City Stay

City Stay provides experiential education that sparks unlikely connections between diverse cultural communities in the Twin Cities

City Stay applies an innovative approach to education and community building by bringing the concept of study abroad to the local level, allowing Minnesotans of all colors and creeds to live with a new Minnesotan family from a different culture.

Participants are provided opportunities to continue building on their cross-cultural relationships and their language skills after the program ends. 

More broadly, the relationships City Stay facilitates reduce community mistrust and social inequality in the Twin Cities. These connections serve as an ongoing tool to build a more informed and connected community that fosters intercultural understanding in an increasingly diverse world.

Our primary program lasts one week and is available to high school students, college students, and adult professionals. During the day, participants engage in dynamic dialogues with a wide range of presenters from the immigrant communities of Minnesota. Topics include urban studies, immigration and the cultures of the Twin Cities. In the evening, participants live with a local family from another culture. The heart of this program is the homestay component. Participants of all backgrounds build meaningful and informative relationships with carefully-matched local families in the Latino, Somali, or Hmong communities.

In addition to the primary program, City Stay also offers workshops that help enhance cultural competency around the largest immigrant populations in Minnesota. In this capacity, we primarily serve educators, social service and healthcare professionals, religious leaders, and students.

Objectives

• Foster meaningful and lasting relationships between people of diverse backgrounds
• Prepare the next generation to live and lead in a multi-cultural world
• Share the cultural richness of the newest Minnesotans with a wide audience
• Reduce community mistrust and social inequality by facilitating dialogue, study, and action

Sparking Unlikely Connections.