Dozens of youth ages 15 to 18 will be able to grab a passport for the first time to travel internationally thanks to a city Department of Youth and Community Development program.<\/p>\n
The DYCD Commissioner Keith Howard announced Dec. 23 that the agency will be teaming up with the nonprofit Tucks Travels to help teens from marginalized communities who are first-time travelers apply for a passport for free \u2014 the average cost for one is $179.<\/p>\n
The agency is also working with Take Action Global, a climate education organization, to deliver the cultural exchange portion of the program.<\/p>\n
\u201cDYCD is launching this … program to give young people in underserved neighborhoods the opportunity to see the world beyond their block,\u201d said Howard in a statement. \u201cThis program builds on DYCD\u2019s previous work to send young people on a cultural exchange trip to Ghana, and our longtime collaboration with the Mayor\u2019s Office of International Affairs on NYC Junior Ambassadors, which empowers youth to become actively engaged with the United Nations and its mission of addressing the most pressing challenges in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tucks Travels previously partnered with DYCD on a pilot program to help 25 young people in DYCD-funded programs in the Bronx obtain their passports.<\/p>\n
Four Global Kids took part in the Heritage and Cultural Society of Africa Sankofa Young Leadership Fellowship, a DYCD spokesman said via email. The 12-day cultural immersion experience included visits to historic and natural landmarks, including Elmina Castle and the Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Farm, seminars, workshops and community engagement opportunities to help the high school seniors deepen their understanding of Ghanaian history and culture while strengthening their leadership skills.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe experience helped participants build cultural competency, gain confidence navigating new environments, and forge meaningful connections with mentors and peers \u2014 expanding both their personal perspectives and professional networks,\u201d said the spokesman, who also noted the trip was from July 20, 2023 to Aug. 1, 2023.<\/p>\n
A passport is more than a document, said Aissata MB Camara, commissioner of the Mayor\u2019s Office for International Affairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor too many young New Yorkers, cost and access have limited their ability to see the world,\u201d Camara said in a statement. \u201cThis initiative changes that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrea Jerves, director of the Hellenic American Neighborhood Action Committee in Astoria, was proud to partner with Tucks Travels on the passport initiative.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ability to travel and utilize a passport provides opportunities that would be otherwise completely inaccessible to these young people, expanding their awareness of global learning pathways and future possibilities,\u201d said Jerves in a statement.<\/p>\n
Sylvan Haseley, principal of Pathways College Preparatory School in St. Albans, which was recently designated as an International Baccalaureate education institution, said the program is an excellent idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur community would definitely be interested in it,\u201d he said via email.<\/p>\n
As scholars in an IB school, students don\u2019t only learn different languages, but they cap their senior year with trips abroad. In March, seniors will go to Greece. In 2027, other scholars plan to go Tokyo. A trip to Ghana is also being planned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis aligns with our vision of open mindedness and learning in a global context,\u201d said Haseley.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dozens of youth ages 15 to 18 will be able to grab a passport for the first time…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":85718,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[41660,41661,609,41659,9,11,10,41662,608],"class_list":{"0":"post-85717","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-dycd","9":"tag-global-kids","10":"tag-government","11":"tag-international-travel","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-headlines","14":"tag-new-york-news","15":"tag-passport","16":"tag-transportation"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}