Greetings from your AFS National Council!

We hope you have seen the previous communications and clearly marked your calendars for the 2020 AFS Virtual Summit.  Due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Summit will be an all virtual event to be held during the weekend of November 13th.

AFS-USA staff and volunteer leadership are working hard to put together an inspiring, informative, collaborative, and fun gathering open to absolutely every volunteer across the country.  Of course, we all love our in-person gatherings, but the excitement is growing about this unique opportunity to pull together AFS volunteers in numbers and from varying levels of experience and positions than ever previously possible.

Based on input from volunteers and takeaways from previous Summit experiences, the National Council staff and volunteers are developing sessions and workshops around the following three (slightly summarized) learning outcomes:

1. Inform volunteers as to the current state of the organization and actions that have been needed to meet the challenges this year from the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring that all participants leave the Summit with a strong sense and understanding of where we are now and the organization’s vision moving forward.
2. Together seek to RISE above the challenges of 2020 and endeavor to build back stronger by focusing on local communities and developing team initiatives — to recruit, integrate, sustain, and evaluate – building a stronger volunteer base and more empowered volunteer teams.
3. Leave the Summit recharged and fortified – with best practices, new resources, and a plan to move forward – and emerge from 2020 stronger and better equipped to deliver meaningful intercultural experiences that provide the knowledge and skills needed to help create a more just and peaceful world.

So, make sure your comfy chair is ready, wipe off your monitor, laptop, or smartphone screens, and watch for additional information on Summit registration and programming!

Together, we can do ‘virtually’ anything!

AFS-USA National Council