From Egle Buitvydaite (BFTF founder 2007, Lithuania). “One year has already passed after my participation in BFTF.
However I can’t stop missing all the amazing and smart people I met in North Carolina a year ago. With a great pleasure I observe this year’s BFTF and with an indescribable nostalgia I remember all nice moments I experienced there in the USA.
I noticed a special BFTF alumni column in the BFTF blog and I am very happy that we can share our small reunions’ moments with our friends from all over the world.
The previous March three BFTF 2007 founders, Riccardo Conti (Italy), Georgios Stasinopoulos ( Greece) and me (Egle Buitvydaite, Lithuania) were present at the 2nd International Student Forum for Olympic Truce, which took place in Athens, Greece. Together with students from fifteen different countries worldwide (including China, USA, Qatar, to name just a few) we discussed global issues, compiled resolutions and during the General Assembly, of which the president was Georgios Stasinopoulos, we reached the consensus.
The significant knowledge gained in BFTF was evident. Riccardo Conti distinguished among other students by his wide political awareness of Darfur conflict. The Italian BFTF fellow became the co-submitter of the resolution on the cruel genocide in Sudan. I did all my best while trying to justify my submitted resolutions on terrorism and diamond conflicts.
Not only we three had a perfect chance to meet with each other once again, but also we found an opportunity to meet the Greek BFTF founder 2008 -Haroula Gotsi, who also took part in this forum. After meeting her, we were sure that without doubt she is a new genuine member of the whole BFTF family.
The pinnacle of the whole one-week event was the Olympic torch lighting ceremony. The prestigious event was organized in the Ancient Olympia, where we became witnessesnot only of this slender historical moment- the start of the torch’s long journey around the globe, but also of the first obvious protest against the forthcoming Beijing Olympic Games in China.
The spring’s week was very impressive and important for our growing up personalities. We could use our international and political knowledge gotten in BFTF practically and feel the world famous protest, which was just the beginning of that what we observed later in Paris and London, by ourselves.”
Great news from Turkemenistan: Shanepes Meredov, ‘07 Founder write: ” Mahym Alikerberova, Fellow ‘06, and Albina Mustafayeva, Diplomat ‘07, both of BFTF alumna got accepted in American University in Bulgaria and received scholarship. For myself, I also got accepted in Atlantic International University but I am going to take on-line courses for first two years
I wish all of you good luck enjoy your life and learn as much as you can about America and the world outside of your home country
All the best,Shanepes
Alumni Reunions: Riccardo Conti (Italy) & Carlos Fernadez De Plaza Lopez (Spain) in Rome, circa Unknown.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCMENT: 2006 FRANKLIN FELLOWS HOLDING CONFERENCE IN
DENMARK - JULY 8-17
Hosted by Aila, a group of 2006 Alumni gathered July in Denmark. They posted messages and photos at their blog BFTF ‘06Alumni
Attending: Harald, Norway; Jennifer, Malta ; Sergei, Albania; Darya, Russia; Alexandru, Romania; Patricia, Texas; Joline, Sweden; Ines, Slovenia; Dana, Minnesota, Lendyll, Illinois; Aila, Denmark
Send your update to louden@wfu.edu
Simonida Subotic (2007 Mentor), Montenegro/South Africa, has graduated from Towson State University where
she was selected as the student graduation speaker. Next year she is doing graduate work at Harvard.Anastasiya Kot, Ukraine. This year was awesome! And mostly due to the BFTF…First of all, I became a leader of my University group and later I was selected to head a student union in my faculty. That’s very responsible and interesting.
I also helped students of my University and the school I graduated from to organize debates on the topics we discussed at Wake. It was great!
Classes on blogging in the WFU were very useful: a teacher in my University asked me to give several lessons on making blogs etc. It’s a wonderful feeling when you can help smb!
Wake gave me the spirit not only to dream but to make your dreams come true. I guess it is possible only if you work hard, so these 4 months of studying I finished with one of the best results in the whole university, so I got a special scholarship for the excellence in studying.
So, perhaps, that’s all for today (and this year) but I will try and work hard to achieve as much positive results as possible.
I hope the next year will be as interesting and productive as 2006!!!
Dona Kosturanova, Macedonia. More than a year ago, I and 3 other fellow debaters organized a public debate and a lecture for a representative from the “Rosa and Raymond Parks Foundation”. The event went out splendid, and we got a big feedback from the audience. Among the listeners of this debate, there were representatives from the American Embassy in Macedonia, and after this debate I got invited to go on an interview about the BFTF program. A while later, I got the information that I have been chosen to participate, along with another student from Macedonia, Fisnik Oseku.And now, looking back at everything, I am nothing but grateful I got the chance to participate in this program. Not only for getting a taste of a new culture, of the mentality of the US citizens, a whole new historical perspective about this nation’s past, and for the chance to ask my questions up close to people who have a significant effect of this country’s foreign relations, but for meeting all these wonderful people who have grown found to. But it was not only them I got to know, I got to know a lot about the countries they come from, the policies these countries lead, and a touch of how it looks to live there. Apart for meeting the “junior ambassadors” of the US and Eurasia, I met a variety of wonderful people, and made good friends.
