National Directors’ Meeting in Vienna (October 29 – November 1, 2024)
At the turn of October and November, the National Directors’ Meeting brought together YFU leaders from all over the world to Vienna. For me, this was a significant opportunity — although I had participated in similar events before as a member of the YFU CZ Board, this was the first time I represented our office as the new ND.
The program was packed. Together, we evaluated the past school year 2023/2024, discussed challenges in finding host families and placing students in schools, and addressed the sustainability of exchange programs. Great emphasis was placed on motivating employees and volunteers, sharing marketing strategies, and exchanging experiences between individual offices.
Outside of the official program, there were also individual meetings. I had the chance to meet with colleagues from Argentina, Brazil, and the USA to discuss the arrival of their students in the Czech Republic in January 2025. I also spoke with colleagues from Germany and Austria about how our Czech students are doing on their exchange programs in their countries.
The meeting in Vienna wasn’t just about work — thanks to Austrian volunteers, we also enjoyed an evening walk through the city and a shared dinner. These informal moments are extremely valuable for building friendly relationships that make our everyday cooperation much easier in the future.
International Partner Summit in Edinburgh (November 6 – 8, 2024)
A few days later, I traveled to Edinburgh for the international FLAG Partner Summit. FLAG is an American exchange organization founded in 1989, specializing in hosting students in the USA. The summit was attended not only by competing organizations but also by partners like YFU, allowing for both sharing experiences and building deeper relationships.
The two-day summit focused on evaluating the past school year 2023/2024, including the number of students from different countries, financial results, and development plans. FLAG presented its investment plans to expand hosting capacities and shared its strategies for recruiting new host families and addressing current issues students face during their stay in the USA. It was inspiring to compare FLAG's approaches with those of YFU — we found areas where we are similar, as well as areas where we can learn a lot from FLAG.
During the breaks, there was plenty of space for networking and individual conversations, not only with FLAG colleagues but also with representatives of other organizations. For example, we successfully negotiated higher quotas for Czech students for the upcoming 2025/2026 school year, which is a great success that will contribute to the growth and development of our office.
As FLAG was founded in 1989, we also had the opportunity to celebrate their significant 35th anniversary with all our partners! We enjoyed a festive banquet, enriched by a local folk group with traditional singing and dancing.
The Importance of In-Person Meetings
This autumn journey across Europe reminded me again how important personal meetings are in our work. Although most communication nowadays happens virtually, the opportunity to meet face-to-face, discuss, share experiences, and build relationships is irreplaceable. These relationships make our cooperation throughout the year much easier — whether in everyday communication or when solving more complex situations that can arise in exchange programs.
Both meetings were an invaluable opportunity for YFU CZ to strengthen our position within the international network and bring new inspiration and ideas into our work.