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Northern Illinois University

NIU Office of Public Affairs


News Release

Contact: Julie Lamb, Center for Southeast Asian Studies
(815) 753-1595

March 9, 2005

NIU seeks host families for brief international exchange

DeKalb , Ill . — Northern Illinois University is seeking families in DeKalb and Sycamore to host Muslim and Christian high school students and adult leaders from the Southern Philippines for two weeks in April.

The visitors will be participating in a training institute led by the university's Center for Southeast Asian Studies and International Training Office. Funded by the U.S. Department of State, the institute is designed to promote conflict resolution and interethnic and interfaith dialogue. Participants were selected through a competitive application process, have outstanding academic credentials and are fluent in English.

The training institute will introduce participants to American institutions that promote tolerance and will expose them to the religious and ethnic diversity of the United States . NIU hopes to place the high school students with local families who have students of the same age if possible.

The Filipino students and adult leaders will stay with their host families from April 17 to May 1. Host families will provide the visitors with transportation to and from campus, where workshops will be held daily. Students will join their host families for breakfasts and most dinners. The students also will have at least one free day each week during the two-week host-family experience.

Host families will be required to attend an orientation session. During the orientation, past host families will share their experiences from a similar program that was held last year.

Interested families should contact Julie Lamb, outreach coordinator for the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at (815) 753-1595 or jlamb@niu.edu. More information is available online at www.niu.edu/cseas/outreach/PhilAccess/accessfs.htm.

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