People to People Student Ambassador Program
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| Motto | Promoting peace through understanding |
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| Formation | September 11, 1956 |
| Type | Youth Peace Ambassador/Travel |
| Headquarters | Spokane, Washington |
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Parent organization
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Ambassadors Group |
| Website | People to People Student Ambassadors Program |
The People to People Student Ambassador Program was a travel service based in Spokane, Washington, offering domestic and international travel opportunities to middle and high school students. The group was founded in 1956 and reincorporated in 1995. People to People Student Ambassador Programs closed in 2015. Since then, People to People International has re-sourced its travel provider, and the student program is struggling to re-start.
Since its founding, nearly half a million students, adults and athletes have participated in the ambassador programs. Since 2002, the services offered have been operated by Ambassadors Group, a for-profit company. Though open to international primary and secondary school students, programs are primarily for American students aged 10 through 18. The typical length of a program is three weeks for a group of thirty to forty students. . The organization currently operates as a for-profit travel company with income of almost 100 Million. Ambassadors Group ceased operations for student travel on July 13, 2015. Beginning in 2016, Enriching Cultural Experiences (ECE) International will serve as the travel provider of People to People International replacing the Ambassadors Group.
In 1956, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower sought diplomatic alternatives to the wars he witnessed as a soldier, general and Allied Commander. On September 11, 1956, he called a White House conference of 100 top American leaders, who joined him in creating the People to People initiative, focused on creating cultural exchange programs. The idea for this conference came after a Geneva summit, where Eisenhower and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev expressed enthusiasm for exchange programs as a means to ease Cold War tensions. Participants in this conference included Joyce Hall, comedian Bob Hope, and Walt Disney, who became one of the founding directors of People to People and later drew inspiration from the initiative to create the "It's a Small World" attraction in 1964.
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