In 2016 YFU announced the creation of a Virtual Exchange Initiative to expand on its mission to advance intercultural understanding, mutual respect, and social responsibility through educational exchanges for youth, families, and communities.The pilot program encourages online open dialogue among teenagers in the US and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). 

In a few weeks, 14 members of the Felix Mantilla Little League will board a plane that will cross an ocean and land in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Most of the kids, ages 9 and 10, have never been out of Milwaukee. In Puerto Rico, they will play baseball games against age-group peers. [...] But baseball is not the most important part of the trip. The kids, mostly from low-income families, will visit historic Old San Juan, the Arecibo Observatory and the El Yunque rainforest and will tour the Puerto Rico Sports Hall of Fame.

The 2016 East Global Citizenship Development Seminar (GCDS) organized by the International Association of Students in Economic and Commercial Sciences (AIESEC) was recently held in Shanghai. With the purpose of helping 131 international volunteers from 32 different countries along with 54 Chinese students from mainland universities prepare for six weeks of cultural exchange in China, the seminar allowed the volunteers an opportunity to learn about and respect different cultures and lifestyles.

Some 130 youth representatives from 51 Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) countries, including Malaysia, will attend the five-day 7th Model Asem in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Themed 20 years of Asem: Partnership for Future through Connectivity, participants will address inter-regional issues on politics, economic and socio-cultural between Asia and Europe. Asean members such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore are expected to discuss on migration, health, environment and education.

It feels next year offers the best time to introduce this change with 2017 designated the UK-India Year of Culture. When both nations aim to build on strong collaboration in business, art, music, design and other fields. Having a cheaper and extended UK visitor visa will help enhance these endeavors, the report said.  

"The opportunity of going to Costa Rica was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I was able to make new friends, witness a different culture, and to expand my knowledge of a new language. I was surprised by how kind everyone was and how everyone took care of each other. I learned that I knew more Spanish than I thought I knew. Going to Costa Rica was enriching and very rewarding," wrote D'Andrea.

The third Ghana Street Carnival started off here with much enthusiasm over the weekend, with various cultural and artistic groups on parade to showcase the various faces of Ghana's culture, creative arts and entertainment.