Over the last year AFS made a significant impact worldwide. Nearly 8,000 students participated in our exchange programs hosted by thousands of families; more than 4,500 people enrolled in our digital education programs, including youth, teachers, and – thanks to a partnership with Spark and BP – refugees and internally displaced people; 600 young changemakers from 70 countries attended the first AFS Youth Assembly that opened at the United Nations.
2022 also marked the 75th anniversary of AFS exchange programs. 75 years ago, the first 28 students set off on the new AFS high school exchange programs, and today we are a truly global international exchange, volunteer, and intercultural learning organization, with more than 500,000 alumni and operations reaching nearly 100 countries.
We invite you to watch this short video from our prominent AFS alumna Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, who sent a special greeting on the occasion of the anniversary: