Advancing disability rights and leadership globally®

Commemorate in a Postcard Your #LifeAfterExchange

Stylized bubble letters read "Greetings from Travelers Abroad: Life after exchange" with images of travelers with disabilities filling in the letters of 'Abroad"
Stylized bubble letters read "Greetings from Travelers Abroad: Life after exchange" with images of travelers with disabilities filling in the letters of 'Abroad"

Show your friends and social media followers that international exchange opens doors for people with disabilities – even years later!

Who says your exchange experience has to end when you get home? We know that going abroad – for study, volunteerism, professional exchange and more – has a lasting impact on Deaf and disabled people’s lives in many ways.

Did it have an impact on you? Create your own #LifeAfterExchange digital postcard to commemorate your time abroad and celebrate what it’s helped you accomplish.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Tell us about your Life After Exchange by responding to a few questions. Enter your responses in our #LifeAfterExchange survey.
  2. We’ll select our favorite survey submissions by September 30th, 2017. If we select yours, we’ll use your responses to generate a postcard!
  3. We’ll send you your customized postcard so you can share it with your friends and followers on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Remember to use the hashtag #LifeAfterExchange (see sample posts below) and to describe images for your blind/low-vision followers!
  4. We’ll post our favorite postcards ongoingly to MIUSA’s social media and online photo gallery.

Check out the photo gallery below to view “Life After Exchange” postcards that returned travelers with disabilities have sent to us so far. You can also view on Flickr here. Click on each photo to access a visual description.

Sample posts and Tweets to include with your Postcard on social media.

  • How do you like my #LifeAfterExchange postcard? That’s me in [country] in [year], [describe what’s happening in the photo]! My time there made it possible for me to [describe something you gained] later on.
  • I sent myself a #LifeAfterExchange postcard using http://ow.ly/o7OO30b1MNx.
  • People with disabilities DO #GoAbroad, & I’m one of them! #LifeAfterExchange
  • Once you’ve traveled to [country], you can do anything – even [share an accomplishment]! #LifeAfterExchange
  • Hoping my friends & followers w/ #disabilities will share their travel experiences too! http://ow.ly/o7OO30b1MNx
  • I loved my time abroad & I love my #LifeAfterExchange!
  • Can’t believe it’s been years since my first #intlExchange experience! Sending myself this postcard in commemoration of my exchange-a-versary. #LifeAfterExchange

Postcard description

Side 1: Over a cartoon world map background reads “Greetings from Travelers Abroad: Life After Exchange” in stylized text. Inside each of the bubble letters of “Abroad” are photos of travelers with diverse disabilities exploring landmarks, speaking or signing, and working.

Side 2: This side is designed to look like the back of a postcard and is customized for each traveler. The stamp is designed to look like the destination country flag, while a postmark stamp is designed to look like the MIUSA logo. Text reads “Life After Exchange: People with disabilities can and do travel abroad, opening doors to exciting opportunities down the road.” National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange. www.miusa.org/LifeAfterExchange. Where the address field of a postcard would appear are “Greetings From” the traveler’s name; “Back When I…”; “Now I’m…” and “My #LifeAfterExchange…” In the message side of the postcard is space for the traveler’s photo and a short caption.

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