Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) Program:

Add excitement, interest and culture to the cold Chicago winter season!  Invite one of our students into your warm home! 

WorldChicago needs your help!  We are seeking host family placements for two female high school students for second semester.  Olga (from Russia) and Inga (from Moldova) are enrolled at Lincoln Park High School.  They are staying with a temporary host family in the area.   If interested in hosting them from January to June, please contact Peggy Parfenoff at pparfenoff@worldchicago.org or (312) 254-1800 x101. 

International Visitor Leadership Program:

Description: This U.S. Department of State program identifies foreign leaders in a variety of fields to visit the U.S. for 3 weeks (visiting 3-5 cities) to meet their professional counterparts, explore their thematic interest area(s), and experience America firsthand. These visitors stay in hotels.    

If you are interested in meeting with these visitors professionally and/or socially for meals in your home, please contact John Baum at (312) 254-1800 x100 or jbaum@worldchicago.org to request these opportunities (please note that not all requests may be met due to scheduling conflicts and programming goals). Meal hospitality has specifically been requested for the visitor programs highlighted below in red. Priority for meal hosting is given to current WorldChicago members.  

• Austria - Elections - October 27-30   
• Kazakhstan - Special Education - November 2-7
• Thailand - U.S. Elections - November 6-7
• Multi-Regional Program - Edward R. Murrow Journalism Program - November 13-17 
• China- U.S. Legal System-November 14-18 In-home dinner hospitality requested for 2 visitors (with an interpreter) on the evening of Thursday, November 15th.  If interested, please contact Lexy Gore at (312) 254-1800 x103 or Lgore@worldchicago.org.    

Hostelling International Chicago 2012 Peace Conference: Disruptive Thinking

Saturday, October 27 and Sunday, October 28, 2012

Hostelling International Chicago, 24 E. Congress Parkway, Chicago, IL 60605

WorldChicago Executive Director, Peggy Parfenoff, is pleased to be a part of this conference as a panelist on "Innovative International Connections" on October 27th. 

This conference promotes peace through innovative thinking, pushing traditional boundaries, and active participation in our communities.  Conference registrants will have the opportunity to attend workshops and roundtable discussions with diverse local experts and community leaders; visit a local art gallery; attend a film screening and discussion presented by the Peace on Earth Film Festival; cultivate inner peace with a certified yoga instructor; enjoy an interactive, multicultural music and dance showcase presented by Old Town School of Folk Music; and benefit from built-in networking time.

Workshop topics will include peace through travel, sustainable agriculture, gun violence in Chicago, women's empowerment and peace; gender and sexuality issues; art and social justice; Israeli-Palestinian peace; and innovative international connections.

Keynote presentation by disruptive thinker Dr. Norman G. Finkelstein: What Gandhi Says.

Register online at http://chicagopeaceconference2012.eventbrite.com/.   

Contact HI-Chicago Community Liaison Sharday El-Assar at activities.chicago@hiusa.org or 312-583-2227 for more information.

Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema

Salsa Tel Aviv: A Night of Movies and Dancing

Saturday, October 27, 2012, 7:30 PM

Thorne Auditorium, Northwestern Law School

375 E. Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60611     

It's the best of Mexico and Israel in one night! Join us for the screening of Salsa Tel Aviv, a romantic comedy alive with comic twists and the combination of cultures. Immediately following the movie, we continue the celebration with Salsa music, dancing, and Israeli-Mexican munchies. Dance the night away as we celebrate 60 years of diplomatic friendship between Mexico and Israel.  

For more information, link here.

First Presbyterian Church of Arlington Heights Presents

Authors, Bill Tammeus and Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn

"They Were Just People: Stories of Rescue in Poland During the Holocaust"

Sunday, October 28, 2012 

7:00-8:30pm, in the Sanctuary 

First Presbyterian Church of Arlington Heights, 302 N. Dunton Avenue, Arlington Heights, IL 60004

Join Bill Tammeus, a former nationally syndicated columnist for the Kansas City Star, and Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn, descendant of Polish Rabbis and the spiritual leader of the New Reform Temple in Kansas City, Missouri, as they discuss their book which unfolds many Holocaust stories that have never before been made public: gripping narratives of Jews who survived against all odds and courageous non-Jews who risked their own lives to provide shelter.  

More information, link here. 

Free of charge. Open to the public.