Past International Exchange Programs

DAI-Heidelberg successfully launched the EU International Study Trip this March. Fourteen students and teachers from Washington D.C. spent an eventful 11 days in Berlin, Brussels, Strasbourg, Heidelberg, and Frankfurt. DAI designed the meaningful study focuses on the history and role of the EU, World War II and post-war history, the Cold War, and the Holocaust, as well as academic and culture exchanges in Heidelberg with the Bunsen-Gymnasium, where the American students attended classes with the local student ambassadors, enjoyed a school lunch, played an exciting friendship basketball game, home stayed with German families, and made friends!

During the trip, they experienced the cultures and cuisines of three European countries, attended private tours, seminars, and lectures at various EU institutions such as the EU Parliament, the EU Commission and the European Central Bank. Students visited historical landmarks, universities, museums, experienced the EU’s standards and efforts in sustainability and the convenience of public transportation in each city, and immersed themselves in history at the Sachsenhausen Holocaust Museum in Brandenburg.

It was an eye-opening experience for all the students. They wrote daily journals and participated in group discussions and reflections. They were incredibly engaged, interested and thoughtful, and gained a deep understanding of global citizenship education, compassion, and a profound sense of humanity and reconciliation.