The Universal Language of AFS

Welcome back to The AFS Exchange! We are continuing our series highlighting the people who keep the AFS engine running: our dedicated volunteers.

In this episode, we’re following up on our conversation about the Chapter Leadership Summit in Spain- but this time, from an extra international perspective. We’re joined by Alessandro, a volunteer leader from Italy who speaks the exact same AFS language as our volunteers here at home.

We’ll hear about Alessandro's journey from an exchange student in the fjords of Norway to his current role as a Chapter President in Sicily. This conversation is a reminder that whether you are in Palermo or Pasadena, the goals, the struggles, and the mission of building a more peaceful world remain the same.

Meet the Guest:

• Alessandro: An Italian AFS volunteer whose AFS journey began as an exchange student in Norway in the late 2010s. Today, he serves as the President of his local volunteer chapter in Palermo, Sicily.

In this episode, we explore:

• The structure of AFS Italy (or Intercultura) and how it compares to AFS-USA.
• Why volunteer "mobility" and retention in your early 20s is a universal challenge across any AFS partner countries.
• Alessandro’s key takeaways from the gathering in Spain and how he’s implementing those lessons in Sicily.
• How AFS leadership and exchange programs serve as a vital tool to fight the fear of communities and cultures different from our own.

How to get involved:

• Volunteer Nationally: Current volunteers can learn about national leadership roles via Help & Learning for Volunteers or by emailing askafs@afsusa.org.
• Not a volunteer yet? Head to afsusa.org/volunteer to get started.

More from AFS-USA: 🏠Host a Student | ✈️Study Abroad | 🤝Volunteer | 🏫For Educators | 📧Contact the Show | 🎧Collections

Transcript

Kate
Hello and welcome to The AFS Exchange. I'm Kate Mulvihill. On this podcast, we share real stories from the AFS community. We're here to explore how exchange programs change lives, one conversation at a time.

Kate
We are continuing with our theme of… volunteers! But in this episode, I’m speaking with a profile of volunteer that is a bit different.
In all the episodes I’ve hosted- and we’re north of fifty now- I’ve only interviewed people with direct ties to AFS-USA. Now, that makes sense, right? This is a podcast created by AFS-USA. Pretty much everyone I’ve spoken with is from the States, has lived in the States, or has a clear connection to an AFS-USA participant. But today’s guest, Alessandro, is none of those things. He has no direct ties to AFS-USA. Or the United States.

Alessandro is Italian, and is a volunteer with AFS Italy. He participated in an AFS program in… Norway… in the late 2010s, And today, he serves as the President of his local volunteer chapter in Sicily.
But as we talked, I realized that my 'no ties' theory wasn't exactly true. Because, as cliche as it sounds, we are all tied together by the AFS mission. His growth as an Italian student in Norway mirrors the experiences that I have heard from so many American students about their time abroad. And now, as a volunteer, the stories he tells about his role would sound familiar to any AFS-USA volunteer.

So… why Alessandro? Well, for our last episode, I spoke with two US volunteers about their time at last fall’s Chapter Leadership Summit in Spain, an event that brought together over 100 AFS volunteers from 29 AFS partner countries. And, well, I wanted to hear about the summit from a representative of one of the other 28 countries! Ashe, who was a guest on the last episode, got us in touch with Alessandro.

This was truly a fun interview. To be honest, I had to cut a lot of it- we frequently got off-track talking about pop culture, politics, my three semesters of Italian from fifteen years ago, and the struggles of being a tall person on an airplane. But what remains is a great look at the global engine that keeps AFS running. How, regardless of where in the world you are, if you’re volunteering with AFS, you’re working toward the same goal.

Alessandro   
Hi, thank you for having me. I'm Alessandro, and I'm a volunteer for AFS Italy, and I'm just really happy that you guys wanted to talk to me. I'll try my best.

Kate   
You're doing great. So far so good. So Alessandro, did you participate in an AFS program?

Alessandro   
I did. I did participate in an AFS program in 2018-2019 thanks to a scholarship given by AFS Italy. And I've been to Norway for a year, and that was just amazing. And I guess that's what made me want to become a volunteer afterwards. I guess, just seeing people from all of these cultures just discovering new things and being so curious about each other and what was different from our points of view, or what the reality that we've always lived in, and I just found it so fascinating. And I do really believe in the values of AFS of, you know, bringing peace to the world by, you know, just destroying all of the barriers that we could build in our minds. 

