The Friendship Force of Newcastle was founded in 1987 as part of the wider parent organisation Friendship Force International (FFI). FFI, is a non-profit, cultural exchange organisation dedicated to the principle that each person can make a contribution to global goodwill through cultural and social exchange.
Home hospitality, the heart of each exchange, provides the opportunity for people of different areas to connect at a personal level. Friendship Force is an international organisation that was founded on March 1, 1977 by its first president, Wayne Smith and was announced by President Jimmy Carter at a White House gathering of state governors. Since then it has grown to include over 300 active Clubs worldwide.
One of the major goals of the Friendship Force is to foster World Peace. It approaches this goal by building global friendships between members of a worldwide network of clubs through the experience of home stay exchanges. It is hoped that world peace will be built "one friend at a time". When local hosts open their homes to visitors from other areas, true understanding can develop through the sharing of meals, conversation and the routines of daily life.
Since the inception of FFI, over 500,000 ambassadors have travelled within their own countries and around the world experiencing other cultures. Not through "the window of a bus”, but “through the window of a home". The Friendship Force of Newcastle has been involved with exchanges between scores of clubs, both within Australia and around the world. Our members have travelled to the four corners of the earth.
For more information about FFI go to their web site at www.thefriendshipforce.org
