The U.S. Embassy Montevideo announced
on Tuesday the opening of its 2008 Youth Ambassador Program
for Uruguay. Developed in 2002 by the Partners of the Americas
organization the Youth Ambassadors Program, originally aimed
at Brazilians, has been expanded to include students from
the Southern Cone countries as well. Last year, fifty teenagers
from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay participated
in the program. (See related article.)
The purpose of the program is to offer students
in public high schools new international opportunities and
experiences that will broaden their knowledge of U.S. culture,
society and education. The selected candidates will experience
life in a U.S. high school environment, live with an American
host family, exchange views on topics of common interest
with U.S. youth and serve as “Ambassadors” in
projecting a positive image of Uruguay in the contacts with
the U.S. people they meet.
Ten students will be selected to represent
Uruguay in the United States for two weeks. They will spend
five days in Washington, D.C., and 9 days in another state
in the U.S. living the day-to-day of an American family,
attending classes in a high school and giving presentations
about Uruguay.
While in Washington, the young "Ambassadors"
will participate in guided visits to landmark national institutions
such as the White House, the Capitol, the Supreme Court,
the Abraham Lincoln Monument, the Smithsonian,
as well as briefings at the U.S. Department of Education
on similarities and differences between education programs
and meetings at the U.S. Department of State.
Students wishing to participate in this
program have until November 9 to apply. Forms,
including a test questionnaire
and a list of pre-requisites
are available, in Spanish, on this Website.
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