About Friendship Force

The Friendship Force was established in 1977 with a single purpose

"To create an environment where personal friendships
can be established across the barriers that seperate people"

A non-profit organisation, the Friendship Force is active in more than 50 countries promoting friendship and goodwill through an extensive programme of home stay exchange.

A 1992 nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, the friendship Force was founded by Dr Wayne Smith with the support of President Jimmy Carter and Mrs Rosalynn Carter who still holds the position of Honourary Chairperson and serves on the Board of Trustees. An international Advisory council of distinguished persons serves as a Board of reference for the organization.

The Friendship Force achieves its goals by arranging for ordinary citizen Ambassadors to share the lives of a host family living in another country for one week exchanges.

Participation in Exchanges is by application and Ambassadors and Hosts are carefully screened to ensure compatibility with the programme. Each exchange is under the leadership of a volunteer Exchange Director.

Assignment of exchanges and co-ordination between Ambassadors and Host leaders is handled by Friendship Force International (FFI) in Atlanta.