ATLANTA, March 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Celebrations are erupting in countries around the world as Friendship Force International, a global pioneer in promoting homestay travel experiences, celebrates its 40th anniversary with renewed dedication to its vision for a more peaceful world.
Since 1977, Friendship Force International has been building bridges of understanding across the barriers that separate people, and today, FFI members worldwide face political headwinds threatening to jeopardize its mission.
The leadership at Friendship Force International is urging its more than 15,000 members worldwide to stand unified and in the knowledge that FFI’s mission of promoting understanding and peace is more important than ever as political forces seek to promote distrust and division among people and nations.
“As I travel the world visiting Friendship Force members, I see and hear evidence of spreading anxiety in the eyes and voices of average people who are personally concerned about how political trends in America will affect their lives,” said Jeremi Snook, President and CEO of Atlanta-based Friendship Force International. “Many Friendship Force members overseas now are afraid to travel on homestay exchanges to the U.S., especially our clubs in Mexico. Daily political developments that are troubling to us all threaten Friendship Force’s future as a global movement in which average people everywhere experience different views and discover common ground.”
When Atlantan Wayne Smith and then-President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter boldly announced the creation of The Friendship Force in 1977, they could not have dreamed how their idea would go on to change the world for the better.
Today, thousands of people participate in more than 300 global and domestic travel experiences through Friendship Force International each year. Almost 400 Friendship Force clubs with some 15,000 members dot the planet in 66 countries. Participants of all ages and backgrounds have their choice of dozens of experience-rich, group and individual travel opportunities in which they can experience different views and discover common ground.
In a nod to that first exchange to England in 1977, the host city for the international celebration of Friendship Force’s 40TH anniversary will be Manchester, U.K. in August. For information or to register to attend, please visit our 40th Anniversary Landing Page.
To learn more about how Friendship Force International can enrich your life, please visit https://www.friendshipforce.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2017_Journeys-2.pdf.