10/27/2007 - AFS Intercultural Programs Honors Outstanding Volunteers

2006 Galatti Award Winners Honored at the AFS World Congress

NEW YORK, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/—NY-AFS Intercultural Programs honored four outstanding volunteers today at a ceremony at the AFS World Congress in New York City.

Each year since 1983, AFS has granted the Galatti Award, the most
prestigious recognition in the AFS network, to recognize outstanding AFS volunteers for their dedicated service to the AFS mission of promoting peace through intercultural exchange. This year’s Galatti Award winners are Yasuko Araki from Japan, Nina Crawford from New Zealand, Maria Aparecida de Barros Forini from Brazil, and Franz Greimel from Austria.

With the Galatti Award, AFS acknowledges the critical role volunteers
play in the organization and the impact volunteerism has on communities around the world. This annual award is presented volunteers who have provided at least five years of outstanding support to AFS at the grass-roots level.

“Today we thank not only our extraordinary Galatti Award winners, but
all of the thousands of volunteers that give of their time and energy to
promote the AFS mission of peace and mutual understanding,” said Francisco Cazal, President of AFS Intercultural Programs.

The AFS network is run by over 30,000 active volunteers in more than 50
countries around the world. AFS’ unique model of volunteer-run programs is rooted in the vision of founder Stephen Galatti who built and transformed AFS from a volunteer ambulance service during both World Wars into a global network of partner organizations that now provides cross-cultural experiences to almost 11,000 students each year in the name of peace.

About AFS: AFS Intercultural Programs, Inc. (http://www.afs.org) is one of the world’s largest not-for-profit, community-based volunteer organizations dedicated to building a more just and peaceful world through intercultural exchange. AFS has a network of 52 Partner organizations and runs programs in more than 50 countries involving nearly 13,000 students, young adults and teachers each year. Since 1947, more than 350,000 individuals and an equal number of host families have had the AFS experience. In addition, AFS has Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations.