Philosophy and Design
ABOUT AFICE
AFICE, the Academic Foundation for International Cultural Exchange is a student exchange program dedicated to bringing peoples of different nations together at a personal family level, forging bonds of friendship that will last a lifetime. AFICE was founded with the belief that increasing understanding between nations is a worthwhile endeavor, and AFICE focuses on cultural exchanges for students of high school age in order to further that cause.
The AFICE student exchange program has been developed by people who believe in the value of cultural exchange and have many years of experience in the field of international student exchange. They created AFICE to be a program of integrity that will be a shining example of what a student exchange program should be.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES
AFICE's Community Representatives are the backbone of the organization, and they perform many duties: They interview prospective host families, matching up the family's interests with those of available students; they provide pre-arrival orientation to the host family and post-arrival orientation to the students and families on the AFICE program; they maintain contact with the students and host families, supervising them throughout the duration of the program, sometimes arranging for gatherings and short excursions for the students under their care; and they provide the first level of counseling should any difficulties arise.
NATIONAL STAFF
The AFICE national staff is the top level, communicating with the overseas partner organizations that recruit and screen students overseas for the AFICE program, working with the United States Department of State to provide visa documents to the students, and providing the final level of supervision and counseling for the entire country.
OVERSEAS PARTNERS
AFICE partners with independent organizations overseas who recruit, interview, and screen potential student candidates for participation in the AFICE program. The overseas partner organizations are AFICE's representatives in their respective countries, and it is their job to find qualified candidates, prepare the students for their year in the United States, and liaise with the natural parents of each student during the course of the program.
GOVERNANCE
AFICE is governed by a Board of Directors whose experience in the field of student exchange is outstanding. In fact, the combined experience of the AFICE Board totals more than seventy years of experience with high school student exchange.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
For further information on becoming a Host Family, participating as an AFICE student, or becoming one of AFICE's international partner organizations, contact us. Visit our contact page for all AFICE contact information.
For other matters, including office inquiries and couseling matters, please contact our main office directly via phone: (858)455-0302, or fax: (858)455-0335