Youth Exchange and Study Program
From AFSWiki
Background and Overview
The Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program evolved out of a generalized recognition that public diplomacy efforts had been neglected in many countries around the world for many years and that the effects of this came into stark focus in the aftermath of the events of September 11, 2001. AFS took a lead in rallying the exchange community and the Educational and Cultural Affairs Bureau of the U.S. Department of State to approach Congress with a coherent plan for support of meaningful opportunities for youth exchange as a key component of renewed commitment to building bridges between citizens of the U.S. and countries around the world, particularly those with large Muslim populations.
This resulted in appropriations committed by Congress in 2002, followed by a call for proposals later that same year. AFS-USA brought together AFS Partner organizations in countries with significant Muslim populations, including Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Turkey; like-minded high school exchange organizations in the U.S., including PAX - Program of Academic Exchange, AIFS Foundation’s Academic Year Abroad (AYA) and American Cultural Exchange Service (ACES); as well as Mobility International to work together to provide a large number of scholarships within a compact time frame.
By August 2003, the first class of 53 YES students from Egypt, Turkey and Indonesia arrived, followed in January 2004 by 20 Malaysian YES students. Today, a consortium of US-based exchange organizations work together to each host a portion of the Kennedy-Lugar YES students in communities across the United States. In addition to AFS-USA, these organizations include: ACES, AIFS/AYA, American Councils, ASSE, AYUSA International, CCI, CIEE, PAX, World Link, and YFU.
The YES website provides in-depth information for this innovative high school exchange and public diplomacy program. The Kennedy-Lugar YES Program aims to build bridges of international understanding between Americans and people in countries with significant Muslim populations by sending and hosting students with an eye on global issues, a desire to understand diverse cultures and expand their own boundaries by their courage, flexibility and quest for knowledge. Answers to questions regarding both the YES and YES Abroad program, including eligibility and the application process can be found exclusively on the website. See http://www.yesprograms.org.
YES Abroad
Initially created as a program for international high school students to live and study in the U.S., the Kennedy-Lugar YES program was expanded in 2009 to include an outbound portion, titled YES Abroad, for American high school students. YES Abroad scholarship recipients serve as “youth ambassadors" in their host countries, promoting mutual understanding through forming lasting relationships with their host families and friends. Upon successful completion of the program, YES Abroad students become members of the State Alumni network, where they’ll join former Fulbright scholars and other State Department program alumni for cultural, academic and networking opportunities.
- Visit YES Abroad on the AFS Wiki: YES Abroad
- Visit the official YES Abroad website: http://www.yesprograms.org/yesabroad
YES Program Features
- Sponsored Programs Workshop in Washington, DC for cluster coordinators: sessions include such topics as in-depth information regarding the cultures from which the students are coming, advocacy workshop and visits to Congressional Representatives, roundtables on planning and carrying out cluster activities, fostering leadership skills, host family orientation content, working with schools, inclusion of people with disabilities, briefing with State Department officials.
- Enhancement and Leadership activities budget of $300 per participant available to Teams hosting a cluster (YES students should be hosted in groups of at least 3 students) to carry out at least six enhancement activities over the course of the academic year (reporting forms and procedures are explained in detail to Cluster Coordinators).
- 2 1/2-day arrival briefing in Washington, DC for the students prior to onward travel to normally-scheduled welcome orientation sites.
- 3-day end of stay debriefing in Washington, DC for the students after the normally-scheduled locally-organized end-of-stay activities and D-Day.
- Monthly stipend of $125 starting in the month of August (or January in the case of winter arrivals) and ending in the month of June.
- Incidentals allowance of $300 provided for year program students and $150 for semester students meant to cover such expenses as school activity fees, a winter coat, school pictures, team uniform or laboratory fees, books, etc.
- AFS medical program with all of the same benefits and procedures that normally apply.
Where do YES students come from?
- In 2011-12, participating scholars from Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey will be recruited by our AFS partners and the students will arrive in August 2011, and participants from Malaysia will arrive in January for a semester stay. YES students will reflect a wide range of socioeconomic, cultural and religious affiliations within their countries, including people with disabilities.
- UPDATE: As of program year 2011-2012, beginning in Summer 2011, YES consortium has grown to incorporate students from countries that work with other recruitment organizations (not AFS-affiliates). The new countries from which YES students come are: Albania, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Gaza, Israel, Jordan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liberia, Macedonia, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Tanzania, Tunisia, West Bank and Yemen.
