This year marks a remarkable milestone for CISV International as the organization celebrates its 75th anniversary of building global friendship and peace through youth exchange and education. To honor the occasion, our local chapter, CISV Michigan City Lakeshore, is hosting a special celebration that brings together past and present participants, families, and volunteers to reconnect and reflect on decades of shared experiences.
Founded in 1950 by child psychologist Doris Twitchell Allen, CISV was built on the idea that friendships formed between young people from different cultures can help create a more peaceful world. Over the past seven decades, the organization has grown into a global network spanning nearly 70 countries, with programs that bring together children and youth to learn about leadership, cooperation, and intercultural understanding.
The anniversary event hosted by CISV Michigan City Lakeshore highlights a powerful theme: global friendship throughout a lifetime. Former campers who first participated as children will gather alongside today’s youth delegates, junior counselors, and volunteers demonstrating how the connections formed through CISV can last for generations.
CISV is unique because it doesn’t just create a two- or three-week experience. It creates friendships that last decades. At this celebration, we’ll see alumni who attended programs years ago standing next to the next generation of participants preparing for their first international experience.
The event will feature story sharing, photos from past programs, and opportunities for alumni and current members to reconnect. Many attendees will reunite with friends they met through international programs, while new participants will get a glimpse of the lifelong community that CISV creates.
As CISV International celebrates 75 years, the CISV Michigan City Lakeshore chapter hopes the event will not only honor the past but also inspire future participants to continue building bridges across cultures.
CISV shows young people that the world is bigger than their hometown. Seventy-five years later, we’re still proving that friendship across borders can shape lives and help build a more peaceful future.
About CISV Michigan City Lakeshore:
CISV Michigan City Lakeshore is part of the global network of CISV International, offering educational programs and international exchanges that empower young people to become active global citizens through friendship and experiential learning.