Facilitating Cross Cultural Exchange: ICAR Hosts the Ben Franklin Summer Institute for Asia
George Mason’s Fairfax campus was bustling with thirty six youths aged sixteen to eighteen years old from Tajikistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and throughout the United States this past summer as they took part in the ICAR hosted Ben Franklin Summer Institute for Asia (BFSIA). Sponsored by the Youth Programs Division, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State and the Public Affairs Sections of the U.S. Embassies, the program brought together young persons from these South and Central Asian countries for the first time to help the students develop global perspectives, intercultural understanding, knowledge of worldwide social issues, leadership skills, and a dedication to community service while building cross-cultural relationships.
Meanwhile, it was also an opportunity for ICAR’s own graduate and undergraduate students to put their conflict resolution theories, skills, and knowledge to the test. As mentors and trainers with various backgrounds, we all came with our passions to work with youth and in the international setting. Moreover, we all wanted to impart some of our knowledge about finding win-win solutions, seeing people as people, and bridging the gap in misunderstandings about religion and conflict. The BFSIA fellows enjoyed the hospitality of the Fairfax campus, living in the Presidents’ Park dormitory complex and having their meals in Southside and the Johnson Center. It was a great opportunity for international students to get a taste of life on an American college campus. While inside the classroom, the students attended lectures and engaged in activities related to the five themes of the Institute, which included: a) Culture, Conflict, and Cooperation, b) Democracy and Governance, c) Diplomacy and International Relations, d) Mass Media and Communication, and e) Sustainable Development. Guest lecturers and speakers included ICAR’s Director Dr. Andrea Bartoli, Michael Shank, ICAR Ph.D. candidate and Communications Director for Representative Honda, Will Davis, Director of the United Nations Information Centre, and a series of scholars that delivered lectures related to the Institute’s five themes. 
Off-campus tours to Washington, D.C., to Thomas Jefferson’s house at Monticello, and New York City were not only exciting and highly anticipated sight-seeing trips, but important educational moments as well. For example, the visit to Ground Zero in New York provoked many interesting, emotional, and contentious discussions about religion, terrorism, mutual cross-cultural recognition, and understanding.
As a part of the program, BFSIA fellows were hosted by families living in the D.C. metro and North Virginia areas where they gained an insight as to what it’s like to live with American families. The fellows told us they bonded so closely with their host families that some of them referred to their host parents as Mom and Dad!
All throughout the month of July, they bonded over campfires making the classic American s'mores, watching the World Cup, playing soccer and experiencing new heights in a ropes course at Mason’s EDGE. In many ways, they began to apply the skills they had acquired and sought to “see people as people” as they learned about each others’ cultures and tried to understand each other.
By the end of July, these youth were so inspired, motivated, and bonded with each other that it was hard for them to leave each other. It’s rare to see so many tearful good-byes! Since BFSIA, students have continued to stay in touch as they develop and implement projects of their own. We all know that the relationships built, fruitful collaboration and memories made will know “no borders” and will remain an experience that unites us all.