| Country | Global Link Abbreviation | Recruitment Organization | # of Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | ABN | American Councils | 1 |
| Bahrain | BHR | AMIDEAST | 2 |
| Bangladesh | BNG | iEarn | 6 |
| Bosnia/Herzegovina | BSH | American Councils | 1 |
| Bulgaria | BLG | American Councils | 1 |
| Cameroon | CRN | iEarn | 2 |
| Egypt | EGY | AFS | 12 |
| Gaza | GAZ | AMIDEAST | 2 |
| Ghana | GHA | AFS | 6 |
| India | IND | AFS | 11 |
| Indonesia | INA | AFS | 20 |
| Israel | IRA | iEarn | 5 |
| Jordan | JRD | AMIDEAST | 7 |
| Kenya | KEN | AFS | 5 |
| Kosovo | KOS | American Councils | 1 |
| Kuwait | KUW | AMIDEAST | 4 |
| Lebanon | LEB | AMIDEAST | 10 |
| Liberia | LBI | iEarn | 1 |
| Macedonia | MCD | American Councils | 3 |
| Malaysia (SH Semester Only) | MAS | AFS | 12 |
| Mali | MAL | iEarn | 3 |
| Morocco | MOR | AMIDEAST | 5 |
| Mozambique | MOZ | AFS | 2 |
| Nigeria | NGA | IRIS | 5 |
| Oman | OMN | AMIDEAST | 2 |
| Pakistan | PKS | iEarn | 32 |
| Philippines | PHI | AFS | 8 |
| Qatar | QTR | AMIDEAST | 2 |
| Saudi Arabia | KSA | AFS | 4 |
| Senegal | SNL | iEarn | 4 |
| Sierra Leone | SRE | iEarn | 2 |
| South Africa | RSA | AFS | 2 |
| Suriname | SRN | iEarn | 1 |
| Tanzania | TZA | IRIS | 6 |
| Thailand | THA | AFS | 4 |
| Tunisia | TNS | AMIDEAST | 3 |
| Turkey | TUR | AFS | 14 |
| West Bank | WBK | AMIDEAST | 6 |
| Yemen | YMN | AMIDEAST | 8 |
What is the selection process for YES students?
- YES participants are selected through an open, merit-based selection process established by AFS organizations in each country within a three-tier framework. The process begins with the initial application and screening for eligibility phase; an interim phase incorporates written applications and interviews, either conducted regionally, or nationally; a final selection committee convenes nationally to select the final scholarship recipients. YES scholars are selected based on a variety of indicators, including an evaluation of their personal qualities, such as adaptability, leadership potential and motivation for an intercultural experience. AFS organizations attempt to reach a wide audience within each country, embracing all of the ethnic, geographic and socioeconomic diversity within the target countries.
Where can AFS YES participants be hosted?
- YES students can be hosted anywhere in the United States.
- YES students are hosted in clusters of sponsored students (along with FLEX and Congress Bundestag students) of between 3-8 students in close enough geographic proximity to facilitate getting together periodically for enhancement activities. Enhancement activities are coordinated locally by a designated “Cluster Coordinator”. So long as there are at least three YES participants in a cluster, they may be combined with FLEX (at least two) and Congress-Bundestag students (no minimum), to form mixed clusters of sponsored students.
- Each Team that plans to host YES students should identify one volunteer who will serve as a “Cluster Coordinator”(of course, a Team could choose to have more than one cluster per Team, but should be sure to designate a “Cluster Coordinator” for each cluster). The “Cluster Coordinator” will implement enhancement activities that have clear educational objectives and a focus on leadership (a leadership curriculum to guide this focus is being developed by the American Leadership Forum of Oregon). “Cluster Coordinators” also provide country and program specific information to fellow volunteers in the Team. Ideally, the “Cluster Coordinator” will be designated early in the spring so that he/she may take part in the annual Sponsored Programs Workshop held near Washington, D.C.
Are there any placement considerations to be taken into account, in addition to clustering?
It is worth mentioning once more that the YES program participants are likely to reflect a wide range of socioeconomic and cultural affiliations representative of the wide range within their own countries. However, there may be a few considerations to be aware of as probably more prevalent within the pool of students coming from the countries represented.
- It is likely that many of the YES participants will identify themselves as Muslim and practice to one degree or another (some female student may cover their hair, but not all will do so). There will also be many who practice other religions or who do not practice at all. Possibly, the most important consideration to make in finding appropriate host families would be to find host families who are not insistent on the participation of students in organized religious activities. Flexibility in this area, while key as a matter of course, might be especially important to screen for in the case of host families for this program. It is likely that most practitioners of Islam would expect some assistance in finding a clean, quiet place to carry out their five daily prayers (normally the student’s bedroom) and access to a mosque during the two major holidays (Eid al Fitr and Eid al Adha).
- It is likely that most students hailing from the countries included in the YES program will have a strong aversion to dogs. From a religious perspective, many practicing Muslims would ask that the dog not be allowed in the place where he or she performs prayers (this could be in any clean, quiet place, but is normally the student’s bedroom). From a more general perspective, it is the case that in many countries, dogs are seen as street dogs or guard dogs and many children may grow up encouraged to be wary of dogs. Either way, this doesn’t mean they cannot live with pets, but sensitivity to the issue of helping a student to deal with overcoming a strong aversion may be an important consideration.
- Most natural families from these countries may be uncomfortable with the idea of a daughter living with teenage host brothers.
- Permission must be obtained in advance from both the student’s natural family and the State Department for placements in private schools.
- Students identifying themselves as Hindu or Muslim will often have dietary restrictions rooted in religious tradition. For Muslim students, pork and alcohol are strictly prohibited. For most Hindu students, beef is strictly prohibited and vegetarianism is common.
