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By Saravanan Rajan, AFS India Alumni, Volunteer AFS India Chennai Chapter “Being an alumni of a prestigious program is to change the world. But, not all of us have the…

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By Naveen Raja, Volunteer, Chennai Chapter “The AFS chennai chapter collaborated with The Environmentalists foundation of India and participated in the beach cleanup activity that was held on 2nd June…

1,012 Followers, 2,057 Following, 211 Posts - Saravanan Rajan (@saranaaron) on Instagram: "சரவணன்
Engineer                                                           USA 🇺🇸 2012-2013
AFS Volunteer.
Love to travel. ✈️
YES Alumni"

Saravanan Rajan (@saranaaron) • Instagram photos and videos

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Saravanan Rajan

It has been a decade filled with experiences. On Aug 6th, 2012 a group of 30 students wearing the same color T-shirt were sitting across gate 1B in the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. We went on a life-changing experience in the United States for a year through the KL-YES program. With my host…

From a YES Participant to YES Workshop Facilitator

Hey 👋 Thank you visiting my profile here.I'm Saravanan Shanmuga Rajan, Trainer at Siemens and a freelance facilitator, curriculum designer.

Saravanan Rajan is creating training materials and learning session modules.

45 Followers, 13 Following, 12 Posts - English Workshop (@english.teach.workshop) on Instagram: "English Language Teaching Workshop funded by the US Department of State for Students in Chennai, India.
#yesalumni #englishteachworkshop
@saranaaron"

English Workshop (@english.teach.workshop) • Instagram photos and videos

The U.S. Consulate General Chennai organized a session to spread awareness about the KL-YES program at their American Center Booth at the 23rd Chennai Book Fair on January 15th, 2023.

In Tamil Nadu, January 15th was also the Pongal festival day. Therefore, the Alumni came in their traditional outfits for the event. We did three sessions for different audiences, and it was productive.

For us as an alumnus, it is always a pleasure to spread awareness about the program and talk about our experiences and how they shaped us.

Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study is a one-year high school student exchange program between the United States and other countries, including India. I got selected to be one of the participants in the year 2012. I was hosted in Ellettsville, Indiana, by a wonderful family and went to Edgewood High School. It was a life-changing experience.

Since I came back, I have been volunteering with AFS Intercultural Programs India. I work in the capacity of Vice President in the AFS Chennai Chapter and as a Qualified Facilitator. We look forward to creating more awareness about the YES program in the coming months.

Saravanan S (YES 12-13) (myself), Abdul Salam M, (YES 14-15), Shahbaz Ali Khan (YES 17-18), Akash B (YES 17-18), and Mohan Raj (YES 18-19) were the alumni who participated in the event and Christina ma'am President, AFS Chennai Chapter took over the Q&A session. 

U.S. Consulate General Chennai's Cultural Affairs Officer Scott E Hartmann and the American Center Director Seema Massot were also present during the session.

Thanks to U.S. Consulate General Chennai for giving us this opportunity.

#ExchangeAlumni - Alumni Affairs - State Dept. #exchangealumni  #YESalumni #afseffect #afschennai #chennaibookfair

#exchangealumni #yesalumni #afseffect #afschennai #chennaibookfair | Saravanan Shanmuga Rajan

Happy to be a part of this program. It is really inspiring to see students from continents across oceans come together while learning about each other's culture and also trying to create solutions to real-world problems through Design Thinking.

Every session the conversion is going to a different level and I believe this is the right time for students to start thinking from a Global Perspective for a Sustainable World.

Thanks to Value Learning Intercultural Specialists and Nishita Mehta for this opportunity.

#mentor #sdg #designthinking #globalcitizen #culture 

#mentor #sdg #designthinking #globalcitizen #culture | Saravanan Shanmuga Rajan

This November was a busy month with four back-to-back training in two different cities with the amazing co-facilitator Sarita Badhwar. We delivered Pathways to Global Classrooms for Educators and Effect+ Workshop for Students at the SSVM Institutions in Coimbatore and Mettupalayam. 

Pathways to Global Classrooms for Educators is to equip teachers with skills to impart learners with socio-emotional skills such as mindfulness, empathy, and compassion that enable them to become global citizens. Such skills help learners appreciate diﬀerent cultures, act responsibly, and ﬁnd solutions to the Global crisis.

