Mia is Empathy

 

The arrangements were all made, everyone was ready to travel across the world, when the participants in Mia’s Global Youth Exchange got the bad news about the novel coronavirus. No one was going anywhere.

For 10 teenagers in Minnesota and 10 more in Vietnam, who had all undergone an extensive interview process to participate, the travel was intended to foster greater cultural understanding through critical thinking and creativity. They would learn together, make art together, and create a group exhibition. In the end, all of that still happened, without anyone leaving home.

In early 2020, the teens began meeting online instead. They explored the themes of U.S. and Vietnamese history and culture, art and storytelling, identity and narrative, empathy and perspective. And they created a virtual exhibition to highlight their experiences.

“I have felt a sense of connectedness and vulnerability among strangers that I now consider peers and friends,” says one participant. “Everyone has a story to tell and none of them are the same. Opening up to hearing others’ lived experiences has helped me live in mine.”

The exchange continues with Southeast Asian language and cultural workshops, as well as friendships that figure to outlast the pandemic itself. “The Global Youth Exchange has given me so many opportunities to meet such amazing people,” says another participant. “This program has opened my eyes to see the world in a whole new light.”