- American Councils seeks U.S.-based volunteers to evaluate scholarship applications of high school students from 29 countries, including the United States.Volunteer evaluators support youth exchange programs, which empower the next generation of global citizens and establish long-lasting ties between the United States and other countries. To volunteer, you must participate in a training workshop. Subsequently, hours are flexible. To submit an application of interest, click here. Our next… Read More
- As an American living in Belgrade, Serbia for the past two years, my daily life is a paradox of passing anti-American graffiti and placards mourning those killed in the 1999 NATO bombings as I walk to the homes of Serbian friends who welcome me warmly. To friends in Serbia, I am an American, but not America. To those who don't know me, I am merely a representative of the United States an American conflated with America for better or worse.In Belgrade, taxi drivers speak openly about their fear… Read More
- WASHINGTON, DC—The United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) recently paid tribute to the historic accomplishments of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX), Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX), and Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program, and highlighted the profound impact that alumni of the programs have had on their home and host communities.American Councils for International Education and its Center for Global Leadership (CGL) were… Read More
- Stray dogs are a common sight in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The large number of dogs without homes makes it particularly difficult for the local government to provide shelter for all, with estimates putting the stray dog population close to 11,000.American high school students living in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of the YES Abroad high school exchange year joined forces with young Bosnians from the YES alumni network to raise money for a local dog shelter in… Read More
- PR: Art has kind have been my biggest passion since I was a toddler. When I found out I got into YES Abroad I was really bummed because I thought it was not going to be a part of my life that was compatible with studying abroad. I would bring a sketchbook and I would doodle, but I wouldn’t be able to do art. I wouldn't have the corner of my room where all my paintings are and stuff like that.I was really bummed about that, but it was a sacrifice that I was willing to make.But when I got to… Read More
- Applications are now open for new volunteer evaluators to review scholarship applications of high school students from 29 countries, including the United States, on a flexible basis. Our next group of volunteers will serve between November 2021 and March 2022 to evaluate applications from prospective students in the following youth exchange programs, which are sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs:The Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX): Initiated in… Read More
- Growing up in the capital city of Macedonia, Emir Hasanovic learned about America through pop culture and Hollywood.When he applied for the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program in 2008, social media did not have the same level of prominence that it does today. After he was accepted, he imagined how his American story would unfold.He assumed he would be placed in a big city, like he had seen in movies – New York City or Chicago. He was placed in Lyle, Minnesota.In 2008, the… Read More
- Angela Gjekanovikj isn’t an ambassador yet, but she’s been practicing for years.She was only a teenager when she traveled from Skopje, Macedonia, to Bakersfield, California, to start her academic year abroad with the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study program.“It was the moment I stepped out of the plane I started sharing Macedonia,” she said with a laugh, during a recent phone interview. “In Macedonia we kiss (three times), and I kissed all of them.”Her host parents and host sister, armed… Read More
- American Councils for International Education joins the international community in mourning former Senator Richard Lugar, who died Sunday at the age of 87.The longest serving senator in Indiana’s history, Mr. Lugar dedicated much of his 36-year career to foreign policy, advocating for nuclear non-proliferation and twice serving as the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.In the wake of 9/11, he and the late Senator Edward “Ted”… Read More
- Editor's note: This letter to the editor was originally published in the Washington Post on May 10. I was disappointed to see in the April 29 front-page obituary for former senator Richard G. Lugar, “Senator was key in U.S. foreign policy,” no mention of his role as co-founder of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program, which brings nearly 1,000 high school students to the United States every year. The Indiana Republican spoke annually to these students about how… Read More
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