Kate   
Absolutely. So you were in and I'm not going to be able to pronounce it correctly, you were outside of Oslo, in a city that starts with B?

Alessandro   
Well, I think what you're referring to is the school that I went to.

Kate   
Okay, yeah, that's not the city, okay.

Alessandro   
The school was called Bjertnes, and I was living in Hakadal.
It was really different from where I'm from, because I'm from a big, pretty big city, and I've always lived by the sea, and, you know, and it's pretty warm here. So, you know, when I got to Norway, it was like 20 degrees Celsius, colder. I don't know what that is, in fahrenheit. It was an amazing experience, because I got to live a whole new life, and I got to meet amazing people, and I just, I got to discover a new mindset.

I had a great host family that I actually visited last month, and it was really great to go back. I loved just finding out about other cultures, not just the Norwegian one, because obviously I was in touch with people from all over the world. Also, I learned to ski. I'm really bad, I'm really bad, but I can say that, you know, if you put skis at my feet, I might not fall within 15 seconds, which is a big achievement for me. I don't think I ever saw snow before going to Norway, actually.

Kate
I’d like to give you a little background on AFS in Italy. First of all, AFS Italy generally refers to themselves as Intercultura. But, uh, for the purposes of this episode, we’re going with AFS Italy.
Secondly, they’re broken up into about 160 chapters across the country. In the US, we call these divisions area teams, not chapters, and we’ve got about 70.

And quick geography lesson. Now, we all know Italy is shaped like a boot. Sicily is the island right at the toe. It’s about the same size as Massachusetts. Alessandro’s city, Palermo, is located on the northwestern coast of that island.

And quick confession- I made a bit of a podcasting faux pas. While I was chatting with Alessandro, I kept pointing at a giant map of Europe that hangs next to my desk- Sicily happens to be about a foot away from my shoulder. On a few occasions during this interview, I’m actually referring to that map as if you can see it. Which you can’t. This is bad form; I will do better next time. Anyway, I asked Alessandro if AFS had a presence all over Italy, or just certain regions.

Alessandro   
I would say we're pretty much all over the country. And I do think one similarity to the US structure might be that, you know, there's some parts of Italy that don't really have any big cities, so it's just a small town for another. So obviously there's going to be one big chapter putting all the small towns together. So maybe that could be similar.

And, yeah, I do think we have a pretty good number of volunteers. We have, you know, and feels, from students to, I don't know, university talks to, you know, elder people who might have been host families or teachers or, you know, just got interested in the programs and decided to join us.

And, yeah, what else? And, you know, the thing about, I think it's really beautiful that we're divided into different zones. For example, Sicily is one big zone, and every now and then, all of the volunteers from Sicily just gather and we do some training together. We do some activities together so we get the chance to, you know, I don't know if the word that I'm looking for is confront each other. I don't remember if confronting is like fighting?

Kate   
Confronting is a bit, is a bit like, uh, aggressive.

Alessandro   
Oh no. We try not to be aggressive with each other.

Kate   
But you're, you're connecting. You're connecting with each other.

Alessandro
Yes, that’s the word. And, you know, we do have some national camps, they can be trained, or we do, you know, activities with the students together. So it's really nice now. Yeah, you know, volunteers from the south get to know volunteers from north, and they get to exchange ideas, or, you know, anything, it's, it's, it feels like you're part of a bigger project.

Kate   
That's great. And so you kind of answered my next question. So there are multiple chapters in Sicily?

Alessandro   
Yeah, we have several. We have so many. But for example, Palermo, my city, is a quite big local chapter, and then we have the next city, like right next to us, is called Bagharia, and that's another local chapter. I don’t know if you're going to be able to find it.

Kate
No, I don't, I don't see it, but it is very convenient. I promise I didn't just put this up because of you. I do have this here all the time.

Alessandro   
I love it, I love it, But yeah, we do have several chapters in Sicily. And, you know, we try to work with each other. Because obviously, sometimes, you know, sometimes there's lots of things to do and to think about. So obviously, if we see that local chapter next to us needs some help, luckily, we can, you know, give them a hand and vice versa.

