Youth Diplomats May Meeting
Gulf Coast Diplomacy’s youth leadership program excitedly welcomed many new and returning faces on Saturday, May 9th.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Youth Diplomats interacted virtually with other Youth Diplomats from Chicago and Kansas City. Everyone shared their favorite quarantine activities and where they wish to travel. The student leadership groups from each city collaborated on a presentation on their hometowns. Then they broke out into small groups and shared cultural experiences from their respective cities. There was even a virtual fun facts quiz on Kahoot!
The fourth cohort of Youth Diplomats joined for the first time. As with any new cohort, they first played Redundancia, an exercise in cross-cultural communication. The Leadership Committee facilitated a discussion about what it might be like to speak in a second language. The Youth Diplomats learned the importance of patience, empathy, acceptance, and self-kindness when interacting with people from other cultures. They will work to strengthen these skills as they move through the program.
This month’s guest speaker, Racine Frank, is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer and Youth Diplomats veteran. She shared her experience teaching English in rural Ethiopia. The May meeting ended with an engaging Q&A session with Racine, along with a Facebook Live stream.
The high school seniors graduating out of the program this month will be deeply missed. However, the Youth Diplomats and Gulf Coast Diplomacy staff are thrilled to see the fourth cohort again in June.
— Savannah Patterson, Intern
