OLD TOWN – Eighteen local youths have been selected to represent the United States in international villages, an interchange or a summer camp hosted by Children’s International Summer Villages.

The delegates, ages 11-18, are members of the Maine Chapter of CISV. The chapter is still accepting applications for 11-year-old girls interested in being part of the delegation attending a Summer Village in Pittsburgh. The four-week villages bring together four-member delegations from 12 nations.

Selected for the U.S. delegation at the Summer Village in Pittsburgh are Henry Chai and Avery Cole of Orono, and Alyse Klappenbach of Glenburn. Their leader will be Kelly O’Brien of Hampden.

Attending the Summer Village in Aust Agder, Norway, will be Nathaniel Green of Brewer, Mia Smith of Holden, and Joseph Ross and Eva Weitman, both of Bangor. Their leader is Natalie Bell of Standish.

Six 13- and 14-year-olds have been selected for a cultural interchange with their peers in Sweden: Sophia Arabadjis, Daniel Lesser and John McAleer of Orono; Eleanor Howell of Blue Hill; Phoebe Peckenham of Orland; and Ryan Ross of Bangor. Their leader is Dan O’Brien of Brewer.

Also headed to Sweden are four 15-year-olds. Members of the delegation attending Summer Camp in Linkoping, Sweden, are: Brianna Alley of Franklin; Tara Bartley of Bangor; and Mark Cloutier and Patrick McAleer, both of Orono. Their leader is Bronwyn Casement of Brewer.

Selected to be a junior counselor at a Summer Village in Michigan City, Ind., is Julianna Alex of Old Town.

Children’s International Summer Villages offer international and local programs that foster global friendships and cross-cultural understanding.

The program is an independent, nonprofit, nonpolitical worldwide volunteer organization that promotes peaceful solutions to global problems. It is dedicated to making a world of difference, and committed to the personal safety and welfare of all participants in its programs.

Contact Penny Lamhut, 942-3558 (plamhut@adelphia.net), for applications for all of CISV-Maine’s international programs. Chairman of the selection committee is Jaki Erdoes, 244-9213 (evenings and weekends), jaki@acadia.net.

For information about CISV and any of its 2005 programs, contact Valerie Maurais, 827-7129, valotm@cs.com. To learn about Children’s International Summer Villages, visit CISV-USA at www.cisvusa.org.