• Civil Society and Governance
  • Civil Society and Governance Overview
  • Institutional Capacity Building
  • Civic Education
  • Citizen Participation
  • Advocacy
  • Democratic Governance
  • Grants Solicitation and Management Capacity
  • Women's and Minority Rights
  • Disenfranchised Groups
• Education
  • Education Overview
  • Basic Education
  • Higher Education
  • Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
  • Education for Vulnerable Groups
• HIV/AIDS
  • HIV/AIDS Overview
  • HIV/AIDS Prevention
  • Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC)
  • Grants Solicitation and Management Capacity
  • Institutional Capacity Building
• International Exchanges
  • International Professional, Academic, and Cultural Exchanges Overview
  • Undergraduate and Graduate Academic Exchanges
  • Professional Exchanges
  • Youth Exchanges
• Capacity Development and Training
  • Capacity Development and Training Overview
  • Participant Training
  • Institutional Capacity Building
  • Undergraduate and Graduate Academic Exchanges
  • Grant Solicitation and Management Capacity
  • Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

International Professional, Academic, and Cultural Exchanges

Overview

World Learning bridges cultures and promotes understanding and cooperation among nations through the design and delivery of exchanges and observational study tours to the US for adults and students from countries around the world.

Drawing on World Learning's 75 years of experience in intercultural exchange and education, these activities range across a wide array of technical and educational subject areas, including politics and government, economics and business development, foreign affairs, national security, education, youth leadership, media, social issues, and the arts.

World Learning Visitor Exchange Program and Capacity Building Services divisions have been engaged for more than twenty years, on behalf of the US Department of State and USAID, in providing experiential exchange programs that enable learning and promote understanding for over 2,000 visitors each year from more than 140 countries. Many of World Learning's professional exchanges are implemented in partnership with member organizations of the National Council for International Visitors.

Professional Exchanges
Professional exchanges provide participants with opportunities to experience American life through the lens of their professional interest, traveling to one or several US cities to learn and engage their American professional colleagues. Participants may visit government offices, companies, NGOs, or other organizations to gain perspective while engaging in a wide range of social and cultural activities. Most participate in home stays with American families or home dinner hospitality.

Youth Exchanges
Student exchanges provide visiting young people with a deep and meaningful introduction to American life, culture, and institutions. Participants live with host families and are paired with a host "sibling" of their own age for part or all of their visit to the US. Through hands-on, interactive experience, students learn to communicate across cultures and develop critical thinking and leadership skills to last a lifetime.

Undergraduate and Graduate Academic Exchanges
World Learning manages the recruitment, selection, placement, and monitoring of students from around the world, and under various contracts currently handles students from almost 50 countries who are studying on U.S. campuses on one-semester, one-year, undergraduate, and masters' programs. World Learning has worked with over 800 institutions to design programs to meet both participant and funding agency objectives. All these programs are enhanced by community service activities and leadership skills building.