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Internet Access and Training Program (IATP)
Georgian and American Students Conduct a Cultural Exchange Forum Online
Peace Corps volunteers Ariana Hidalgo and Travis
Mecum lead the cultural exchange online forum in
Telavi, Georgia
More than 30 students from the Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Maryland, US, met online with high school students from Telavi, Georgia on February 27, increasing cultural understanding for youth of both countries. During the online cultural exchange forum, the students posed questions and answered questions on their schools life, studying programs and conditions, leisure activities, popular music, favorite world political and cultural leaders and food.
This live event was an opportunity for cultural exchange for students, to learn about their peers overseas and what cultural differences and similarities they have. Georgian students took computer basics and internet usage trainings at the Telavi center and this forum was a final step to practice use of the Internet as a means of communication and a resource for getting interesting information. The trainings and forum was initiated and organized by two Peace Corps volunteers, Travis Mecum and Ariana Hidalgo, who currently live and work in Telavi and give English language classes to Georgian high school students. The forum’s American side was organized by Joan Magin, teacher of social studies class from the Eleanor Roosevelt High School and the school’s technical coordinator Linda Watson.
“The Internet turned out to be a great way to communicate with people residing far away from us,” commented Georgian students, “It also turned out to be an alternate opportunity to learn about different culture and interact with students of our age in another country.”
