PEACE Award: Providing Exceptional Avenues for Cultural Exchange

2006 PEACE award winners!

Dogwood for the Blind, Sherrills Ford, NC
Blue Star Camp, Hendersonville, NC
Barbara C. Harris Camp, Greenfield, NH
4-H Middlesex Camp, Ashby, MA

About the PEACE Award
What do the international staff you hire mean to your camp? Do they enhance the philosophy your camp strives to achieve? Do they educate your American staff and campers alike about different cultures around the world? Do they provide a broader perspective of different ways of life and promote cultural diversity? Is the true concept of cultural exchange being maximized at your camp? In your programming? With your campers and staff alike? Are you providing the opportunities for your international staff that make a difference in their experience? To learn more about the American way of life? To accommodate their unique needs which are greatly different than their American counterparts? If so, you may be among the first honored with Camp America's hallmark award for cultural exchange, the PEACE Award.

Camps who Provide an Exceptional Avenue for Cultural Exchange for their international staff get back as much as they put into their international experience. Going the 'extra mile' can make every difference.

How do you qualify to be a PEACE Award recipient?
You start by going over and above. Ask yourself, "Why do I employ international staff?" and take it from there. Put yourself in their shoes and consider how you would want your first experience in America to be. Enrich the lives of young people all around the world. Value your international staff and embrace their differences.

Ideal Practices
Some ideal practices may be summarized into the hiring process and pre-departure, arrival on camp, the summer experience and post-camp. Here are just a few suggestions on each of these categories:

Hiring Process and Pre-departure Call the international candidates to ensure you are getting the best match for both your camp and the applicant. Send them information about your camp via the postal service and e-mail. Be realistic about the experience your camp offers. Put them in touch with a former international staff member from your camp to gain an insider's point of view. Create a buddy system with an American staff member to create a relationship before camp begins. Put training materials on your camp's web site to initiate the learning and adjustment process. The better prepared your international staff are, the quicker they will be acclimated to camp and the US!

Arrival at Camp Make them feel welcome and valued. Try to arrange arrivals allowing a couple days of rest prior to staff training—if you have participated in our Camp Directors' Fairs overseas you can remember how exhausting traveling and jet lag can be! Remember cultural differences during your orientation sessions; participants are more familiar with formal English and American movies—it's important to use appropriate language in your training. Focus part of your staff training on international differences. Create a position for an international staff liaison whose specific responsibility is to counsel them and help them to adjust. Make sure your international staff know who this person is. Establishing an open channel of communication will foster a positive environment and facilitate their acclimation to America and the rural camp community.

The Summer Experience Make sure that your cultural exchange visitors understand that you care about them and want to create the best experience possible for them. Remember that your camp can learn as much about the world as the international staff member came to learn about America. Cultural programming is key—open the eyes of your campers, get rid of ignorance, create an international perspective by offering programming that is culturally diverse. Involve all nationalities represented at your camp. Include your support staff in this programming as well as other camp activities. Dismantle cliques and barriers between Americans and Internationals, counselors and support staff—integration is key. Offer assistance to your international staff for their time off—coordinate transportation and establish relationships within the community (e.g. local host families) for support.

Post-Camp Camp may be over, but these internationals can't just jump in their cars and drive home. Offer extended accommodation on camp when possible. Help to coordinate post-camp travel plans and transportation to their next destination whether it's the airport or 1000 miles away. Most of the international participants will have only seen the airport and the rural area nearby camp, they need your assistance!

How Camps Get Nominated for the PEACE Award
Now you are saying to yourself, "I do these things, how does my camp get nominated?" You will have proven your commitment to cultural exchange when your international staff nominate your camp over the course of the summer. Your staff will be presented with the concept for the PEACE Award and provided with several opportunities to put your camp forth as a candidate.

So start now! Redesign your programming—Enrich lives—Make a creative effort to use the Camp America program to cultivate internationalism for all!