World Learning will connect young people across regions with support from the J. Christopher Stevens Virtual Exchange Initiative

Publication Date: April 27, 2023
Publication Location: Washington, DC
Contact: Abby Henson   |   [email protected]

On Tuesday, the Stevens Initiative announced World Learning is one of 15 schools, higher education institutions, and nonprofit organizations to receive funding to run virtual exchange programs that connect young people in the United States and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. World Learning’s The Experiment Digital Leadership in STEM equips high school-aged youth to leverage their interests and skills in STEM to achieve personal and professional goals while giving back to their community.

The Experiment Digital Leadership in STEM is implemented by World Learning and is supported by the J. Christopher Stevens Virtual Exchange Initiative (JCSVEI). JCSVEI is a U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs program administered by the Aspen Institute.

Virtual exchange connects young people from diverse places using everyday technology for collaborative learning and interaction through sustained and facilitated engagement. Through virtual exchange programs, young people have access to life-changing opportunities that can shape their trajectories, bring new friends into their lives, and expand their worldviews. Virtual exchange is a vital learning tool with the capacity to connect people around the world on an unprecedented scale without a need for travel.

“At a time when education remains in flux in a post-pandemic world, complex global issues are front of mind, and young people excitedly return to in-person gatherings, virtual exchange continues to be an important learning tool. By fostering unique online spaces for young people to come together over shared challenges and triumphs, virtual exchange moves us toward a more connected and inclusive world. These new grantees play a critical role in making this possible, and participants of this program will undoubtedly approach the future with the belief they can impact their communities and the world around them,” said Christine Shiau, executive director of the Stevens Initiative.

World Learning’s The Experiment Digital Leadership in STEM is a six-week virtual exchange program that empowers high school-aged participants in the U.S. and the Middle East and North Africa region to refine digital skills, explore career paths in STEM, and develop leadership competencies, while establishing cross-cultural connections. Participants explore the intersections of how they can develop their skills, give back to their communities, and pursue a fulfilling career. The final capstone combines participants’ individual and academic aspirations in a project plan pitch through which they apply their interests in STEM to address and improve local challenges.

“For young people living in remote or rural settings, or who don’t have the financial resources to travel, virtual exchange offers a door to global awareness and skill-building that can enhance college readiness, expand employment opportunities, and contribute to personal growth,” said Carol Jenkins, World Learning CEO.

The 2023 grantees will reach 20,000 young people across the United States and MENA region. Other grants include:

• Amideast’s Qisasna facilitates cross-cultural exchange between young people in the United States and Yemen by providing them with the skills they need to produce podcasts on shared challenges and opportunities between youth.
• An-Najah National University’s Climate Futures Exchange is a classroom-based exchange that engages students from An-Najah National University and Arizona State University to discuss a range of climate change issues and strategies to address them when designing and implementing new buildings.  
• Arizona State University’s Future Educators for Inclusion engages college students from Morocco and the United States through mutual discovery, shared learning, and local action to address the global challenge of disability inclusion as they prepare to become classroom teachers.
• Culturingua’s Alliance of Young World Actionists engages young American and Libyan leaders focused on local and global public health challenges and their causes.
• Global Ties KC’s FIRST Robotics Virtual Exchange connects participants from Libya, Morocco, and the U.S. through cultural exchange and technical sessions related to STEM and robotics.
• iEARN-USA’s Storytelling for Social Change builds global leaders by engaging Algerian, Tunisian, and American youth in global collaboration to tell stories about real world issues in their local communities.
• Institute of International Education’s Harnessing Innovation through Virtual Exchange for Enhanced Results develops intercultural communication, problem-solving, and leadership skills among a diverse group of students at participating universities in the United States and Middle East and North Africa. 
• IREX’s Global Solutions places college students from the United States with peers in Iraq or Jordan in binational teams to collaborate on innovative solutions related to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals through virtual exchange.
• Missouri State University’s Global Teacher Education Exchange brings new and future K-12 educators from Libya, Morocco, and the United States into a vibrant professional learning community where they engage in cross-cultural collaboration and prepare to teach for global understanding.
• PATHWAYS Institute for Negotiation Education’s Game Changers: Creative Negotiation Skills builds confidence and skills for creative negotiation, problem-solving, and leadership among university students coming together from Israel and the United States.
• Plugged In Band Program’s Peace Tracks is a cross-cultural, music-focused online youth exchange that provides high school students with an unforgettable opportunity to connect with peers in other countries to get to know them, learn about their cultures, and collaborate over the course of a semester on an original song.
• Smithsonian Science Education Center’s Smithsonian Youth STEM Exchange brings together young people in Iraq and Michigan, United States, to discover, understand, and find solutions to sustainability issues in their local and global communities. 
• Soliya’s Connect Program brings together college-aged youth in the United States and in the Middle East and North Africa for online, face-to-face dialogues in the presence of facilitators trained in dialogue and conflict resolution.
• Soliya’s Global Circles are short online dialogue opportunities, bringing together young people from the United States and from the Middle East and North Africa for a face-to-face exchange around compelling global issues that matter to youth today.
• Texas International Education Consortium’s Business & Entrepreneurship Virtual Exchange connects faculty from universities in Iraq and Texas, U.S., through virtual exchange, preparing them to implement project-based virtual exchanges on a variety of business and entrepreneurship topics in their courses that will develop key academic skills and cultural competencies.

The Stevens Initiative is an international leader in virtual exchange, which brings young people from diverse places together to collaborate and connect through everyday technology. Created in 2015 as a lasting tribute to Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, the Initiative invests in virtual exchange programs; shares research, resources, and promising practices to improve impact; and advocates for broader adoption.

Additional contacts:

Jon Purves, The Aspen Institute, [email protected]

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State, [email protected]

More information:

World Learning Inc. is a thriving global organization made up of World Learning, a global development and exchange nonprofit organization, The Experiment in International Living, the nation’s most experienced provider of intercultural exchange programs abroad and virtual for high school students; and School for International Training, offering accredited undergraduate study abroad programs through SIT Study Abroad, including the comparative International Honors Program, and internationally focused master’s degrees, certificate programs, and a doctorate through SIT Graduate Institute. For more than 90 years, the organization has delivered international education, cultural exchanges, and sustainable development. For more information, visit worldlearning.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.