What position do you hold at One World Center? What has been your career path so far?
Jytte: I have been the Executive Director at One World Center, Massachusetts Campus the past 11 years. I was trained as a teacher and worked in a public school in Denmark.
I have trained refugees from Apartheid Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), been working as a Project Leader in Africa for 3 years. I was the headmaster of Frontline Institute for 10 years training African and European students to carry out development work in Africa.
I have been the director of a Teacher Training College for 5 years and have traveled and worked in Asia, Europe, Africa, America and the Caribbean.
Did YOU volunteer abroad?! If so, where and what inspired you to go?
Jytte: I have been working as a project leader doing development work for 3 years in Zimbabwe, Africa. What inspired me to do this was my travels across Asia realizing the dire need to do something about the conditions facing the Poor on this planet.
What about the future of the industry? How do you think volunteer abroad and international education will change over the next 10 years?
Jytte: We live in a world where more and more people are plunged into poverty and where climate change is threatening our very existence. There is a growing awakening to these problems and I think an increasing number of people will take action by involving themselves in volunteer activities in support of the most needy – both at home and abroad.
Why is language learning and cultural immersion important to you?
Jytte: I believe that living and working in a multicultural setting gives us the opportunity to broaden our mind and to realize that we can take on big issues and challenges using our differences as a strength.
Language learning is important because a language reflects people’s culture and speaking other languages opens the gate to better understanding. I personally speak 7 languages.
Being able to work with many different cultures is an important skill in today and in the future and is eventually a precondition for creating a just and peaceful world.
What unique qualities does your company possess?
Jytte: At One World Center we use radically modern teaching methods that place the students in the driver’s seat. Students and teachers run the school together.
We dare face the realities of the world and dig into finding solutions for how to create development shoulder to shoulder with the poorest people on the planet and for how to create a sustainable future. Our programs are 24/7 and take place in an environment free from drugs and alcohol.
Describe a time when you felt especially proud to be part of the One World Center team.
Jytte: I feel immensely proud every time I look at a team completing the program and seeing how they have grown and developed – full of confidence, rich with experiences, touched deeply by the close cooperation with people from many parts of the world, and having realize how much one can do when working together.
I feel deep satisfaction when former students write letters of gratitude for everything they have learnt, especially from the challenges, and how this has helped them in their lives.