Kate   
So what if you're talking about your chapter in Palermo, what are some things that your chapter gets excited about each year? What are some of the most fun parts of being with the chapter?

Alessandro   
Oh, well, we definitely, I think we're pretty lucky because all of the volunteers we also are friends because, you know, we got along really well, and I felt there was some sort of, I don't know, Alchemy.
I don't know it really didn't work, not only when we had to work together, but we love spending time together and do meetings and stuff and organize activities for the kids. It makes it much easier when you're working with people that you connect on a deeper level with.
But I think what we're always the most excited for is to train the kids before they leave for the programs. We do that every year, and it's really nice, because you see all of these very young people that they're so curious, but obviously also really nervous about what they're about to do, because it can be intense.

And so we just love being able to talk to them and reassure them and keep in touch with them while they're abroad, and then when they come back, we do another camp, and it's nice to, you know, witness the evolution of everyone. And obviously, the same thing with the kids that we host. It's really nice to, like, follow them along the road and see how they change in a year. Absolutely it's gonna sound bad, maybe, but I do love it when the kids that we host at the end of the program, they cry so much, and I'm like, Yes, we did it. It means they had a good time, right?

Kate   
Yeah, no, absolutely. I would say, crying, I mean, crying is the goal. I don't know. Crying, crying is not a bad thing.

Alessandro   
I usually sound like an awful person when I say it, but I mean in a good way.

Kate
In our last episode, when I spoke with Abdullah and Ashe, they mentioned how much they appreciated meeting volunteers from different countries. It helped them realize that the obstacles their teams were facing weren't exclusive to the U.S.
And some of the challenges we see here are the same ones Alessandro sees in Italy- especially when it comes to volunteer retention. Specifically, we talked about volunteers in their late teens and early twenties- which is a period of transition and mobility in many countries. You know, moving for university or starting new careers. This often leads to a loss of volunteers. Whether you’re in Palermo or Pasadena, there is a struggle to keep young volunteers engaged during those transition years.

Kate   
Yes, yes. Okay, next question, so what are some challenges that your chapter faces locally?

Alessandro   
Well, there, I feel like there's always some new challenge around the corner. One challenge that we always have to face is that, living in the south of Italy, we have lots of kids who come back in their programs, and they they really want to become volunteers, because there's they're still really excited about all of the things that they experience, and they want to, like, sort of give back what they got from their own program. But sadly, there's lots of people who move to the North for university and stuff. I think that might be another similarity with the US, because you guys tend to move away for college and stuff. And sadly, there's like, bigger universities in the north, and there's more job opportunities.
So we kind of need to keep in mind that when we're training new volunteers, they're probably going to do an amazing job for someone else. But it's, it's, it's still great. I mean, it's still, you know, it's not that, it's not something that we're against other local chapters. We're all part of the same team. So it's, it makes us happy that we can train some, someone who can, you know, work for another part of Italy. Sometimes someone be like, Oh, really, I'm always hoping that someone is staying here. And sometimes it happens and it's beautiful.
And I do think another challenge might be, you know, making sure all the time that the kids are having the best experience that they could have. And you probably know how it goes. It's not always smooth sailing, but sometimes you need to work on something and make sure that someone is adjusting the right way. So that might be a challenge sometimes, but it's also fulfilling to be able to help them

Kate   
Absolutely, absolutely and determining you know how much struggle is a normal amount of struggle, and how much struggle really necessitates intervention.

Alessandro   
Yeah, yeah.

Kate   
So this AFS chapter Leadership Summit in Spain probably wasn't too far of a trip for you, just across the Mediterranean.

Alessandro   
Girl, you have no idea.

Kate   
Did you just take a boat right across?

Alessandro   
I wish. No, girl. I had to take two flights. I had to fly to Milan, so in the north, and then I had to take another flight, which was a bit longer. So it was, it was a bit long, I'm not gonna lie, but it was absolutely worth it.
It was amazing to be able to meet volunteers from all over the world and connect with them and just exchange ideas and listen to different points of view, and you know, even different challenges. It makes you think sometimes about how you're dealing with things, whether you could deal with them better.

