In recent years, many students have altered or sometimes canceled their study abroad plans to reflect current international affairs. 

It sounds cliché but an [educational] exchange really is a life changing experience and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to any Brock student. The time I spent abroad was more than just learning new things and travelling, I learned a lot about who I am as a person and as cheesy as it sounds it changed me for the better.

This event is an opportunity for the general public to meet with international and national wetland center partners visiting from Russia, Iowa, Texas and the United Kingdom. [...] Russia has only recently moved from a system of strictly protected nature areas where people were excluded, to a more inclusive system of encouraging and promoting outdoor environmental education.

Sino-Kenya cooperation in education, arts and culture has blossomed as evidenced by establishment of four Confucius institutes in the country.  The Counselor of Chinese Embassy to Kenya Yao Ming said cultural diplomacy is a critical component of a comprehensive cooperative partnership endorsed by President Xi Jinping and his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta in 2013. “People to people exchanges have thrived due to establishment of Confucius Institutes in four Kenyan Universities. Understanding Chinese language and culture is an eye opener to Kenyan youth,” Yao remarked.

Music in Common is the driving organization behind this weekend's FODfest, aka Friends of Danny Festival, created by Todd Mack and local musicians to honor his friend, the late journalist and musician, Daniel Pearl. [...] "Since 2009, it has produced more than a half-dozen international tours in the Middle Eastern and western Asia regions for both youths and adults, which, according to the organization's website, promote "peer-to-peer diplomacy and cross-cultural ambassadorship."

Lucy Morrow and Manon Clavel may live an ocean apart, but the two 14-year-olds have formed a bond that transcends international borders. The two -- one Canadian and the other French -- met while taking part in a student exchange program and have developed a friendship that will last long after the program is over. 

Christine Archer is one of Concordia International’s exchange coordinators who takes care of students going to Asia, the Americas and Oceania. She agreed that some students experience a “reverse culture shock” [...] “A reverse culture shock is a perfectly normal reaction,” added Concordia psychology department lecturer Dorothea Bye. “It goes back to the very definition of a simple cultural shock in ‘re-culturing’ oneself to a place.”

India remains an integral part of Afghanistan’s steady progress in institutionalizing peace, pluralism, and prosperity. Ties between Afghanistan and India go beyond the traditionally strong relations at the government level. [...] Moreover, in an effort to further solidify ties between Afghans and Indians, the Afghan Embassy in Delhi has initiated the creation of sister-city relations between major Indian cities and states and their Afghan counterparts.