Macon high school students become Ambassadors in Sneakers
MACON, Ga. -- A project all the way from the German-American institute in Tubingen, Germany, is giving Macon students the chance to learn more about different countries, cultures and human rights around the world.
"Being a part of this program means to be exposed to different cultures and different types of governments," said Stratford Academy junior Bhavin Patel.
The program is called Ambassadors in Sneakers: A Young Leaders’ Transatlantic Summer Academy on Human Rights, and 2017 was its first year. This summer two groups of students from different places will travel to each others' countries to get a look at civic engagement and human rights on an international level.
Adviser and the city manager for Hampton, Georgia, Charles Coney said it's more than just a summer trip.
"The students write papers. They engage in formal research. We have them doing course work on college campuses, so these are high school students taking college-level course work," said Coney.
This year the North American students are from Georgia and Alabama. They will go to Germany for two weeks. Later in the summer, the German students will go with them to Birmingham, Alabama, to learn about the civil rights movement.
"I want all the students involved in this to walk away, one, with a strong sense of self in this global society," Coney said. "Number two, I'm hopeful that they will not repeat the sins of the past."
The experience is a chance for students to gain a new perspective.
"I get to understand how kids our age act and the types of views they have and the perspectives they have on America and the rest of the world," said Rutland High junior Keylem Collier.
Some, like Central High School junior Edna Rutland, are already planning for the future.
"It's just about networking and learning more about our cultures and how we can better our communities and eventually our world," she said.
The 12 members of Team USA will travel to Germany in late May.
To donate to their trip, visit gofundme.com/ambassadorsinsneakers.
