By Heather Collins
Ten local children have returned from a trip abroad with the International Talent Academy. The students represented the United States and Carmel at the ARTEK International Children’s Center, a youth camp in Moscow.
The Carmel, Noblesville and Fishers children, ages 8 to 13, joined more than 3,500 children from 34 countries this summer for the camp, which is sponsored by the Russian government and Artek Foundation.
The camp’s theme was, “The World is Our Home.” Campers wrote essays about how friendship has no borders, participated in interviews with local journalists and contributed to peace-making projects. During the Day of International Delegations, students spent five hours presenting information about the history and culture of the U.S. and shared a PowerPoint presentation about Carmel.
Katerina Folkin, 13, said her favorite memories of the camp include the great friends she met and dance parties.
“I really liked all of the fun and interesting activities every day, going to the beautiful sea, the clubs and the delicious food,” Folkin said. “The most surprising part of ARTEK was that we were able to do so much in just one day, so many great activities, sports, the beach, field trips and more. I was really excited that we also got to go on a lot of intellectual field trips.”
ITA CEO and founder Tatyana Komarova said she attended a similar camp when she was a child and wanted to help bring the experience to local children. She said the trip helped further the academy’s mission of spreading peace throughout the world.
“One of the most valuable experiences is to see and meet the kids from different countries,” she said.
The academy is accepting new students, ages 1 to 13. For information, visit internationaltalentacademy.org.
