Train to Become an International Family Diplomat

Check back here for updates before the FD training starts on July 9, 2023. 

Why?

Across the world, most people value family, yet families are not usually represented in the decisions that governments, business, nonprofits and media make that affect families.  Learning Life’s Family Diplomacy Initiative (FDI) aims to empower families to participate in decision-making at local to global levels so that their needs, concerns and aspirations are heard to help build a more caring world.  For that to happen we need skilled, committed Family Diplomats (FDs): family volunteers around the world who can advocate effectively about the needs, concerns and aspirations of families like them to governments, businesses, nonprofits and media.    

What?

In 2023, Learning Life is excited to continue our FD Training Program. The training has two parts:

Part 1: July 9-August 20: Learn about (a) trends, patterns and issues facing families across the world, plus (b) citizen diplomacy (i.e., citizens collaborating internationally on shared interests and issues) in order to develop your basic knowledge as a family-diplomat-in-training.  

Part 2: August 27-October 29:  Learn about storytelling, then practice and perform a family story of your own.  The ability to tell family stories effectively is one powerful way to speak to the needs, concerns and aspirations of families.  Thus, in Part 2, FD trainees each create their own family story (ideally about their own family, and otherwise about a family they know), connect the story to a wider issue or topic (happiness or depression, health, love, drug abuse, violence, poverty, wealth, corruption, inequality or equality, immigration, refugee crises, faith and religion, gay rights, climate change, war and/or peace, etc.), practice their stories together in weekly meetings, culminating in performance of their stories in front of a live international audience.  

Who?

Anyone is welcome to observe any of the training meetings, but for those who plan to complete the training, you are eligible if you:

1. Are old enough to understand and be interested in adult conversation about family life, and varied challenges facing families.  Note: These challenges may include sensitive issues, like suicide and sexual violence, and FD family stories may involve graphic descriptions of these issues.

2. Have an internet connection strong enough to participate in live Zoom meetings via audio at least, if not video, with minimal lagging or dropping of the connection.

3. Speak English at a level advanced enough to understand and be understood in our English-only FD training meetings.

4. Are interested and motivated to learn about storytelling, citizen diplomacy, and family life worldwide.

For both Part 1 and 2, Learning Life does not require but does strongly encourage FD trainees to participate as two or more family members, such as two or more siblings, a mother and daughter, two parents and children, grandfather and grandchildren, or else.

When?

The training starts Sunday, July 9, 2023, 12:00-1:30pm New York/Washington DC time, and will occur every Sunday at the same time until October 29.

Where?

The training occurs strictly via Zoom.  There will be no in-person meetings to save on cost and allow more people worldwide to participate.

Cost?

The FD Training is free to anyone who cannot afford to pay for it.  However, everyone will need to pay for their own internet connection.  For those who can afford the training, the full cost is $1,000 per FD trainee, including children.  Steeply discounted rates are available though: $200 for individuals, $400 for families.  In all cases, no income documentation is required.  We operate on an “honor system,” that is, we trust you will pay at the level you can afford to help sustain the FD training.  You can pay your training fee here.  At the payment page, make sure to type “FD training” in the “Note” box.  For organizations and individuals who wish to sponsor one or more FDs, click here for details and benefits.

Benefits?

All those who complete the requirements below for Part 1 and/or Part 2 of the training will receive a certificate of completion, and are eligible for up to $500 in cash awards (see awards details below).  To gain a certificate, each participant must: 

Part 1 Certificate of Completion: 

  1. Attend at least 5 of 7 FD Training meetings every Sunday, 12:00-1:30pm (New York/Washington DC time) from July 9 to August 20.  
  2. Actively participate in at least half of the meetings they attend.  “Actively participate” means: ask questions, answer questions, volunteer your thoughts by voice or by text via the Zoom chat, and have your camera on at all times, unless your internet connection strength does not allow you to have both audio and video on at the same time.    
  3. Complete a survey before and after the knowledge training.

