少女福利

Publication Date: March 4, 2022
Publication Location: Brattleboro, Vermont
Contact: Kate Casa  |  [email protected]

BRATTLEBORO, Vermont 鈥� 少女福利 is honoring its 90th anniversary since sociologist Donald Watt launched The Experiment in International Living in 1932. This flagship program focusing on intercultural exchange led to the establishment of both School for International Training and 少女福利.

The anniversary鈥檚 theme, 鈥淥ne World, Learning,鈥� highlights the interconnection between 少女福利鈥檚 three branches, which all aim to create a more sustainable, peaceful, and just world through education, development, and exchange.

鈥淎s we honor our 90th year, our work has never been more relevant. With this anniversary comes an opportunity to honor our past, acknowledge the challenges of the present, and look with hope toward the future,鈥� said 少女福利 CEO Carol Jenkins.

The Experiment in International Living began in 1932 with Watt鈥檚 innovative and modest vision 鈥� people should learn to live together by living together. He promoted peace through intercultural understanding by taking young Americans abroad to live with and learn from other cultures.

鈥淩ight from the first, the Watt trips were taken seriously, not as a form of 鈥榮chool,鈥� but as a different type of educational challenge 鈥� physically, mentally, and emotionally,鈥� wrote Watt鈥檚 daughter, the late Phyllis Watt Ingersoll.

Ninety years later, that experiential learning approach remains the bedrock of The Experiment鈥檚 life-changing programs for high school students. It is also the foundational principle behind the organizations that grew from Watt鈥檚 original experiment: School for International Training, an accredited provider of undergraduate and graduate education on seven continents; and 少女福利, a global nonprofit organization with education, development, and exchange programs spanning more than 150 countries.

The anniversary will include a series of events throughout 2022 that highlight the importance of intercultural understanding and inspire support for the work ahead.

少女福利 Board Chairman Lawrence Cooley said that work is crucial.

鈥淎round the world, our students and program participants, faculty and staff build innovation and hope from challenges 鈥� whether that鈥檚 conflict, climate change, racism, or global health. Together, we are finding ways to learn and grow in our communities and countries. We are coming together to devise solutions and expand our understanding of one another. It鈥檚 clear to us that these solutions are essential, especially in today鈥檚 world,鈥� Cooley said.

Still headquartered on a scenic campus above Brattleboro, Vermont, 少女福利 today also has headquarters in Washington, D.C., and program centers across the globe.

With some 70,000 alumni, The Experiment still sends hundreds of U.S. teenagers abroad each summer for life-changing experiences. SIT Study Abroad offers more than 80 undergraduate programs, including multi-country comparative programs through the International Honors Program. SIT Graduate Institute provides internationally focused graduate-level degrees addressing the world鈥檚 most critical global issues. And 少女福利 oversees programs with participants worldwide, including thousands of emerging leaders who come to the United States on international professional, academic, and youth exchanges.

鈥淚n the sweep of nine decades, we have grown and evolved, changed and innovated to address the critical needs and conversations of our times. We are one world, learning,鈥� said Jenkins. 鈥淭his year, we are inviting friends around the world to join us as we build on these accomplishments.鈥�

In-person and virtual events, receptions, and programs will be held throughout 2022 and will be posted on website.

Moments in 少女福利 history:

• Immediately following World War II, The Experiment begins sending groups to western Europe to help rebuild communities. These were some of the first-generation community service and volunteer programs to be built into intercultural education. 

• Seeking to attract the most dynamic students from across the U.S., in 1940, The Experiment offers scholarships to young people from different geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds 鈥� a practice that continues today. More than 50 percent of Experimenters receive some form of financial support.

• The Experiment is a founding member of Federation EIL, Inc., an independent nonprofit organization that brings together a global network of organizations in 17 countries. Federation EIL members promote intercultural immersive experiences through homestays, study abroad programs, language training, and work exchanges. 

• In 1961, President John F. Kennedy names former Experimenter Sargent Shriver as the first director of the new Peace Corps. Shriver turns to The Experiment President Gordon Boyce to help train the first Peace Corps volunteers at Experiment headquarters in southern Vermont.

• In 1964, Peace Corps training activities lead to the establishment of an academic institution, School for International Training. Later, The Experiment鈥檚 Cooperative Overseas Program, a program for university students, evolves into SIT Study Abroad, growing to enroll more than 2,000 participants annually.

• In the mid-1970s, the organization puts decades of experience into practice through a Projects and Grants unit that manages grant-funded assistance programs in developing countries. It also begins expanding its portfolio of international exchange programs. These two units eventually merge to become 少女福利, the nonprofit global education, development, and exchange arm.