High school students begin USIA exchange program
WASHINGTON - A group of 70 high school students from the former Soviet Union, funded under the 1992 Freedom Support Act, arrived in Washington for briefings on January 25.
They are part of a program administered by the U.S. Information Agency that will eventually bring up to 3,500 students from the newly independent states (NIS) to the United States on a variety of exchange programs.
Sen. Bill Bradley, (D-N.J.), who introduced the legislation for the exchange program, was to meet with the NIS students on January 26.
The students, age 14-18, are from Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. After three days in Washington, they will meet with their host families and be assigned to high schools in several communities across the U.S., including Buffalo, N.Y.; Kansas City, Mo.; Dayton, Ohio; Orlando, Fla.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Sacramento, Calif.; and Sitka, Alaska.
In November 1992, the USIA awarded grants to AFS Intercultural Programs (AFS), Open Door Student Exchange, and the American Council of Teachers of Russian to select students for this exchange program. Two-thirds of the funding for the program will provide scholarships for NIS students on academic year programs and the other one-third will support exchanges for up to four weeks. The sponsoring organizations interviewed the NIS students overseas and tested them for English-proficiency.
The USIA is authorized under the legislation to allocate up to 15 percent of the total $20 million appropriated funding to support American high school students on programs in the NIS. The first American students will participate in the program this spring after a national competition is organized.
The United States Information Agency is an independent foreign affairs agency within the executive branch that explains and supports U.S. foreign policy and national security interests abroad through a wide range of information programs. The agency promotes mutual understanding between the United States and other countries through a series of educational and cultural exchange activities.
The USIA's educational and cultural programs include the Fulbright academic program, the International Visitor Program, the Citizen Exchanges Program, Arts America, book translations, English teaching, and a network of overseas libraries and cultural centers.
Other programs include the Voice of America, Radio and TV Marti, and WORLDNET satellite television system.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 31, 1993, No. 5, Vol. LXI
| Home Page |