Fortnight
by Isabel Shepherd
Fortnight is a two-week domestic camp (held in Austin this year) for 16- to 18-year-old Americans from every chapter in the United States. My favorite part of Fortnight was the way they were really able to be more thorough in their approach to national issues. There was so much diversity within the United States that I was really meeting people from different cultures, and I enjoyed many great conversations about the issues in our nation today. Fortnight is a great program, and I would highly recommend it to any CISVer, especially if they haven’t traveled internationally before. It is less daunting because of the shorter time frame and domestic travel, but you still get as much out of it as you would an international program.
Junior Counselor
by Baily Faller
Being a Junior Counselor (JC) is a unique leadership opportunity to help camp Leaders plan and facilitate a Village (a month-long camp for 48 eleven-year-olds). The six JCs are 16- or 17-year-olds who serve as the glue between the kids and Leaders, but we also bring energy and excitement! My favorite part about my JC experience in Norway this summer was lullaby time, which is a CISV tradition of singing classic songs together as a camp. It was heartwarming to hear everyone’s voices harmonizing (or at least trying to!) and bonding over cuddles. JCing is a great opportunity to learn how to work with others and how to be yourself. Because of its liminal position, the JC position is coveted as it represents more opportunity to learn from people of completely different ages and backgrounds. It’s a great capstone in a long CISV career as a youth before continuing as an adult.
Seminar
by Liddy Grossman
Seminar is an independent leadership program in which participants are not only responsible for creating meaningful and educational activities, but also for leading and facilitating day-to-day activity of a CISV camp (cooking, cleaning, scheduling, etc.). Participants are tasked with creating their own CISV house to live in for three weeks. Because Seminar is a rather small and very exclusive program, I enjoyed the close relationships that I made with all participants in my camp. I found it much easier to connect with kids because we would cook, play frisbee, and pretty much learn to live with each other. Seminar is an incredibly transitional CISV experience in which you learn the value of independence and coexistence. It’s a great way to transition into adulthood and leadership whether in CISV, college, or your senior year.