Kate   
Why did you want to go? Why was this so important to you?

Alessandro   
It was really important to me because I want to know how the other guys are working, how they're facing these challenges, and what their strengths are. And I was really curious. And also, we do work with the same goal. That's the one that I was saying before, you know, just destroying every kind of barrier or wall that that anyone could build between different cultures.
And it was really beautiful because we have people from any part of the world. We have people from Ghana, from the US, from China. And, you know, it was beautiful to see how everyone actually wants the same thing, which is like to live together in a peaceful world and an accepting world. And we all believe that exchange programs can play a key role.
Because if you're a 16 year old guy and you travel to a different part of the world, and you learn about, you know, different cultures and different meals and different schools and different sports or whatever. It does open your mind a lot. And I do think that's the beautiful part of globalization is that we can just live together with other with other cultures, yeah.

Kate   
It must have felt really good to be in a place with so many like-minded people, and especially during this time in our planet's history where there's a lot of divisiveness, to really be surrounded by people who have the similar, the same goal, which is to create a more just and peaceful world.

Alessandro   
Yeah, exactly that was it. You could feel it. You know, you were doing activities or just talking to other people from different countries, and, yeah, it made me realize, okay, I'm not like, we're not just doing our part in our local chapter. We're actually working towards something globally.

Kate   
So could you talk a little bit about the sessions and the programming? Did you have a favorite day or session while you were there?

Alessandro   
Several actually that I really enjoyed.
One of them was talking about your local chapter as a garden, and it was referring to us as, you know, local chapter leaders, as the gardeners, meaning that we have to take care actively of, you know, the soil and the flowers, and the plants and the trees and everything as potential, we just need to take care of it the right way and pay attention.
Also, you know, one big thing that we discussed is that being leaders doesn't mean being above others. That means being able to make other people participate and paying attention to what their interests are and how they can be passionate about this, the way that we are, and that was really inspiring because, you know, listening to everyone's experience. It did put things into perspective.

Kate   
So out of all of the topics that were covered, is there one, specific thing that you're like, I'm going to start using this in my local chapter?

Alessandro   
If I had to pick one, we did some team building activities. And these kind of activities, I feel like, if you just say them out loud, you might think, what the hell is this? But when you actually have to do this, they do make you understand a lot of things we needed to complete several different tasks together and every single one of us was supposed to be in charge. So, you know, we just needed to make it work. Because obviously, there can be too many chefs in the kitchen.

The thing is that you need to make it work. Sometimes there's going to be so many people, and people can have different opinions and different points of view, and you need to be really good at, you know, making it work, listening to other people and at the same time, bringing your own point of view to the table.

Kate
Absolutely.

Alessandro
These kinds of activities are definitely something that I would want to propose to, you know, the Italian volunteers, because I do think it helps understanding all of the dynamics.

Kate   
Also that, I mean, team building activities don't necessarily have to cost a lot of money or have a lot of resources.

Alessandro   
Absolutely. You can do them with Legos, you know.

Kate
So, I’m going to give you an example of a simple enough team building activity- this isn’t the exact one Alessandro did, but it’s similar enough. It’s called the Marshmallow Challenge. Feel free to use it the next time you need to plan a team building exercise!

Here’s how it works: everyone is broken into small groups of four or five. Each team has just 15 minutes to work together and build the tallest freestanding structure they can- one that can support a single marshmallow at the very top. One of the large marshmallows, not one of the tiny ones. Their tools are limited to… dry spaghetti, masking tape, string, and scissors.
It might seem a bit random, but it’s a great way to see how people plan, communicate, and- most importantly- adapt under pressure. These are the same skills that AFS volunteers use every day: thinking on their feet, working together, and figuring out how to make things work when the 'logistics' get a little shaky.

Okay, back to Alessandro. I asked Alessandro if there were any specifically surprising or interesting connections he made with folks from different parts of the world. He had… a couple answers.

Alessandro   
First of all, we realized that we were fellow Swifties. So that was great. You know, we got really close because of that.

