The Foreign Service Journal, April 2021

38 APRIL 2021 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL developing a showroom in Hanoi where people with physical disabilities can obtain simple modifications that facilitate mobility and comfort. No virtual platform can deliver such effects—experiences that lead to innovations in the fellows’ work, which then have a ripple effect throughout their communities. U.S. Communities: Capital Lost The transition to virtual exchanges has also tangibly dis- rupted some U.S. communities. The loss of hundreds of millions of grant dollars has had a significant economic impact on Main Street businesses. Citizen diplomacy, broadly speaking, is known for developing five forms of capital: knowledge, cultural, social, civic and economic. With the cessation of in-person exchanges, opportunities for Americans to become informed about interna- tional affairs, develop cross-cultural communication skills and prepare to engage in international commerce are fewer (espe- cially in isolated Montana). Virtual exchanges cannot fill the gap. Rachel Carroll Rivas, co-director of the Montana Human Rights Network, had planned to travel to Thailand in June to assist her fellowship partner, Rojana Inkhong, in connecting the national government’s human rights agency to local stakehold- ers. This collaboration would have supported Rojana’s work to strengthen citizen participation in human rights at a critical time. While the contribution of U.S. participant knowledge to YSEALI communities is important, equally significant is the transformation of the American participants who become citizen ambassadors on their return home. In rural Montana, these community leaders play a critical role in shifting perspectives. The Future of Exchange The importance of experiential learning has been proven, ironically, by the absence of in-person exchanges for the past year, and this should inspire a growth in exchange program- ming under the new administration. At the same time, we have learned the benefits of some virtual components that will con- tinue to enhance the exchange experience. A new high school exchange with U.S. Embassy Hanoi, conceived of by Public Affairs Officer Pam DeVolder to celebrate the 25th anniversary of normalized relations between the United States and Vietnam, provides the ideal combination of program activities. Cohorts of 25 Vietnamese and 25 American students will first engage virtually for six months. Then Vietnamese students will travel to the United States for two weeks to work with American students, who will follow that with travel to Viet- nam to support community action projects. Ongoing program impacts will be maximized by continuing virtual engagement between the two groups. DeVolder notes: “The past year has shown just how valuable virtual engagement can be. Hybrid programs, like the one we’re planning with the University of Montana, are really the future model for exchanges, fostering deep cross-cultural connections and meaningful projects that will benefit entire communities for years to come.” This expanded engagement through virtual platforms simply wouldn’t have happened without the lessons of COVID-19. We can only hope that participants in our delayed exchanges will eventually make it to the United States to build on the rela- tionships and learning already begun virtually. As Macon Barrow, chief of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ Study of the U.S. Branch, states: “Virtual exchange programs are a good substitute for in-person programming during a pandemic and an enhancement to these in-person exchanges. However, the in-per- son experience is the heart and soul of these exchange programs to the United States, and that experience is irreplaceable.” n Exchange participants say farewell on the last program night in Washington, D.C., in July 2018. One of the most powerful elements of in-person exchanges are the spontaneous connections that happen through people-to-people relationships. COURTESYOFTHEMANSFIELDCENTER