Friendship Force International

Friendship Force International is a non-profit international cultural exchange organization focused on promoting understanding, cultural education and citizen diplomacy through homestay travel and personal friendships. The organization is based in more than 60 countries and in six continents, with 15,000 active members and over 300 programs, called Journeys, taking place each year.

Friendship Force International, or FFI, was founded in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, by Rev. Wayne Smith and unveiled on March 1, 1977, by President Jimmy Carter at a White House gathering of state governors. First Lady Rosalynn Carter served as Honorary Chairperson until 2002.

In 1992, Friendship Force International was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for its work building understanding between the people of the United States and the Soviet Union amidst a tense international climate.

The first seed for the idea of an international citizens' international cultural exchange program in which travelers from around the world could learn about other countries and cultures through reciprocal home stays was envisioned in 1973 by Presbyterian minister Wayne Smith (1934-2004), a former Christian missionary to Brazil. The Georgia minister met for the first time Jimmy Carter, then Governor of Georgia and his wife Rosalynn Carter and related to them his idea for a citizens' exchange, bringing Americans to Brazil and Brazilians to America with all staying in the private homes of hosts so that each could better learn about the other.

A first exchange was organized, with a charter jet taking 200 Georgians to Brazil — including in the group the state's first lady, Rosalynn Carter — with 200 Brazilians making the alternate trip, with the Governor putting up visitors in the Governor's mansion. The program was regarded as a success by its participants and Smith slowly began to envision a permanent non-governmental organization for the coordination of similar trips between citizens from various nations of the world.

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