Part 1 Certificate of Completion, with Honors: 

  1. Attend 7 of 7 FD Training meetings every Sunday, 12:00-1:30pm (New York/Washington DC time) from July 9 to August 20.  
  2. Actively participate in at least 2/3 of the meetings they attend.  See above, under “Part 1 Certificate of Completion” for what “actively participate” means. 
  3. Complete a survey before and after the knowledge training.
  4. Perform at at least a B (85% or higher) level on the post-training survey’s knowledge question.

Part 2 Certificate of Completion: 

  1. Attend at least 7 of 10 FD Training meetings every Sunday, 12:00-1:30pm (New York/Washington DC time) from August 27 to October 29.  
  2. Actively participate in at least half of the meetings they attend.  See above, under “Part 1 Certificate of Completion” for what “actively participate” means.
  3. Perform a video-recorded story at the start and end of the storytelling training.

Part 2 Certificate of Completion, with Honors: 

  1. Attend 9 of 10 FD Training meetings every Sunday, 12:00-1:30pm (New York/Washington DC time) from August 27 to October 29.  
  2. Actively participate in at least 2/3 of the meetings they attend.  See above, under “Part 1 Certificate of Completion” for what “actively participate” means.
  3. Perform a video-recorded story at the start and end of the storytelling training.
  4. Get at least 1 out of 6 more points from the pre-training to post-training performance of your story.

Part 1 & 2 Certificate of Completion: 

  1. Attend at least 13 of 17 FD Training meetings every Sunday, 12:00-1:30pm (New York/Washington DC time) from July 9 to October 29.  
  2. Actively participate in at least half of the meetings they attend.  See above, under “Part 1 Certificate of Completion” for what “actively participate” means.
  3. Complete a survey before and after the Part 1 knowledge training.
  4. Perform a video-recorded story at the start and end of the Part 2 storytelling training.

Part 1 & 2 Certificate of Completion, with Honors: 

  1. Attend 15 of 17 FD Training meetings every Sunday, 12:00-1:30pm (New York/Washington DC time) from July 9 to October 29.  
  2. Actively participate in at least 2/3 of the meetings they attend.  See above, under “Part 1 Certificate of Completion” for what “actively participate” means.
  3. Complete a survey before and after the Part 1 knowledge training.
  4. Perform a video-recorded story at the start and end of the Part 2 storytelling training.
  5. Perform at at least a B (85% or higher) level on the Part 1 post-training survey’s knowledge question, OR get at least 1 out of 6 more points from the pre-training to post-training performance of your story.

Cash awards: 

Only those who complete Parts 1 and 2 of the training are eligible for a cash award.  Up to five most improved FD trainee individuals or families will receive cash prizes: $250 (USD) for individuals, $500 for families in which two or more family members participated in the training.

A group of Learning Life volunteers will determine who gets certificates with or without honors, and the cash awards by scoring the FD trainees’ Part 1 pre- and post-training surveys measuring citizen diplomacy and global family knowledge, plus their Part 2 pre- and post-training video-recorded story performances measuring storytelling skill.  These volunteers are not storytelling experts, just ordinary people who will use the same scoring rubric to numerically evaluate each knowledge survey and storytelling performance.  Important: the judges will be evaluating who are the most improved storytellers, not the best storytellers.

The certificate recipients and cash award winners will be announced at Learning Life’s end-of-year event, tentatively scheduled for Sunday, December 10, 2023, 11am-12:30pm New York time.  This event will be recorded for those who cannot make the event online or in-person, and the certificate and honors winners will be announced via email and social media after the event.

Cash awards will be paid via Paypal, Venmo, Sendwave, MoneyGram, Payoneer, Western Union, or other means.

Questions?

If you have questions, feel free to contact Learning Life at email@learninglife.info.

Ready to Apply?

If you feel you are qualified and motivated to participate in the second year of this extraordinary international FD Training Program, please fill out this application survey.  The survey should take you no more than 10 minutes total to complete.  We will then contact you to complete a screening interview.