26/09/2014
Voith Celebrates 10th Anniversary with AFS – Interkulturelle Begegnungen e.V.
A year abroad is alwasys a very special experience and an adventure about which even adults get carried away. An even more exciting event is when students decide to leave their home in Germany for a year, in order to get to know a foreign country and its culture. "We swam with dolphins, fished for piranhas and slept in hammocks on our boats at night," this is how the 16-year-old Gina Ensslin, who spent 10 months in faraway Brazil thanks to AFS and a partial scholarship from Voith remembers her experiences.
For more than 60 years, AFS has been dedicating itself on a non-profitable basis to the implementation of exchange programs and enables students to gather intercultural experience at an early age that are formative for their further development. Behind AFS is a global community with over 60 national organizations and partners. Voith, too, is convinced by the international and charitable profile and the professional organization and celebrates the 10th anniversary with AFS this year together with the Hanns Voith Foundation.
Every year, Voith supports at least four scholarship students. Usually, one recipient is sent from Germany to China and Brazil, and in return we receive two students from China and Brazil. There is a reason why Voith is particularly interested in a cultural exchange with these two countries. "It makes a difference when German youths go to Brazil or China, where they find a different culture, a different language, a different way of life or a different school system. Such countries are unusual destinations, and we think that one is more likely to gain different impressions than in cultural areas, which are similar to ours," explains Verena Breuer who coordinates the program for Voith.
Twice a year, Voith also invites all scholarship recipients and their (guest) families to its headquarters in Heidenheim. The group is always very mixed; students whose year abroad still lies ahead, meet students who have just returned or are to fly back shortly. This allows a vivid exchange between the students and the (guest) parents. The presentations of the students talking about their year abroad are always a highlight. Apart from many pictures, comparisons between Brazil, China and Germany, personal experiences and encounters are shared with all participants. In addition, the attendees also learn more about the scholarship provider Voith in a relaxed atmosphere, and they have an opportunity to look behind the scenes during a works tour.
Voith has been supporting students who are open and enthusiastic about discovering a foreign culture and society in making their dream come true. Many Voithians have participated in the program and acted as host family for a foreign student, or they encourage their children to take part in the program. We hope to continue to help many students to gather international experience, be it the children of Voithians or from external parties.
