Top Ten – 10 Best ways Au Pairs have used Global Awareness in their Communities (not in any particular order)
- Classroom presentations: While it may be daunting to speak in front of a group, not a single au pair has ever come back telling us she did not enjoy it. All of them have had such a positive experience and tell us they wish they had done it sooner. Classroom presentations are the most popular choice for au pairs to share their culture in their community.
- Volunteering: Au pairs get exposure and are able to share their experience by helping out at a school, library or any other place in their community. Help them find such opportunities and encourage them to share some of the free materials we have at Global Awareness.
- International Days: You or your au pair can ask host parents if their child’s school hosts such an event and can offer to participate by setting up a table with other au pairs. Have them use the Global Awareness provided materials, like the passports and country flag stickers to hand out.
- Girl Scout World Thinking Day: If you know a family whose child is participating in WTD, reach out to them and offer to represent some of the countries they have a need for. You can set it up as a marketing event and get reimbursed for some of the expenses you may have to purchase craft materials or food. This could also be your cluster meeting for the month.
- Parades or Country Fairs: Community events are another way to represent Global Awareness and expose your au pairs to the American culture.
- Host Family Days: Counselors have been offering mini cultural fairs with tables from the many countries represented in their cluster. This is a good way to advertise Global Awareness and encourage your families and au pairs to consider doing the same for their child’s school or classroom.
- Birthday Celebrations: We’ve had host families dress up in their au pair’s country folkloric costume to celebrate her birthday but why not have the au pair offer to organize an international themed birthday party for her host children.
- Contests: Check out the list in our calendar of contests posted in the Community Counselor Global Awareness handbook www.globalawareness.com/global-awarenesshandbook/ and encourage your au pairs to participate. Besides giving them a chance to win, many of those contests will also help them share their views of the world. It will make them think not just about themselves but about others and it also brings out their sense of creativity. A good balance for an au pair whose main job is to focus on childcare and chores.
- Cluster Meetings: So many of our activities revolve around Global Awareness. By doing some “culture sharing” activities au pairs get a taste of what it is like to experience another culture. You can find a list of those activities in the Community Counselor Global Awareness handbook: globalawareness.com/global-awarenesshandbook/
- Host Family Webinars: A year ago Global Awareness started offering an intercultural webinar for our host families, “Practical strategies to Rev up Your Cultural Competency: Viewing the World through your Au Pair’s Cultural Lens.” We’ve received positive feedback from the host families and the CCs. The webinar is offered twice a month for our host families and quarterly for the CCs. Au Pair in America is the only agency offering a free webinar like this and it truly makes us stand apart.