AFS Intercultural Programs Effect+ Program is a hands-on learning program that introduces students to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how to work together to help advance these goals in their communities. The workshop had sessions on how to become a Global changemaker and the competencies a Global changemaker needs. Students also get to hear from a local Changemaker well. Thanks to Dipti Shankar for sharing her experience and the project she is currently working on.

Both the educators and students were enthusiastic and shared genuinely good views. We also meet some young TEDx speakers and students who are already creating change in their community. As we are going into the year 2023, the AFS Intercultural Programs and AFS Intercultural Programs India are looking to reach out to more educators and students to deliver this training through a diverse group of facilitators.

#afseffect #globalcompetance #sdg #sustainabledevelopmentgoals #training #changemaker #ssvm #afsindia #effectplus #Advocacy #Changemaking #GlobalCitizenship #InterculturalLearning #Schools #educators 

#afseffect #globalcompetance #sdg #sustainabledevelopmentgoals #training #changemaker #ssvm #afsindia #effectplus #advocacy #changemaking #globalcitizenship #interculturallearning #schools #educators | Saravanan Shanmuga Rajan

For this year's International Education Week, I got an opportunity to speak with nearly 200 Access enthusiastic students from NED University of Engineering and Technology Karachi, Pakistan. These students have applied and aspiring to apply for the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study program. I shared the stage along with my YES batch mates from Pakistan Warisha Atiq and Sabahat Taimoor. 

It was very nostalgic for me since the last time I met Warisha Atiq was in Washington DC in 2012 about a decade back. It was amazing to atleast see her virtually.

We shared our experiences from the program and how they helped shape who we are now. We also shared experiences of the interview when we applied for the YES program and suggested some tips and tricks for the interview stage.

#YESisIEW #YESAlumni #AFSeffect #IEW2022 #ExchangeAlumni 
AFS Intercultural Programs India AFS Intercultural Programs

#yesisiew #yesalumni #afseffect #iew2022 #exchangealumni | Saravanan Shanmuga Rajan

And that’s a wrap for the Victorian Young Leaders (VYL) to India Program for 2023! 🥳

After six weeks of meeting together online, it’s been great to see 80 year 9 students and 20 teachers from schools in Victoria and India learn and grow together! 🇦🇺🇮🇳

They delved into some important discussions on global competence and intercultural learning, and were able to share their cultures and expand their understanding of one another’s lives. 🌏 We are very proud of their amazing group project presentations which are the culmination of collaborating to identify issues in their communities related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Using a Design Thinking process they identified solutions to address the issues and create social impact. We are excited to see where they go to from here! 🤩

Some key highlights from the students include:

✨ “Taking a step out of my comfort zone, collaborating and making new friends from another country.”
✨ “Going through the journey of the Global Competence Certificate, reflecting in the forum, knowing about others culture has been extremely valuable.”
✨ “Forming deeper bonds with participants from our own school.”
✨ “Working collaboratively on the design challenge on issues that matter to us and get a deeper sense of contributing to the society.”

✍️ VYL participants 

We would like to thank the Victorian Department of Education for continuing to fund such a valuable program for the students. 

We also would like to say a massive thank you to the mentors for the time and effort they put into the program. The students benefited from their advice, challenging questions and support, a huge thank you to Aarushi Golchha, Madhusudan. N, M.A., TEFL, Ankit Jaiswal, Krushnadevsinh (Kano) R., Vibhooti Malhardi, Saravanan S, Neha Sharma, Sweta Sadhu, Pratik Ambani, Madhuri N.P. 👏

Adhyapana School CBSE - India 
Jain International Residential School 
Raghav Global School 
Brighton Secondary College 
St Joseph's College Geelong 
Drouin Secondary College 
Alkira Secondary College 
Yarram Secondary College 
Thomas Carr College 
St Columba's College, Essendon 
Wellington Secondary College 
Doncaster Secondary College 
Valistus International School 
S D Public School 
DPS Dwarka Expressway 
Deccan International School 
Mount Rowan Secondary College
Ridge Valley School
Global City International School
Delhi Public School
Viraj Shire Base Centenial School 

 #socialimpact #sustainabledevelopment #education #india #leaders #globalcitizenship #globalcitizens #youngleaders

#socialimpact #sustainabledevelopment #education #india #leaders #globalcitizenship #globalcitizens #youngleaders | Value Learning Intercultural Specialists

Instructional Designer | Learning Experience Expert