Due to Increased Demand for FAF's Services
Groups, Ensembles, and Individuals can take
advantage of low cost, exciting travel projects in 2009
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10:
ˇ Concert exchanges and performance tours,
ˇ Training workshops,
ˇ Service projects, and
ˇ Large international gatherings far away or close to
home
Before the summer break: share this
information with
individuals planning to travel in Summer 2009
and
start your post-recession discussions
now for group and individual
travel in 2010!
Great Inexpensive Concert Tours to New York City Still Available in 2009 |
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FAF just completed two wonderful trips to New
York
City, and with the economy the way it is, we
are seeing even lower prices for group tours
as we head into the main summer season.
Did you cancel your big trip abroad? Looking
for a
simple, quick alternative that will provide
impact and a
great artistic and educational experience for
your
ensemble in 2009? Looking for a cost efficient
opportunity for your cultural or volunteer
service
group?
FAF has some wonderful opportunities in New
York in
2009 that should not be missed.
Ellen J. Bowen,
Director of
Choral
Activities, Grosse Pointe South High
School ˇ March
2009
"The Grosse Pointe South choir's trip to
NYC was
well
organized and very exciting. We so enjoyed
the UN
and the opportunity to sing for the UN
(International)
school ... (T)he workshop with Gavin Creel -
and then
watching him in Hair - was an experience our
students will never forget. I have traveled
with FAF
since 1976 and each trip has been a new and
exciting
experience. By the way, our rooms ... were
amazing.
We were only a half of a block off Times
Square and I
could lie in my bed and watch Time's square
ball turn
from red, to blue, to green. What memories
we will all
have. Thank you."
Michelle Jo Santoso,
Huntington Middle School Orchestra tour
companion ˇ April 2009 "Thank you for all
the wonderful work and
organization during our stay in New York. We
all had a great time and the most precious,
once in a lifetime event was when our kids
were performing. It was a great experience.
Everything was very well organized and
precisely on time. Yin-Chu was wonderful.
Wishing you all the best in everything you
do, and hope there is chance to work with you
again."
Early Summer 2009: Replicate these great
experiences at a
price you can all afford.
Late Summer 2009: Visit New York and
add in
an appearance at the
annual
Youth Assembly at the United Nations.
ˇ Performance Ensembles: perform
inside UN Headquarters (not in the lobby or
outside,
nearby ...). ˇ Young Diplomats and Faculty:
Attend
the Youth Assembly at the United Nations this August
for a very special cultural exchange right here in the
USA (see
below for more). This is a once in a lifetime
experience that
none of you will want to miss.
Performance Ensembles: A Week in NYC at a
Glance, FAF Style!
Day 1- Upon arrival in New York City, an FAF
representative will be there to welcome you.
Board your private motor coach for your
transfer to
your accommodations in midtown Manhattan. After
settling in and depending on arrival times, enjoy a
welcome dinner at a
nearby restaurant or a
short FAF orientation before turning in for
the night.
Day 2- Board your private motor coach this
morning to
the Empire State Building; tour
the Observatory Tower. After getting to know New
York from above, take some free time to discover 5th
Avenue and
the Grand Central Station area. Your motor
coach will
take you to your first indoor performance and
exchange.
Have dinner
together at a restaurant nearby, arranged by FAF.
Day 3 - Enjoy breakfast then join FAF staff and
interns:
explore the famous
Metropolitan Museum of Art (entrance
included), one
of the world's finest museums. Have lunch in the
museum's cafeteria. Enjoy some free time in the
afternoon for shopping or individual
sightseeing. Tonight: special exchange opportunities
will be tailored for each group.
Day 4- After breakfast,
stroll through
Rockefeller Center and the famous Central
Park. Visit
the Central Park Zoo, Conservatory Garden,
enjoy the
Carousel and Carriage Rides, or do some row
boating on the Lake. In the afternoon, board your
motor coach for your transfer to Greenwich,
Connecticut. Meet the members of the Youth
Band for United Nations and have an indoor
joint concert at the Greenwich High School.
Reception and dinner arranged after the
performance.
Day 5 - Depart to Downtown and take a cruise
to the
Statue of Liberty. Upon
arrival,
prepare for your first outdoor concert at the
Statue of
Liberty Flagpole area. After a fun, al fresco
performance, take time on your own to explore
the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
Upon your return to Manhattan, visit Ground
Zero. Explore Chinatown and Little Italy. Tonight:
special exchange opportunities will be tailored for
each group.
Day 6 - In the early afternoon, meet for
lunch at the
hotel and then transfer to United Nations
headquarters in New York City for a visit and
your
concert. Upon arrival, enjoy a guided tour of
this vital
peacemaking institution. Visit the gift shop
for your
souvenirs. Mail them with special stamps
available
only from the UN! In the early evening,
join other
international performers for the annual U.C.
Peace
Arts Festival inside the United Nations. This
is also an
award ceremony for UN officials involved with
cultural
activities.