This whole experience has had a huge impact on me, and influenced a significant array of not just my political views, but my interests as well, even everyday regular things. I am a debate coach and trainer, and I teach debate to high-school students, not much younger than myself, and thanks to this experience, I think I have become better at this, since the debaters I’ve been teaching this year have all showed outstanding results, from winning national championships, to representing my country on the IDEA Forum, and other seminars. I actually use the knowledge gained form the BFTF program to encourage them into critical thinking, and expressing their opinions, and to get them intrigued by topics that they used to find unappealing and serious. I warmly recommended this event to all of them, and most of them applied for this year’s BFTF. Also, inspired by a workshop we had at Wake Forest, me and some other colleagues from the NGO I am a m! ember of, organized the first ever online streaming debate in my country, on the thesis: “Macedonia should be the main promoter of the US political interests on the Balkans.” And this spring, I was a part of the team that organized the Macedonia Open annual international tournament, which hosted over 60 debaters from the Balkans, among which one exceptional Albanian debater, a friend I had met at Wake Forest.
I have grown found to the friends I made trough out the world, and I am as proud as it gets for every single one and their achievements, whether they got a chance to be journalists in a sports paper they always wanted to, whether they went to Lebanon to write a book on women’s rights, if they got accepted on the university they wanted to study at, for passing their IB, being the number one debaters in their countries, or being staff in this years Ben Franklin Program. This tiny group of people, scattered around the globe is a proof that friendships can last, regardless of the distance of diversity. And I am looking forward to seeing some of these people this summer, on an event organized by ourselves, hosted by a fabulous girl from Denmark, which shows the enthusiasm we have to see each other, even though a year has passed from the time we met. I am grateful to professor Louden and professor Petrou for organizing this event, and all the other staff members that made it happen.
Gabe Schonfeld, Massachusetts, USA. What to say, what to say…..I think that all that can be said, at least for starters, is that BFTF was undoubtedly the best three weeks of my life. I’ll say it again: the BEST three weeks of my life, BAR NONE. I began what I hope will be lifelong friendships, and had the privilege of being in constant contact with some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met.As far as more lucid evaluative statements vis-à-vis the program’s effect on me as a person, it’s done several things. First, the program solidified my desire to study International Relations in college, and to eventually pursue a career, most likely in the Federal Government, as some sort of foreign policy analyst, probably at CIA or DOS.Second, the policy gave me a clear and concrete sense of the sheer grandeur of our collective failures to win the hearts and minds of those abroad to our cause. I had always been skeptical of how well our policies would be taken by others, but BFTF put me in direct contact with young people, the next generation of leaders on the continent and beyond, seriously angry at American policy and to a certain extend, blurring the line between our policy and our people. Seeing this situation solidified my conviction to spend my later career working to change this policy trend.
Third, I think that my participation in the program has opened real doors for me in terms of other programs, internships etc…Just recently, I feel largely on the strength of my participation in BFTF, I was given an interview for a summer internship at International Security, no small feat, considering that this was an internship for college and graduate students. In addition, I will be interning this summer at the Election Defense Alliance, an election watchdog group here in MA. I was told that my experience at BFTF played a major role in my acceptance to the position.
I cannot thank Ms. Petrou, Dr. Louden, DOS, and the others involved in running the program enough for the opportunity I’ve been given, and I cannot thank the fellow participants enough for being so damn awesome.
Ivana Kesic, Bosnia-Herzegovina. I can’t believe that it was 12 months ago…..This few days I was thinking a lot about Ben Franklin program and find out how much it changed my life. A lot!!! I wanted to share that with you. I learned a lot about media and research on classes that we had. At that time I was coordinator of Civitas Youth Network as I am now. When I came back I wanted to use everything have learned to improve my Netwok, and now we have amazing success.Civitas Youth Network made action plan for implementation of government Law against illicit drugs, and we are in negotiation with authorities for adoption of this action plan. We have our newspaper and radio show to inform youth, educate them about democracy, citizenship and actuate them to be active citizens. My team is helping in center for disabled person. This week we are going to make a video spot against discrimination of person with disability.
We succeeded with this program thanks to all youth people who were and are participating. For me, personally, Ben Franklin program was inspiration. I learned a lot of things and I try to give that knowledge to others. In private life I have YOU - great youth people, friends all around the world. I am in contact with my host family. They made a postmark with my picture on it and when I saw that mail I knock down. They are marvelous, amazing… what can I say……
After we came back I started new school year as a student on Sarajevo University. I have all best notes (in my country it is 10, I think in America is A) and so far I am a best student of generation 2007/2008 in my University. So, thank you all for being a part of my life.
