An amazing experience is waiting for our youth with our World Exposure Tour (W.E.T.).  At The Pyramid Project, we have found that when youth from different cultures and geographical regions interact with each other through educational and cultural exchange, they gain a deeper understanding of themselves and those around them — deepening their knowledge of varying cultural beliefs and strengthening relationships in a way that books, school assignments, and a professional career can never reveal.
 

The goal of the W.E.T. is to expose youth to their counterparts from different geographical communities and cultural settings in an effort to expose them to new ideas and innovative ways to approach the unique challenges that youth face. W.E.T. fosters a platform for youth to not only adapt and learn about an unfamiliar cultural dynamic but embrace flexibility as a helpful skill.

We presentW.E.T. in three phases. Phase One takes place while the youth are in their home communities when they receive and populate a survey to help ascertain their likes and dislikes. We use this survey to pair students from partner communities who share similar interests. The paired youth will communicate and exchange introductions via the Pyramid Project Facebook page. Phase Two takes place upon arrival at our international destination where the paired students will meet in person and continue the remainder of the trip as buddies. Phase Three incorporates the paired youth, working together on assignments throughout the week as they visit different sites and events. 

 

Many of W.E.T's best features include the chance for youth to:

• explore and learn about the lives of others while discovering new aspects of themselves;

• raise their awareness of the inner concerns, hopes, and dreams of students from a different region while realizing what it means for them to belong to their own particular community;

• develop leadership skills, self-confidence and a greater understanding of the complexities of the communities around them; and

• experience building new lifetime friends while learning how to best respect differences and tolerate varying beliefs of others.

 

Many program alumni have returned to have an impact in their communities and added their voices to critical community discussions. We also welcomed back some of our alumni to share their experiences as W.E.T. program participants and how they continue to affect the policy-making community.