Nine new virtual exchange programs will help 8,000 young people build a better understanding of the world around them and develop critical skills needed to be successful in an ever-changing world.
Contact: Maura Daley
Stevens Initiative
maura.daley@aspeninstitute.org
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
U.S. Department of State
ECA-Press@state.gov
Washington, D.C., November 19, 2024 – Today, the Stevens Initiative announced its support of nine institutions that will join a cohort of J. Christopher Stevens Virtual Exchange Initiative grantees, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. These virtual exchange programs will shape and inspire 8,000 young people in the United States and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by creating culturally fluent generations of everyday diplomats who are better prepared to prosper and thrive.
These grantees will implement diverse and innovative programming to help young people from 25 U.S. states and territories and 13 MENA countries connect for dialogue and discovery through everyday technology. Participants will develop hard and soft skills that are in demand across all industries – digital literacy, intercultural communication, problem solving, and entrepreneurship. Several programs will empower young people to address some of today’s greatest challenges by exploring civic engagement, ethical leadership, sustainable development, and more. Two programs will strengthen the virtual exchange field by building capacity and partnership networks in higher education institutions.
“My brother believed that peace and prosperity can be achieved only through increased understanding and connection across cultures. Virtual exchange does just that, and the young people brought together through these virtual exchange programs will undoubtedly have a profound impact on the world,” said Dr. Anne Stevens, Sister of Ambassador Christopher Stevens. The Stevens Initiative, conceived and developed in close partnership with Ambassador Stevens’ family, seeks to give a generation of young people the kind of meaningful international experiences that shaped Ambassador Stevens as a young man.
These institutions join an existing portfolio of J. Christopher Stevens Virtual Exchange Initiative grantees implementing a diversity of programs reaching young people from elementary school to young adulthood. The new grantees include:
- The American Association of Colleges and Universities’ Institute for Virtual Exchange and COIL Centers of Excellence advances innovation in global education through enduring virtual exchange programming, specifically Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) models, to create centers of excellence at select institutions in the Middle East and North Africa and the United States.
- Georgia State University’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Social Impact fosters entrepreneurial skills and global competence among undergraduate and graduate students in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and the United States through challenge-based learning.
- Green River College’s Pacific Northwest and MENA COIL Consortia Building joins higher education institutions in the Middle East and North Africa with the Pacific Northwest in the United States to train faculty and engage students in cross-cultural, project-based learning through interdisciplinary courses.
- The International Foundation for Training and Development’s Youth for Sustainable Development Goals fosters critical thinking, communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills among high school-aged youth in North Africa and the United States through interactive discussions and collaborative projects that address solutions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
- The New York Academy of Sciences’ Junior Academy connects high school-aged youth from the Middle East and North Africa and the United States to participate in online STEM innovation challenges that invite participants to propose creative and thoughtful solutions to global issues.
- The Marshall Legacy Institute’s Peace Through Sport fosters cross-cultural connections between American and Yemeni youth, using the common language of sport to promote leadership, civic engagement, and cultural understanding which empowers participants to create positive change in their communities.
- Millennium Campus Network’s Millennium Fellowship U.S.-MENA Exchange brings together undergraduates from the Middle East and North Africa and the United States to collaborate virtually on social impact projects, fostering cross-cultural understanding and leadership development.
- Teens of Color Abroad’s TOCA Online is an Arabic-English language learning and cultural exchange for language students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States and university students studying in the Middle East and North Africa.
- The William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan’s Climate Entrepreneurship Exchange offers young people from Michigan, United States and North Africa an opportunity to work together in teams, identify a climate issue from one of their communities, and come up with an innovative solution.
“I’m proud to celebrate the addition of nine grantees to our 2024 J. Christopher Stevens Virtual Exchange Initiative portfolio today. Over the last year, we have taken great strides to bridge cultural divides and prepare rising generations of global leaders,” said Christine Shiau, Executive Director of the Stevens Initiative. “Everything we do is centered around making transformative global experiences accessible to young people, and that would be impossible without the partnership of these incredible organizations and educational institutions.”
The J. Christopher Stevens Virtual Exchange Initiative is a U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs program administered by the Aspen Institute.
More Information
The Stevens Initiative, a program of the Aspen Institute, is an international leader in virtual exchange, which brings young people from diverse places together for dialogue and discovery through everyday technology. Created in 2015 as a lasting tribute to Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, the Initiative is building a better tomorrow by championing global citizenship, empowering future leaders, and advancing the field of virtual exchange. Learn more: https://www.stevensinitiative.org.
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) builds relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries through academic, cultural, sports, professional and private exchanges, as well as public-private partnerships and mentoring programs. These exchange programs improve foreign relations and strengthen the national security of the United States, support U.S. international leadership, and provide a broad range of domestic benefits by helping break down barriers that often divide us. Visit eca.state.gov.
The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most important challenges facing the United States and the world. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Institute has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.
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