
Friendship Force International is an international organization for journeys composed of 371 clubs in 54 countries with more than 18000 members worldwide.
http://www.friendshipforce.org/
https://vimeo.com/194675995
http://www.friendshipforce.org/
https://vimeo.com/194675995
Friendship Force
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter in 1987 with their English host family, Jenny and Tony Coates with their daughters Amy and Charlotte.
It all began in 1972 when a Southern governor and his wife traveled to Brazil with a former missionary. The governor? Jimmy Carter. The missionary? Wayne Smith. The result: The Friendship Force.
“I knew the Carters and saw them to be the kind of people who didn’t have to be limited to the formal diplomatic circles when traveling abroad,” remembers Smith. “I challenged them to go as ‘citizen diplomats’ meeting the people as well as the members of the power structure.”
Several years later, the governor became president of the United States. Wayne Smith suggested to the Carters that an organization be formed that would provide people of all countries the opportunity to reach out in friendship across the barriers which often divide them. The Carters readily agreed, and on March 1, 1977 – just weeks after Jimmy Carter assumed office – The Friendship Force was launched publicly at a White House dinner, and Rosalynn Carter was designated honorary chairperson, a position she still holds.
“It is not so unusual for an organization to have an association with people of the stature of the Carters,” says Wayne Smith, president of The Friendship Force. “What is unusual, however, is the time, dedication and personal commitment that they have given to us for a full 20 years.”
One of the highlights of the Carters’ Friendship Force connection was the 10th anniversary exchange in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. Both Carters attended and, like the other participants, had a homestay with a local family. They didn’t just talk about making friends. They participated!
According to the Carters, there is an ongoing need for international friendship. In a recent letter endorsing the 20th anniversary exchanges, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter stated, “Many of the old barriers that separated people are gone, and The Friendship Force played its part in making this happen. But the need for friendship between people of different countries is as great as ever. You can help build a safer and friendlier world by participating in an exchange.”
On March 20, 2007, The Friendship Force will officially celebrated its 30th birthday.
Reprinted from the January/February, 1997 issue of Friendship magazine.
Wayne Smith, Former President, The Friendship Force International
Periodically I receive inquiries from our member regarding the name of our organization. In particular, they ask about the use of two words that, in the English language, are not usually associated with each other: the universally acceptable and pleasing concept of friendship with the more aggressive word force. Since names are important to all of us, it is good to reflect on our name, The Friendship Force.
When The Friendship Force was established in 1977, the name was carefully selected. Friendship, rather than peace, would be the primary concept. As individuals, we may not be able to create peace single-handedly, but we certainly know how to make friends. Furthermore, the underlying philosophy of our organization is that friendships across international barriers can be a powerful force in creating a more peaceful world. Hence our motto, “a world of friends is a world of peace.”
{gallery}OpenWorld{/gallery}
Think about it: the force of friendship. Over the centuries, people of the world have dealt with their enemies by conquering or killing them – using what we call in English “armed forces.” We in The Friendship Force know that it is possible to deal with strangers and their differences – not through arms that shoot and kill, but through the arms of friends that embrace. Can we live in each other’s homes, share each other’s meals, play with each other’s children, and still be enemies?
Therefore, one reason for using force in our name is to convey the power of friendship. But there is another reason. Force, in English, is also used as a synonym for army. Here again the association is accurate. Don’t we want to be a friendship army . . . a friendship force? When thought of in these terms, we see that the use of the word force can help convey that what we do as individuals does not stand in isolation but is part of a worldwide movement … an army or force for friendship whose goal is to use friendship as the means to achieve a better world.
So you see, I like the second word in our name, force, almost as much as I do the first one, friendship. By combining the two, we are able to create the image, and the reality, of the power of friendship – the force of friendship – but only if we are willing to be part of a global army, or force for friendship. We call it The Friendship Force.
Reprinted from the January/February, 1997 issue of Friendship magazine.
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter in 1987 with their English host family, Jenny and Tony Coates with their daughters Amy and Charlotte.
It all began in 1972 when a Southern governor and his wife traveled to Brazil with a former missionary. The governor? Jimmy Carter. The missionary? Wayne Smith. The result: The Friendship Force.
“I knew the Carters and saw them to be the kind of people who didn’t have to be limited to the formal diplomatic circles when traveling abroad,” remembers Smith. “I challenged them to go as ‘citizen diplomats’ meeting the people as well as the members of the power structure.”
Several years later, the governor became president of the United States. Wayne Smith suggested to the Carters that an organization be formed that would provide people of all countries the opportunity to reach out in friendship across the barriers which often divide them. The Carters readily agreed, and on March 1, 1977 – just weeks after Jimmy Carter assumed office – The Friendship Force was launched publicly at a White House dinner, and Rosalynn Carter was designated honorary chairperson, a position she still holds.
“It is not so unusual for an organization to have an association with people of the stature of the Carters,” says Wayne Smith, president of The Friendship Force. “What is unusual, however, is the time, dedication and personal commitment that they have given to us for a full 20 years.”
One of the highlights of the Carters’ Friendship Force connection was the 10th anniversary exchange in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. Both Carters attended and, like the other participants, had a homestay with a local family. They didn’t just talk about making friends. They participated!
According to the Carters, there is an ongoing need for international friendship. In a recent letter endorsing the 20th anniversary exchanges, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter stated, “Many of the old barriers that separated people are gone, and The Friendship Force played its part in making this happen. But the need for friendship between people of different countries is as great as ever. You can help build a safer and friendlier world by participating in an exchange.”
On March 20, 2007, The Friendship Force will officially celebrated its 30th birthday.
Reprinted from the January/February, 1997 issue of Friendship magazine.
Wayne Smith, Former President, The Friendship Force International
Periodically I receive inquiries from our member regarding the name of our organization. In particular, they ask about the use of two words that, in the English language, are not usually associated with each other: the universally acceptable and pleasing concept of friendship with the more aggressive word force. Since names are important to all of us, it is good to reflect on our name, The Friendship Force.
When The Friendship Force was established in 1977, the name was carefully selected. Friendship, rather than peace, would be the primary concept. As individuals, we may not be able to create peace single-handedly, but we certainly know how to make friends. Furthermore, the underlying philosophy of our organization is that friendships across international barriers can be a powerful force in creating a more peaceful world. Hence our motto, “a world of friends is a world of peace.”
{gallery}OpenWorld{/gallery}
Think about it: the force of friendship. Over the centuries, people of the world have dealt with their enemies by conquering or killing them – using what we call in English “armed forces.” We in The Friendship Force know that it is possible to deal with strangers and their differences – not through arms that shoot and kill, but through the arms of friends that embrace. Can we live in each other’s homes, share each other’s meals, play with each other’s children, and still be enemies?
Therefore, one reason for using force in our name is to convey the power of friendship. But there is another reason. Force, in English, is also used as a synonym for army. Here again the association is accurate. Don’t we want to be a friendship army . . . a friendship force? When thought of in these terms, we see that the use of the word force can help convey that what we do as individuals does not stand in isolation but is part of a worldwide movement … an army or force for friendship whose goal is to use friendship as the means to achieve a better world.
So you see, I like the second word in our name, force, almost as much as I do the first one, friendship. By combining the two, we are able to create the image, and the reality, of the power of friendship – the force of friendship – but only if we are willing to be part of a global army, or force for friendship. We call it The Friendship Force.
Reprinted from the January/February, 1997 issue of Friendship magazine.