YOUTH FOR UNDERSTANDING FOUNDATION Dr. Beate Lindemann and Dr. Walther Leisler Kiep with two former YFU exchange students, Sabina Schwachenwalde from Brandenburg und Nicholas Rowe from Michigan, on December 16, 2009 in New York City. Established in 1989 by Dr. Beate Lindemann and Dr. Walther Leisler Kiep as a private non-profit organization, the Youth for Understanding Foundation seeks to promote mutual understanding between young East Germans and Americans. Since its establishment directly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Foundation has made it possible for more than 4,200 East Germans to experience life in America. In 1995, the program was expanded to include American minority high school students and in the subsequent years more than 1,400 Americans have been able to spend a year in Germany. These students return home with an expanded self-confidence and a deeper understanding of the world that enables them to pursue dreams they would otherwise not think possible. But not only the young East Germans and Americans who participate in an exchange year profit from the experience; everyone they come into contact with, both abroad and after they return home, benefits from the complex new perspective that an exchange student can share. In addition, each year one or two students are supported by the “German Young Leaders Fellowship for American Minority High School Students”. This fellowship, which was established in 1996, is funded by donations from Atlantik-Brücke’s German Young Leaders Alumni. Since 2004, the Youth for Understanding Foundation, in cooperation with the Princess Kira of Prussia Foundation, has also offered a unique opportunity to spend the summer at Hohenzollern Castle in southern Germany to young people who lost a parent in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Board of Directors Dr. Beate Lindemann, Berlin (Chair) Professor Dr. Dieter Feddersen, Frankfurt am Main Chairman of the Board of Trustees Dr. Walther Leisler Kiep, Frankfurt am Main XVIII Enchanted Holiday Evening The “Highbridge Voices” Choir are performing at the “Enchanted Holiday Evening” at the Metropolitan Club. On December 16, 2009 an evening dedicated solely to German-American youth exchange took place in the festively decorated Metropolitan Club on Fifth Avenue in New York. Approximately 200 guests came together in support of the “Youth For Understanding” Foundation’s 18th Fundraising Dinner. After the address of welcome by Dr. Walther Leisler Kiep, Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Youth for Understanding Foundation, and Dr. Beate Lindemann, Chairman of the Foundation, two former exchange students came forth to give accounts of their experiences. Through their vibrant recollections and animated insights, Sabine Schwachenwalde from Neuruppin and Nicholas Rowe from Ann Arbor confirmed that a stay in a foreign country with a host family is an unforgettable and invaluable experience for young people. The “Youth of 9/11”, who afterwards recounted their experiences from Burg Hohenzollern, were also clearly moved by the impressions gathered during their stay in Germany. Wendy Flores of the “Children’s Aid Society” was the master of ceremonies, and the Highbridge Voices children’s choir from the Bronx ensured an atmospheric conclusion of the evening. All guests, German and American, joined-in in harmony as the choir melodically made its way through the verses of “Silent Night.” Speech by Dr. Beate Lindemann Speech by Sabina Schwachenwalde Speech by Nicholas Rowe Video of the XV “Enchanted Holiday Evening” on December 13, 2006, in New York			Youth for Understanding Foundation