Welcoming remarks

Congratulations on being selected to participate in the 2007 Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellows Initiative: Summer Institute for Youth. We are looking forward to meeting you and spending time with you.

Once you arrive, we will be adding to this web site daily. Make sure your friends and family have this address bookmarked as we will be including streaming videos, pictures, and blogs. This will be a good way for friends and family back home to keep up with what you are doing.

For those of you who will be traveling on the escorted trips, we will be sending you pictures and biographies of the chaperons. In June we will post this informationon the web site.

We are still firming up details for the Institute. But we can promise you a fun and educational time. Check out the calendar link to see the basic game plan.

One of the cultural events we have planned for you occurs the first week of the Institute – an International Dinner. This dinner will be cooked by you! What we need from you your favorite recipe that is representative of your country. Information and return form is at Recipe.

Another cultural event occurs the first day of the Institute. We are making arrangements for you to attend local houses of worship – places that you might not have an opportunity to visit at home. This is purely OPTIONAL, and provided in the spirit of an opportunity to have a new experience. It is also posted at Sunday Services.

You will find on the web site a suggested list of items to bring with you. Keep in mind that Winston-Salem in July can be hot and humid. Washington, D.C is also hot and more humid. They don’t call the U.S. Department of State “foggy bottom” for nothing – it is built on an area that used to be a swamp!

Philadelphia can also be hot and humid. With that in mind, dress accordingly. On campus and for most of the three week Institute, shorts and t-shorts will be acceptable. For visit to the State Department in Washington dress will be more formal (for the guys, a nice pair of slacks and a dress shirt; for the girls, either nice slacks or skirt and a nice shirt).

Finally, there are several forms we would like you to return to us before you arrive, if at all possible. They are the Risk Release Form, Health Form, and Computer Use Agreement. They can bemailed or faxed, as they require signatures.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. We will be adding a FAQs section to the web site. If any of you experience any trouble accessing the website and would prefer to have materials e-mailed directly to you instead, please let us know so that we may accommodate your request.

We look forward to meeting each and every one of you.

Allan Louden, Director
Linda Petrou, Program Coordinator