restrictions.     

3. Governments around the world are continuing their vigilance and planning in the event of a possibility of a stronger strain of the virus and/or a ‘second wave’ involving much higher infection rates amongst the population in the coming months.

4. In preparedness for a so called ‘second wave’ of the H1N1 pandemic, coinciding with the beginning of the flu season in the northern hemisphere, UNWTO held a two day review and preparation workshop in Madrid last week on ‘Travel and Tourism under Pandemic Conditions’.

5. The WHO confirmed that in tropical climates, where the virus had arrived later, authorities needed to prepare for a rise in the number of cases.

6. UNWTO stressed the importance of transparent, timely and consistent exchange of information amongst the different stakeholders of the industry as the pandemic evolves – a role which the TERN group will continue to perform.

7. It was recommended that countries should ensure that tourism is appropriately included in overall pandemic preparedness plans.

8. UNWTO also confirmed that active responses from the workshop in Madrid included considering, developing and sharing guidelines across the sector. A strategy for safely conducting meetings and gatherings - as well as planning for the impact of high absenteeism rates at airlines and other travel suppliers were discussed - should a stronger more infectious strain of the virus occur.  We will update members on any resulting new developments.

9. Some TERN members reported continued, disruptive screening and intervention from specific authorities – if any of our members encounter such restrictions – please do advise us and we will report them in the next TERN meeting.

You can also find more information about the H1N1 virus in the Swine Flu and Health Update released by goAUPAIR in April 2009.