Since 1963, VIA has
been providing opportunities for Americans and Asians to walk
in each others’ shoes,
share each others’ cultures
and come to understand each other through a common commitment
to service and education. The goal of all of our programs is
to enhance cross-cultural understanding through the exchange
of people.
Our deep commitment to service and education drives our work
and motivates students, volunteers and staff. We envision a world
where people on both sides of the Pacific are appropriately equipped
to build durable solutions to global problems through mutual
understanding and cooperation. VIA programs have given thousands
of Americans and Asians the tools and cultural literacy to help
achieve this vision.
If you are an American or permanent resident in the U.S. interested
in living and working in a community where you can explore another
culture as well as gain a better understanding of yourself and
your capacity, I would encourage you to consider volunteering
with VIA. There are few experiences more powerful than living
in another culture and learning to negotiate your place within
that culture. The most formative experiences in my life and the
lives of many of our alumni have revolved around international
opportunities for education and service. One of the keys to success
in this is understanding that you have an equally significant
role and responsibility to teach as well as to learn, to serve
as well as to receive.
VIA volunteers have been making an impact for more than four
decades by working with Asian partner institutions as teachers
and English resource staff. Our approach to this work and our
commitment to stepping lightly with great humility has resulted
in a strong network of institutions and communities that have
supported our volunteers in 14 different countries in Asia. Whether
you continue to work in a field related to Asia or not, the course
of your life will be permanently changed by your experience.
If you are a college student in Asia or at Stanford with a deep
curiosity about cultures other than your own and an unbounded
enthusiasm to learn, please check the Opportunities for Asian
students and Stanford
students pages of the website. At the request of universities
throughout Asia, VIA has been facilitating language and cultural
exchange programs since 1977. While there are numerous exchange
programs available to students from Asia, VIA’s Stanford
Programs are unique in several respects. Most VIA programs are
multinational, bringing together students from several countries
in Asia in addition to the interaction with Stanford students.
All of our programs have a strong service component which link
them to VIA’s overall mission.
We have kept VIA purposefully small and believe that our hand-crafted
approach to programs has been a key to keeping the VIA experience
unique and life-changing. It has also been the glue that keeps
the VIA family of alumni, staff and board as engaged and active
in the long-term health and well being of the organization and
the opportunities our programs create. Join us!
