"With our partners in Algeria we decided to call this new virtual exchange program Youthink, combining "youth" and "think" to describe our goal of developing critical thinking skills with high school youth in Algeria and the U.S. This virtual exchange program engages students using weekly interactions with their peers through shared discussions ranging from personal stories to global issues and community actions. Youthink develops critical thinking as a fundamental step in building intercultural understanding and global competency skills. By challenging stereotypes, students have an opportunity to learn about diverse worldviews firsthand."

Global One to One

What Youthink Students Are Saying

Since October, roughly 120 students in Algeria and the U.S. have been participating in the Youthink intercultural exchange program on our shared virtual platform.

 

During the first month of the program, students shared introductions about their lives including describing their families, schools, hometowns, hobbies, and favorite foods, while learning more about their peers across the globe. They also were introduced to “Netiquette” for how to practice mutual respect in online interactions and shared stories and reflections on the major issue of cyberbullying. This past month, students deepened their interactions by engaging in dialogue on the meaning and significance of culture and describing some of their own unique cultural traditions while learning about the traditions of their peers.

After the new year, students will continue with the second half of the virtual exchange which delves into discussions of global issues, human rights, and identifying local actions in their own communities culminating in a final project of their choice. Stay tuned for more updates to come!

Meet our ‘Youthink’ Partner in Algeria

 Described in Mr. Louznadji’s own words, “Youthink program is a program that connects students from Algeria and the US. It is a virtual program that is supported by the US Global One to One Organization and the US Embassy, Algeria. It builds students’ global competency skills and intercultural understanding. It provides opportunities to talk, exchange ideas, and learn from each other in order to be global citizens.”

Mr. Mustapha Louznadji is the Program Manager for the Youthink Program in Algeria.

Mr. Mustapha Louznadji has had many years of experience as a teacher of English at the secondary education before he graduated Inspector of National Education. He has been coaching and supporting high school teachers since 1997.  Since then, he has had extensive and varied experience of language teaching; teacher-education and development, textbook-writer, exam paper designer and TEFL teacher. He has contributed seminars, pre-service teacher trainings and supervisor professional development, conferences as well as ELT journals. He has delivered many around the world. He took part in the British Council conferences in the Maghreb including Marrakech, Morocco, Hammamet, Tunisia and the second international conference of the British Council in Oran as a speaker.

He also participated in the MEPI and E3Link programs in Algeria and the e-teacher program of the University of Oregon on Critical Thinking. He was not only the founder and president of the Algerian association of teachers of English in the 1980’s, but also the founder of the eltalgeria website. Then, he was actively engaged in iEARN@lgeria project pedagogy. He contributed to Chris and Stevens Youth Network (iEARN-USA) Online Courses as a facilitator. On July 18, 2016, he was elected a chairperson of TESOL Algeria Planning Team. After that, he was involved in the BRIDGE Program as an online coach with a group of teachers and students from the USA, the Middle East and North Africa. He contributed workshops in Winchester, USA during the IEARN Annual Conference of 2017. He is currently working as an educational consultant with the Cambridge English program and a freelancer as a representative of Alegra Learning (Utah, USA) in Algeria. In these last few months, he has been actively engaged as a program manager, online programs for in FATE and Youthink programs. 
 

This article is an extract from Global One to One Newsletter of December 2021.

“Global One to One is a cultural exchange program providing young people with essential skills 

such as intercultural understanding, empathy, critical thinking, 

and communication to navigate a world of increasing uncertainty, polarization, and change. “