2018 Youth Ambassadors Program
- BFLA Belize
- Jan 22, 2018
- 2 min read
In December of 2017, Georgetown University joined a consortia led by World Learning including Amigos de las Americas and SUNY Plattsburg, New York to implement the new Youth Ambassadors (YA) Program.
The Youth Ambassadors Program is a U.S. Department of State youth exchange designed to strengthen the leadership skills of young people from Latin America and the United States. This multi-national exchange also builds bonds of friendship and understanding between people of the Caribbean, Central and South America and people of the United States. The official program goals of the Youth Ambassadors Program are:
To develop a cadre of young adults who have a strong sense of civic responsibility, a commitment to community development, an awareness of current & global issues, and strong interpersonal leadership skills;
To foster relationships among youth from different ethnic, religious, and national groups; and
To promote mutual understanding, respect, and collaboration between the United States and our Western Hemisphere counterparts.
Program Details
The YA program offers talented youth (age 15-18) from Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela the opportunity travel to the United States to develop their leadership skills and expand their knowledge of U.S. culture and society. A similar outbound exchange to the Dominican Republic will be offered to thirty (30) U.S. youth and adult mentors.
During the three-week exchanges, participants will engage in workshops, meetings with community leaders, community service activities, interactive trainings, cultural presentations, visits to high schools, local cultural activities, homestays with U.S. American families, civic education programming, and more. Program themes of community development, environment, and social entrepreneurship will serve to enhance youth skills and knowledge and prepare them for a lifetime of leadership and community service. The program agenda includes ample time for face-to-face interaction and dialogue which build strong people-to-people connections between U.S. citizens and Central Americans.
Following the exchange programs, CIED provides support to alumni and seed funding for small community projects. The Youth Ambassadors Program is sponsored by the U.S Department of State – Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs.
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