Friendship Exchanges
At the Center for Bridging Cultures, we believe that global exchanges for building friendship is a key to cultivating global citizens who can come together to create positive changes.
We have launched the US-China Friendship Schools Initiative, aimed at building educational and cultural bridges between K-12 schools in the US and China. This initiative seeks to benefit students and educators through various exchange activities. We invite K-12 schools—public, private, and charter—all over the US to participate in this exciting initiative.
The purpose of the US-China Friendship Schools Initiative is to establish one-on-one collaborative relationships between participating K-12 schools in the US and appropriate schools in China. This initiative seeks to cultivate global competence, cultural awareness, and world language acquisition through educational exchanges.
Scope of Program
- Chinese/English Language Education: Short-term visiting teachers and online virtual teaching.
- Cross-Cultural Exchanges: Student study trips and camps, online pen-pal programs, and virtual joint cultural events/projects.
- Professional Development: Online pedagogical discussions and training, case studies, education conferences, and visits for school leaders and educators.
School selection
- Participating Chinese schools will be chosen based on their capabilities and willingness for international exchanges, and matched and paired with American schools based on the program interests and grade levels.
Procedure
1. Contact CBC at cbc@cbc-education.org to confirm your interest in participating in the Friendship School Initiative. Please provide school profiles for matching with suitable Chinese schools.
2. Sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) outlining their vision for participation in the initiative.
3. CBC will arrange virtual school-to-school meetings to introduce the paired schools and discuss the individual activity plans in detail.
4. Sign an official agreement between paired partner schools.
5. CBC will organize student travel programs for participating American schools to China, followed by visits from Chinese students to American schools in 2025 as a groundbreaking activity.
Support
As the organizer and coordinator, CBC will provide assistance and resources to facilitate the establishment and operation of the programs, including:
- Selecting participating Chinese schools, arranging introductions and matchings, and facilitating program participation.
- Supporting and coordinating round-trip international visits for both educators and students, including travel itineraries, visa applications, and transportation arrangements.
- Organizing conferences and events for educators from participating schools.
- Offering training and workshops in cultural understanding and cross-cultural communication for educators engaging with peers and/or planning international visits to partner schools.
Please email cbc@cbc-education.org to sign up for Friendship Exchanges programs.
