Arkansas 4-H hosts International 4-H Camp, welcomes youth from three countries
By Rebekah Hall
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Aug. 27, 2025
Fast Facts:
- 38 youth from Jamaica, Japan, Taiwan, four U.S. states gathered for week-long program
- Camp held Aug. 7-13 at C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center
- Youth participated in outdoor activities, educational workshops, cultural exchange
(1,162 words)
(Newsrooms: With art)
LITTLE ROCK — For Gabriella Pardo, a member of Texas 4-H who attended the International 4-H Camp hosted in Arkansas, global citizenship involves meaningful connections with neighbors near and far.
“Some people call that networking, but I like to think of it as making friends for life,” she said.
Pardo, 17, was one of 38 youths and 12 adults from Jamaica, Japan, Taiwan, Arkansas, Michigan, New Jersey and Texas to attend the weeklong International 4-H Camp, held Aug. 7-13 at the C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center in Little Rock.
Debbie Nistler, extension assistant vice president of 4-H and youth development for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said the event was designed to bring youth together across language barriers and cultural differences.
“Building cultural competencies and understanding of other countries is a critical part of building understanding of our own communities,” Nistler said. “If we understand each other, we can build cooperation across cultures and nations. This week of camp offered our Arkansas youth and youth across the world a chance to gain understanding of how others think and make decisions.”
The camp was first held by New Jersey 4-H in 2019, and Arkansas 4-H was asked to be a partner with New Jersey to plan the 2025 event. Nistler said she hopes the camp will take place every other year going forward, “with a potential inter-state cultural exchange on the off year.”
Learning opportunities
At the Arkansas 4-H Center, youth participated in traditional summer camp activities, including fishing, canoeing and kayaking, archery and swimming. Divided into two groups, they braved a high ropes course as part of the ExCEL Leadership Program, a series of team-building exercises involving 20 different obstacles.
Youth also attended workshops on leadership, agriculture and cultural exchange, including one led by Pardo and Janis Brinn, extension 4-H educator for Michigan State University, on the 4-H Visual Art Letters Program.
“It’s an art exchange program for kids from all over the world,” Pardo said. “I thought, ‘Hey, since we’re going to be at an international camp, why don’t we do a workshop on the visual art letters?’ Janis and I showed everyone what this looks like, how kids of different ages and nationalities create letters using drawings instead of written words. Then we had them create their own.”
Ella Porter, 17, a member of Texas 4-H in Montgomery County, led a workshop on the Norman Borlaug Youth in Agriculture Program, an academic enrichment and leadership program.
“It’s a really great growth opportunity, so I wanted to share that with an international group of students to encourage global cooperation and collaboration, which I believe can solve a lot of problems,” Porter said.
By dividing up attendees into groups from different states and countries, Porter wanted to help others “get over language barriers, differences in their backgrounds, and bring all of their minds and experiences to the table.”
“That really helped me grow my leadership,” she said.
Sandray Miller, 23, is a youth participant from the Jamaica 4-H Clubs. In Jamaica, 4-H offers programming for young adults between the ages of 18-35. Miller said he enjoyed building and competing with submersible robots, part of an activity highlighting the 4-H SeaPerch program.
“As a group of four, we created an underwater robot to go through an underwater obstacle course, and we placed second,” Miller said. “That was a majorly interesting activity for me, it was my first time getting a hands-on experience in robotics.”
Miller also attended the first day of the two-day Arkansas Agriculture Tour, which was offered after the International 4-H Camp concluded. While on a visit to the Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Miller said he learned “new agricultural practices that I wasn’t aware of.”
“They were raising chickens on open fields and moving poultry houses to different places daily,” he said. “That was new technology that I was not exposed to in other countries, which I was exposed to in Arkansas.”
Growing new bonds
On each night of the camp, attendees from each state and country shared elements of their culture with their fellow participants.
“They would show us games they play, dances, and different things like that to give us a glimpse into their daily lives,” Porter said. “For Jamaica, we learned some games and did dancing, since that’s a big part of their culture. For Japan, we did origami, and that was a lot of fun. For Texas, we taught line dancing and two-stepping.”
Pardo said these activities, along with forming new friendships, were her favorite parts of the camp.
“Looking past the language barriers and the fact that we’re all from different places and look different, we were able to form connections and be friends,” Pardo said. “Now I have the phone numbers of people from Japan and Taiwan, and we’re following each other on Instagram.”
Porter echoed this sentiment and said the experience illuminated similarities among all the campers.
“A lot of times we think if someone is from a different place, they’re going to be totally different, but when you put us together, we’re still young people, we like some of the same things and act the same,” Porter said. “It was interesting getting to see some of those cool similarities but also taking into account the differences that make us all unique.”
Preparing youth for the future
Pardo said her International 4-H Camp experience gave her a better understanding of the qualities of leadership.
“Leaders don’t have to be the most extroverted person in the room,” Pardo said. “I learned leadership can happen from the quietest kid in the corner who’s showing his kindness through smaller acts, or it can be the very loud, confident guy. Leadership can be seen through every personality.”
Porter said she encouraged other young people to seek out their local 4-H program because it offers “opportunities for literally everyone, no matter your background.”
“Whether you grow up on 1,000 acres in the middle of nowhere or you live in the biggest city in your state, 4-H had leadership and development opportunities that you can take and run with,” she said. “It’s a great way to develop a true heart for giving back to your community and making friends that turn into family along the way.”
Miller said his 4-H experience has been emblematic of the “give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish, you feed him for life” adage.
“Whatever you learn through 4-H, you can apply for a lifetime,” Miller said. “You are always gaining knowledge to improve yourself. It’s an ideal platform to have constant learning.”
Nistler said attendees at the International 4-H Camp “left the week with friends they never thought they would get a chance to know.”
“They will use these skills for the rest of their lives — building empathy for others, regardless of where or how they live their lives,” Nistler said.
To learn more about Arkansas 4-H, visit 4h.uada.edu or contact your local county agent.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
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Media Contact:
Rebekah Hall
rkhall@uada.edu
@RKHall_
501-671-2061