When four planes were hijacked ten years ago, the damage was global. Terror has led to war, and fear has effected intolerance. The attacks became a defining moment in a growing schism between two cultures, and bridging the gap is a matter of shared human interest.
Steven Rosenthal believes that this clash of civilizations is reconcilable, and his mission is to give civilians a role in the push for peace. By encouraging healthy interactions across borders, we could prevent some of the intercultural animosities that so easily lead to violence. “It is clear from events of the last decade that events on the other side of the planet really affect us back home,” he told The Suit. “Never before has it been more important to build bridges of understanding across cultures.”
Rosenthal is the executive director of Cross Cultural Solutions, a non-profit organization that organizes volunteerism around the world. CCS has arranged programs in 12 countries and four continents, where volunteers work to improve medical care, strengthen educational systems and encourage community sustainability.
Rosenthal founded CCS after an overseas experience changed his life. A friend had invited him to help build a medical dispensary in rural Kenya. “It was such a beautiful community,” he said. “The people were so kind and gracious. Even though they had very little, they shared everything with us. It was eye-opening, and I wanted to structure a way for other people to have the same experience.”
CCS got off to a slow start after its inception in 1995. By the end of the first year, just one volunteer had been placed. But with hard work and an outpouring of support from home and abroad, CCS has expanded exponentially. Today, 16 years since its founding, over 25,000 volunteers have served in countries all over the world.
The ability to organize people on such a large scale became immediately useful in September of 2001, when the CCS team responded quickly to national tragedy. After the dust of 9/11 had settled, electricity was still down and roads were closed. Yet there were thousands of volunteers who ventured downtown to lend a hand, and Rosenthal was among them.
“After the attacks I went down to Ground Zero to see if I could help, and it was complete chaos down there,” he said. “I saw the need for us to help coordinate the spontaneous volunteers who were showing up.” So CCS worked with the American Red Cross, providing over 6,500 volunteers to assist in the relief and recovery efforts at the site of the World Trade Center.
Offering direct response in a time of crisis is part of a much larger picture for CCS. Rosenthal hopes that by enabling an increase in volunteerism around the world, the organization can mitigate the conflicts that lead to violence in the first place. “We want people getting out and traveling, meeting other people and breaking down stereotypes and misunderstandings,” he said. “It’s important to our security back home, as well as to our place in the world.”