Sanja Bulatovic, Montenegro. The three weeks spent in the USA were the best weeks of my life. It sounds like a cliche, but I really mean that. I’ve been to many youth
camps and places, but scarcely could any of those camps compare to BFTF. The Ben Franklin program has brought many changes and new experiences to my life.I enjoyed the classes through which I gained so much knowledge, and a much better perspective of the USA, my country, people around me, and finally myself. I realised that being a part of a generation of young people in Montenegro who are finally willing to make changes, I can be useful to my community. So I founded a high school debate club with a friend, which won the 1st place in world format, and 4th in Karl Popper debate at the republic tournament after only 2 months of practice. I also overcame the fear of talking live on the radio, all thanks to our podcasts and debates. As a member of the NGO Forum Syd (former Proni project), I made several radio brodcasts on the local radio station, regarding problems in my town and my school. Needless to say that I wasn’t very popular with the school management after that. All that made me like journalism and the work in media even more.But given the situation in Montenegro concerning the freedom of press, I decided to study international relations at the Faculty of Political Sciences. I hope that someday I will have the opportunity to create a program myself, which will unite in one place some other amazing kids willing to learn,create, have tons of fun and make life-long friendships.I am very happy and proud to have a friend in every corner of the globe.And the best thing was that while making friends and building bridges of love and confidence, I also had a small, yet important taste of many different cultures, religions… That was truly a beautiful experience.
I can’t thank enough to all the people involved in organizing BFTF 2006, and of course, our dear fellows, who made these three weeks unforgettable.
David Tokarz, North Carolina, USA. In my junior year of high school, during the waning days of May, my mother threw a program across my desk called the Ben Franklin Transatlantic Fellows Initiative. I shrugged it off because I didn’t like foreign policy (I was always big on domestic affairs) and because I thought spending almost a month of my summer with a bunch of foreigners would be boring and a waste of time. Well, mother kept pushing, and to shut her up I applied. About a month later, I got a call from Dr. Louden, the program director, telling me I had got in, literally by the skin of my teeth. I was first alternate and a kid from Texas had decided to drop out. He asked me if I wanted the slot, and I accepted, not knowing that decision would change my life forever.Almost a year later, I still talk with my friends from all over Europe and the US. I’ve grown a lot from the experience, especially when it comes to interpersonal skills. I used to be a shy person, an introvert, if you will.After Ben Franklin, that part of my personality began to drift away. I used to hate change and new things as well, but spending 3 weeks in a dorm with students from all over the world changes that quickly. After you talk to a friend in Chicago to get relationship advice, after you get into screaming matches with a witty, albeit abrasive, Maltesian girl (I hope that citizens of Malta are indeed Maltesian, or she’ll kill me), after you talk video games with a Macedonian girl who could beat any of my friends senseless in a game of Warcraft, and after you go through the loss of your grandfather with all these people, change becomes something to look forward to, and the foreigners become a group of your best friends. The Ben Franklin program gave me the confidence in myself to debate on the national circuit, and the connections and friendships I made while on the Wake campus for those fateful three weeks have already helped me in ways I cannot begin to describe.As I go off to Wake Forest in the fall, in order to attend as a student, I can only express my undying gratitude to the State Department, my friends from all over the world, and most importantly, Dr. Louden and the Ben Franklin staff from last year. I enjoyed the Ben Franklin program so much; I even started recommending the program to friends of mine and fellow members of the debate team (a close friend of mine is actually going to attend the 2007 BFTF program) In conclusion, the program, just for the interaction between students from many, varied cultures, makes the program worthwhile. I can only hope that Congress and the State Department have the good sense to renew it for the future.
Jennifer Pullicino Orlando, Malta. BFTF changed my life in many ways; I had never actually considered taking an international relations or politics course prior to the experience, I was adamant that I would be a Lawyer. However, after being able to meet people from around the world, it dawned on me that I’d rather spend my life building the bridges of global communication, diplomacy and a sustainable peace. BFTF gave me a chance to take an active role in my own country’s politics as well, I was also given the opportunity to start a new debate league here in Malta to encourage youngsters like myself to involve and familiarise themselves with issues concerning our present and ultimately, our future. It is important for us, as fellows, to realise that we are that future and thus, we ourselves must continue that incessant learning process which will lead us into new beginnings for our respective nations. Today the quasi-revolutionary effect the last decades has had on diplomacy and diplomatic relations has pioneered a new age in communication which has given us a way to understand one another’s cultures, opinions, views, standpoints and goals. The latter has contributed greatly to the improvement of relationships throughout the global community. I am glad, proud and honoured to have formed part of such an initiative and to have formed part of just a fragment of this beneficial diplomatic process. I do hope that these experiences positively affect future fellows the way it has undoubtedly affected me.Thank you for making this possible for all of us.
Rodney Dijks, Netherlands. Rodney has been hired as a reporter by Voetbal International Magazine. This magazine is the oldest soccer magazine in the Netherlands and has a very large circulation. He is excited and says that his participation in the Benjamin Franklin program was the decisive factor in offering him the job. He expressed how grateful he is that he was given the opportunity to participate in the program. It has made his dreams come through - to become a sports journalist.Aaron Greer, USA, Montana.
Aaron has been accepted to attend the U. S. Miliary Academy in West Point, NY. Getting into a service academy is one of the toughest in all of college admissions.2006 Fellows Interviewed at Conclusion of the inaugural Session
Send your update to louden@wfu.edu