Day 7 - After breakfast, enjoy a 2-hour,
semi-circle
cruise around Manhattan, which will be a
breathtaking
experience and allow you to get to know some
of the
history of Manhattan, New Jersey and
Brooklyn. In the
afternoon, enjoy some free time at Times
Square. After an early dinner at Times
Square, enjoy an
included, evening performance on Broadway
tonight!
And: all at a very inviting price that is
tax-deductible to
the fullest extent of the law through FAF.
Make an
impact at a fraction of the cost of high
rate, for-profit
tour operators (Actually, even tour operators
use FAF
these days to increase the impact of their tours and
lower
costs
overall. With no profit motive whatsoever,
the foundation is happy to oblige.)
Individuals: Join a tour! Learn more
about opportunities where you can join in.
Do you have a
member in your ensemble or group that REALLY
wants to travel in 2009? See below for info
on a service trip to Jordan this summer. And
invite individuals to look online and learn
more, too!
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Individuals Need To Know: Pass the Word Along |
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2009 Service Tour Of Note: The International
Relief Friendship Foundation is planning a major
renovation
project on
tour to Jordan in Summer 2009. Go on to the FAF
website for all the details.
This is a perfect opportunity to visit a
friendly country in
the Middle East, contribute to development
where it is
sorely needed and help a nonprofit
organization fill its
quota so that all the work can actually get
done.
The work is supported in part by Queen Rania's
Jordan River Foundation and will include fun,
educational, and exchange opportunities
before and
after the actual project work.
Do you know a student who is interested in
travel?
Please let them know about this important travel
opportunity. It will be great for Jordan
and great for
their high school or college resume, too!
High school and college level youth leaders, and
those interested in cultural diplomacy
on the
international scale, will not want to miss the
annual Youth
Assembly at the United Nations in August.
See below for
more.
(For the First Time Ever: Younger High School
students will want to visit www.superfutures.org for a
chance to join in on the Youth Assembly at the United
Nations, too.)
Women and men will want to learn more about the
conference: "Women, Water, and Food
Protection" taking
place in Calcutta, India, with a side trip to Nepal,
in November.
Interested parties can sign up right on
the FAF
website. All are invited to attend and ensure that their
voices will be heard!
So, if you haven't seen the FAF site in awhile,
take a visit. Whether or not you are planning
any group travel in the near future, are
deciding on a programme to join yourself or
for one of your students, or perhaps
considering joining nearly 1000 young people
and their mentors every year at FAF's very
successful UN Youth
Assembly in New York.
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The Global Consortium |
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For years, Friendship Ambassadors
Foundation has been promoting a cultural
view of global diplomacy, the
foundation hopes to help create a world
where we all
appreciate each other's culture with mutual
respect.
With this in mind, FAF has created a new, free,
online service, unveiled in March, called
The Global Consortium. It will promote
this idea
by
encouraging all pre-formed, mission-based
travel
groups, of all kinds, to list their names,
project,
location, dates, regions,and proposed
outcomes at the online intranet address we
have provided at: www.faf.org.
The purpose of the Consortium will be to
encourage collaboration in programming, fund
and media development at a time when
more
voices are better than fewer, while also
enabling the US State Department to
recognize the vast importance of these
cultural and service based tours, and for the
media themselves to know more about the
depth and breadth of these projects around
the world.
We hope you will decide
to sign on, no matter how or whom you are
traveling with, soon. Good Travels!
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Annual UN Youth Assembly Attracts Cultural Diplomats |
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In keeping with the FAF mission to ensure
cultural involvement
in the process of global development,
the foundation created and directs the annual
Youth
Assembly at the United Nations each August,
at UN
Headquarters in New York City. This year,
the events (free after registration) will
take place August 5 - 7, 2009 at the UN. The
gathering will feature well known speakers,
workshops and a large arts festival called
the (United Cultures) U.C. Peace Arts
Festival.
This summer the Youth Assembly will seek to have
concerts in the Japanese Peace Bell garden
inside
the UN campus: a rare and unique performance
opportunity that will gather large and
appreciative
crowds. (Concerts in the garden will be
sought for
Hiroshima Day, 6 August 2009.)
The 6th annual Youth Assembly at the United
Nations is a partnership with the UN
Department of
Public Information and others. It is endorsed
by dozens of Permanent Missions to the UN.
The YA, as it is called by the thousands of
young people, arts ensembles, and leadership
mentors who
attend, is a place to unite those seeking a
peaceful and more equitable world for all -
while also allowing
those involved in policy and volunteer
service to interact with those who see the
arts and cultural exchange as an essential
part of that dialogue going forward.
Individuals, arts ensembles, faculty and
students alike are encouraged to sign up
while there are still
Delegate and Observer places available.
Check out
the blog, past assemblies, and log onto to
our registration page soon.
We already have over 450 registrants and we look
forward to
seeing YOU there in 2009, too!
