In mid-January, the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council welcomed a group of 12 young leaders and an adult chaperone from Brazil as part of the U.S. Department of State’s Youth Ambassadors program. In 2016, this leadership program selected 50 high school-aged students in Brazil from among thousands of their peers for the opportunity to go on a month-long exchange trip to the United States. While here, the students engaged in volunteering, leadership and skill-building activities, and culture-sharing opportunities.
Pensacola’s participants stayed with nine area hosts during the 12-day duration of the local program. Thank you to Ron Archer, Dorothy & Glen Brown, Rachel Hendrix, Drew & Thuy-Thien McLaughlin, Albert & Lorenda Ortega, Joe & Melina Penta, Ben & Magali Posey, Jenn & Rusty Scott, and Jeannine Van Reeth for sharing your homes, culture, and friendship with these young guests.
The Pensacola group’s two program themes were volunteerism and social justice. They participated in theme-related related meetings, workshops, volunteer activities, cultural excursions, presentations during their time in our city.
Councilwoman Sherri Myers kicked off the Pensacola program by meeting with the group to welcome them to our city, discuss her history of social justice advocacy, and present them with certificates of honorary citizenship to the city.
The group went on to meet with Derek Stromas of the Escambia Youth Justice Coalition for a discussion of that organization’s work in youth justice, JoAnn Howansky, John Ham, and Susan Johnson of Manna Food Pantries for a discussion of their hunger alleviation mission and an opportunity to volunteer sorting donated food, Marty Stanovich and his coaches with the First Tee of Northwest Florida for a golf skills clinic and a discussion of their outreach programs to area youth, and John Lovrien and his team at Digital Media Education for a skill-building workshop focusing on learning digital recording and directing skills.
Our visiting Brazilian students also toured Historic Pensacola Village, learning about the city’s colonial history; and the weekend brought quality time with host families.
The students began their second week with an exciting activity: marching in the Pensacola Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade! They partnered with the youth group of Bethel AME Church to walk the route, throwing beads and candy but also carrying signs depicting the civil rights legacy of Dr. King. The afternoon was spent at Big Lagoon State Park where the participants enjoyed the beautiful sunny weather and had lunch before playing Bafa Bafa, an experiential cross-cultural game.
The rest of the week featured several skill-building workshops on volunteer project planning, identifying leadership styles, and public speaking as well as meetings with representatives of local organizations.
Among those meetings was a discussion with Dr. John Veasely of the local NAACP on the history of discrimination and the civil rights movement in the U.S., a meeting with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida, and time spent with Dr. Lusharon Wiley and University of West Florida (UWF) diversity and inclusion advocacy group Common Ground. One morning the group also observed local government in action by attending the agenda work session of the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners.
The students also had several opportunities to learn by doing during hands-on activities. These included a city council simulation facilitated by former city councilwoman Maren DeWeese, a bowling party with two big-little pairings from Big Brothers Big Sisters, a tour of UWF and discussion of American university life given by UWF student Janine Velez, and a day spent shadowing and interacting with local students at Gulf Breeze High School.
On the last day of the program, the Brazilians visited Escambia Boys Base for a chance to tour the facility, give cultural presentations about Brazil, and spend time speaking with the boys housed there.
All too soon it was time to say goodbye to local staff, friends made, host families, and Pensacola itself. The students’ youth leadership journey continued on to Washington, D.C., and ultimately back home to Brazil where all participants will design and implement community service projects in their host communities based on ideas generated during their time in the United States.
The Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council extends its sincere thanks to all of those who volunteered their time to meet with these students and make this wonderful program possible.
At Digital Media Education