- Recently, 24 alumni of the earliest YES cohorts from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and North Macedonia gathered in Sarajevo along with seven representatives of American Councils to mark the ten-year anniversary since the alumni program began––a postponed celebration due to the pandemic. Participants rekindled connections from the past, established new networks, explored leadership and social responsibility, and shared ideas for the future of the alumni community.The program opened… Read More
- Editor's note: In 1996, Thomas Burns decided to take his study of the Russian language to the next level by spending a semester in St. Petersburg and what is now the Russian Language and Area Studies Program. Since then, he's lived and worked in several other countries while building his career as a visual storyteller. Today, he is based in Tbilisi, Georgia. Why did you decide to study abroad in Russia?I had been studying Russian at college in the US, but I just wasn’t happy with… Read More
- Editor's note: Nikola Jeremic traveled from Serbia to America in 2018 to spend an exchange year in Longview, Texas. While on the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program, he held an art show in Dallas, an experience that encompasses some of his favorite memories from the year. The young artist shared some of his memories and advice for future alumni. What made you want to apply for FLEX? Ever since I was a child, different cultures, foreign languages, and the mysteries… Read More
- Nearly two dozen Open World alumni were elected or reelected to serve as members of parliament in Ukraine's snap parliamentary elections last month, according to a press release from the Open World Leadership Center. Representing a wide political scope, including both single-mandate delegates and party lists, these Open World alumni have demonstrated key leadership roles within their government and communities.Among the newly elected Open World alumni are single-mandate delegates:Maksym… Read More
- Editor's note: Egzon Halili is one of the newest fellows to complete a degree through the Kosovo American Education Fund (KAEF), but when he returned to Kosovo after graduation last year, he hit the ground running. He launched a company, Monego, that is already operating in cities around Kosovo. Now a CEO, he hopes to continue supporting young entrepreneurs, the same way he was supported through KAEF. This month, KAEF is celebrating awarding its 100th scholarship. You… Read More
- Exchange years are formative for many high school students, and Andriy Shevchenko was no exception. A native of Ukraine’s rugged and tradition-steeped western region of Ivano-Frankivsk, he traveled to Alameda, California in 1993 through the Future Leaders Exchange program, which was founded by US Senator Bill Bradley. Today, the Ukrainian ambassador to Canada credits Senator Bradley for inspiring his own political career.Speaking during the 20th anniversary celebration of the FLEX program… Read More
- Growing up in the capital city of Macedonia, Emir Hasanovic learned about America through pop culture and Hollywood.When he applied for the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program in 2008, social media did not have the same level of prominence that it does today. After he was accepted, he imagined how his American story would unfold.He assumed he would be placed in a big city, like he had seen in movies – New York City or Chicago. He was placed in Lyle, Minnesota.In 2008, the… Read More
- Nataliya Bugayova has never let unlikely odds get in her way. It was unlikely that she would become the first female CEO of a major Ukrainian publication at 25, but she did. It was unlikely that she would be accepted to a master’s program at Harvard at 21, as an international student, but she was. In 2004, it was unlikely that she would be selected as a Future Leaders Exchange student, but she was. She has her mother to thank for that. They lived in a small town, away from the big… Read More
- Long before she was on the shortlist for the Sony World Photography Award— before she ever considered becoming a professional photographer— Anush Babajanyan was an exchange student with a 23 mm film camera. It was a gift from her host mom, Judy Mothershead. As she recalled the story of her first camera, in an interview with American Councils, Ms. Babajanyan said she had never realized before that her interest in photography started back then, in Citronelle, Alabama. “I remember… Read More
- Angela Gjekanovikj isn’t an ambassador yet, but she’s been practicing for years.She was only a teenager when she traveled from Skopje, Macedonia, to Bakersfield, California, to start her academic year abroad with the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study program.“It was the moment I stepped out of the plane I started sharing Macedonia,” she said with a laugh, during a recent phone interview. “In Macedonia we kiss (three times), and I kissed all of them.”Her host parents and host sister, armed… Read More
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