Kate
But… in addition to a love of Taylor Swift…

Alessandro   
Yeah, definitely. I think I did some great connections with USA volunteers. It was really great to listen to their experience. And you know, we talked a lot about the training of volunteers, how it's a really important part. Because, obviously that's another reason why I really wanted to go to the AFS Local Chapter. Because every one of us develops skills along the way, right? But we're still volunteers, so it's really nice to be somewhere, especially as leaders, you feel like you should know what to do and how to deal with things, and it's nice to be somewhere where you can connect with others. And also, there's some sort of guidance. They taught us how to be better leaders and how to develop, you know, all of the volunteers.

But yeah, I did connect with some people from Serbia, and I was really excited about that, because we have a lot of kids going to Serbia every year, and we've hosted a lot of Serbian kids as well. And it was always the greatest experience. So I was really curious to meet, you know, the staff and the volunteers from there were really amazing. And I loved meeting people from Ghana. It is, you know, it's a country and a part of the world that we don't really know as well as we should. And there was this girl from Ghana, and she was showing me pictures of all of the activities that they do with kids. And I was really jealous for a second. I was like, I wish I was still 16 and I could go to Ghana for a program right now, because it looked absolutely amazing.

Kate   
Okay, let's see. Do you have any final thoughts about your time in Spain, your time as an AFS volunteer? Really, anything that you would love to share?

Alessandro
Honestly, it's, it's really cool feeling to work towards these goals, and you realize why you do it every time you see the kids, and every time you talk to them, every time you see the families, because you realize that the programs are actually doing something, and it's not something small. You know, I'm gonna quote Wicked for good. Have you seen it?

Kate   
Yes, the musical and the movie and the other movie and the musical. Yes, go ahead.

Alessandro   
I knew it. I knew I could trust you. Like these people change for good, like, really, because you meet other people, and you're gonna have some of the best friendships of your life, and you're gonna have another family, and you're gonna learn another language and so many other things, and and you you actually are going to food the world in different way. You know, you're not going to be, you know, sometimes, depending or depending on the context that you grow up into, you might be scared of what's different from you. But I do think that these programs are a great way to actually be curious and fall in love with what's different. And again, I do think that's the goal. You know, that's the goal. I do feel lucky to live in a world with so much diversity, so many different cultures, so many different ways of approaching life. And I do feel like it's something that should enrich every one of us.

Kate   
Absolutely.

Alessandro   
I feel like my English gets broken after like, more than, like, 15 minutes. I'm like, ugh.

Kate   
Ah, no, you Alessandro, you speak very, very well. Well, from one Swiftie to another. I hope you have a great rest of your day.

Alessandro    
Yes, I'm gonna live the life of a show girl...

[Fade out]

Kate
A big thank you to Alessandro from Italy, President of the AFS Palermo chapter, and former participant to Norway. Alessandro had an incredible time at the Chapter Summit in Spain, connecting with other volunteer leaders and learning how to be a better advocate for his team back home.
His time there reinforced something he’d known for years: AFS experiences change you for good. More importantly, those experiences serve as an antidote to the fear we can feel toward people and communities that are different from our own.

You don’t need to travel all the way to Spain to connect with AFS volunteers outside your immediate circle! There are so many opportunities to get involved on a national level right here with AFS-USA. Just as Alessandro valued getting to know people from different countries, you can gain a broader perspective by collaborating with teams across our own country. To find out how to get involved on the national level, check out Help & Learning for Volunteers or email askafs@afsusa.org. And if you’re not a volunteer yet? Head to afsusa.org/volunteer to learn more about how you can contribute to making a more just and peaceful world.

We’ll be continuing our volunteer series next month, but next time... we’re talking about travel. Have you ever wondered how hundreds of students from all over the world actually get to their US host families? Or how American students make it to the other side of the globe? It is a massive, complex operation, and it simply wouldn't be possible without the dedicated support of travel volunteers across the country. Please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position… we will see you next month.

Kate
Thank you for listening to The AFS Exchange! I’m Kate Mulvihill. Let us know what you thought of this episode by sending a message to podcast@afsusa.org. You can also rate and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe there as well so you don’t miss any episodes in this 6th season.

This podcast was created by Kate Mulvihill. Social media by Julie Ball and Nina Gaulin. Special thanks to Ashe Purscell.