As a part of the ongoing International Education Week (IEW),
November 14-18, the U.S. Department of State recognizes
all those who are currently participating in an international
youth or undergraduate exchange program. Exchange programs
are a critical element of our efforts to increase mutual
understanding between the people of the United States and
the people of other nations.
For the 2004-05 academic year, over 190,000
American undergraduate and graduate students studied at
nations outside of the United States. In addition, there
were more than 565,000 foreign undergraduate and college
students studying in the United States. Over 2,500 students
are currently participating in U.S. Department of State
sponsored secondary school and undergraduate international
exchange programs.
Examples of current U.S. government youth
and undergraduate exchange programs include:
• The YES
(Youth Exchange and Study) program, which provides scholarships
for secondary students from countries with significant Muslim
populations;
• The FLEX
(Future Leaders Exchange) program, which provides scholarships
for secondary students from Eurasian countries;
• The CBYX
(Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange) program, which provides
scholarships for American and German secondary students,
jointly funded by the German Bundestag and the U.S. Congress;
• The PLUS
(Partnerships for Learning Undergraduate Studies) program,
which provides scholarship for undergraduate students from
countries with significant Muslim populations; and
• The Gilman
program, which provides scholarships to American undergraduate
students from sectors that have been traditionally underrepresented
in international education exchanges.
The U.S. Department of State has encouraged its program
participants to take an active role in International Education
Week. Thousands of exchange program participants across
the country are making presentations about their home countries
and cultures in their communities and in their classrooms
this week.
In its sixth year, IEW is a global event.
During the week, students, educators, and community leaders
and our Embassies participate in a wide range of activities
to recognize and celebrate the benefits of internationalism
in our classrooms and our educational systems. For more
information on IEW, including a worldwide list of events,
please visit <http://iew.state.gov/>.
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