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FAF - Contact |
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299 Greenwich Avenue
Greenwich, Connecticut USA
06830
43-45 Margit Krt.
1024 Budapest, Hungary
www.faf.org friendlyam@faf.org
USA: 001-203-542-
0652; -0661(f) Europe: +36-1-225-7464
(t/f)
Friendship Ambassadors Foundation, Inc. is a
501c3 not-for-profit, tax-exempt
organization, with international
affiliations, including the United Nations
Department of Public Information, UNESCO, ACDA,
Greenwich Arts Council, and other
associations with academic, cultural, and
diplomatic institutions worldwide. (FAF's
U.S. Headquarters, in Greenwich, CT, is
pictured above.)
The goals of the foundation include the
creation and facilitation of cultural
exchange programmes that encourage mutual
understanding and global cooperation, the
promotion of youth leadership events, and
support for sustainable development through
cultural tourism in emerging regions worldwide.
"I appreciate your time and effort, am
grateful for your support and am quite
overwhelmed with pride to read the amount of
effort you have made on behalf of our trip.
You have a true concept of what diplomacy
involves and effect it repeatedly."
- John McIntyre, Tour Coordinator, Greenwich
Choral Society, June 2008 (Part of FAF's
Sister City Project between Greenwich. CT and
Vienne, France)
"The Movement Laboratory Youth Ensembles'
'Goodwill thru Dance Program' has traveled
with FAF for over 20 years ... Thanks FAF for
helping ...
We will continue to create illuminate and
teach peace."
- Judy Williams Henry, Founder, Artistic Director
"If you saw the impact you have on youth
(and young
at heart), you would have to shade your eyes
from the brightness of hope."
- Paulette Schatz, Project Manager, United
Nations Development Programme,
Afghanistan
"We are truly appreciative of the time you
take to
involve the world's youth in the process of
global development. "
- Astrid Hurley, U.N. Programme on Youth
"It was a wonderful, wonderful trip. We're
all home,
safe & sound now with glorious echoes &
scenes in
our heads & hearts. Thank you for your
patience & persistence & attention to detail
all the way along the line to liftoff , And
all went well in country too - The drivers
were excellent & the students were speechless
& happy. So, yes, I've appreciated how solid
& consistent & thoughtful you've been, &
flexible, & imaginative! All the best. You
certainly ARE the best!
Many, many thanks."
- Devon McNamara, (Leader, West Virginia
Wesleyan), 6/06 ... By the way, WVWC repeated
this
successful programme in 2008 and will travel
with us
on a new cultural exchange with a full class,
off to
Budapest, Prague, Bratislava, and Vienna in
2009.
"On the wonderful work that Friendship
Ambassadors
is accomplishing, I commend you for your
leadership in promoting cultural exchange
between people both
young and old around the world. Hillary joins
me in
sending her best wishes."
- Former President Bill Clinton
"I commend FAF's efforts to work with
young people to
help them find possible means and ways to
peace and reconciliation. I would also wish
to stress the importance of generous support
for this project."
- President Martti Ahtisaari, (former)
President of Finland, 2008 Nobel Peace Prize
Winner
"God love you for the love you give
through the joy you
spread." - Mother Teresa
"What you are doing couldn't be closer to
my heart. I urge you to keep opening new
doors of friendship wherever you travel and
perform. Godspeed!"
- Leonard Bernstein
"I know of few projects today that succeed
more in
helping our young musicians do what they do best:
sharing the magic & glory of music with their
love of
people & their zest for new adventures."
- Alice Tully
"We strongly support FAF's mission to create
international cultural opportunities . . .
please, do your best to help them in their
nonprofit efforts."
- András Török, author, former Secretary of
State for Culture, Hungary
"First of all, let me tell you that the
tour was Wonderful!
We couldn't have asked for better more receptive
audiences. Secondly . Secondly, whatever you
do ...
keep [FAF Artistic Director] Yin-Chu Jou. I
couldn't
have asked for a more gracious, "johnny on
the spot," kind, loving, helpful person to
travel with! And I know very well that it
takes a team to make something like this come
to fruition. So THANK YOU ALL, FAF!"
- Kim Clayton, Founder and Director Clayton
Productions August 2008
"The Alliance Francaise of Greenwich would
like to
thank you and your Artistic Director Yin-Chu
Jou for
your efforts in including [us] in the
Greenwich Choral
Society trip to France honoring the
Greenwich/Vienne
Sister City 2008 initiative... The trip was
seamless, due in no small part to your
advance planning ... We thank you and your
team for making this historic trip so
memorable."
- Renee Ketcham, President, Alliance
Francaise of Greenwich, July 2008
"Thanks again for everything you did for
our experience, Yin-Chu. It was certainly a
first-class
operation, and you were friendly, charming,
professional, and organized."
- Dr Christopher J . Nicholas, Coe College
Bands Soloist; Associate Director of Bands
The University of
Wyoming Department of Music; August 2008
Find out more....
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