Going Global with Barbara
Paris - April 2025 GOING GLOBAL WITH BARBARA:
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
Going Global with Barbara (GGwB) has reached an important milestone in its existence. With its seventh (7th) excursion to Paris, France, which took place in April 2025, it celebrated its 100th student participant in its International Youth Leadership Program. Eight (8) male and five (5) female middle and high school students aged 14-18 participated.
WIF is proud to have supported the International Youth Leadership Program since 2022. For the April 2025 excursion, we organizing visits to the American University of Paris (AUP) and American Business School (ABS) as well as a women-centric Entrée to Black Paris tour.
Copyright for the images on this page belongs to one of the following organizations or individuals: the Wells International Foundation, Going Global with Barbara, Ken Allah, or Entrée to Black Paris.
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF PARIS
The American University of Paris has welcomed students from five of the seven IYLP excursions to Paris. This visit began in admissions, where Andrea Christmas discussed the thought process behind applying to colleges and universities and provided tips on how to research potential schools.
The admissions presentation was followed by a tour of the Combes and Quai d’Orsay buildings led by two Afro-descendent AUP students – Blu Clara Rapps-O’Dea Valey and Sundiata Gittens. The group purchased lunch at the Amex Café and ate and chatted with the guides in a classroom in the Combes building.
The tour ended at the Monttussuy building, which is near the Eiffel Tower. IYLP students visited an art class, where AUP students were immersed in the creative process.
ENTREE TO BLACK PARIS WALKING TOUR
Preceding the visit to AUP, WIF Founder & CEO, Dr. Monique Y. Wells led the group on the Entrée to Black Paris Black History in and around the Luxembourg Garden tour. This two-hour walk has become a tradition for IYLP. It focuses the contributions of Afro-descendent women from multiple continents to Paris history, culture, and contemporary life.
AMERICAN BUSINESS SCHOOL
WIF organized a IYLP visit to the American Business School (ABS) for the third time since 2022.
ABS Dean Samuel Berthet continued to support the program by taking the group on a tour of the campus. He then escorted the students to the Intercultural Studies class taught by former WIF board member Nicole Matusinec.
IYLP and ABS students watched Enoch Cooper (Liberia), Munkhjin Zagar-Erdene (Mongolia), Kenny Mukulayangi Leway (Congo), Syndey Langerman (USA), and Vedika Patel (USA-India) present their homelands and their experiences as study abroad students in Paris.
Following the class, IYLP students participated in a networking event organized by ABS Student Activities Council President Kevine Karangwa (Rwanda). Karangwa and fellow Rwandan Laila Kabagema introduced themselves and talked briefly about their experiences at the university and their lives in Paris.
IYLP students then mixed and mingled with students from the International Studies class and other classes while ABS videoed a conversation between Dean Samuel Berthet and Going Global International Youth Programs Founder and President Barbara Eubanks.
YOUTH AMBASSADORSHIP NETWORKING EVENT
Established in 2008, the Youth Ambassadors for Community Service Program selects high-school participants from underserved backgrounds across France, including the French Caribbean, to participate in a yearlong leadership training program that encourages volunteerism, self-confidence, intercultural sensitivity, and independence.
Through WIF’s connection with the U.S. Embassy, IYLP students met nine students from the 2024 cohort of French Youth Ambassadors for an evening of networking. Students and recent graduates from Parsons Paris, Sciences Po, and the American University of Paris also participated in the event.
