Future Leaders Exchange

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Future Leaders Exchange ( FLEX ) is a student exchange program of the US Department of State , which through scholarships funded by the Freedom Support Act is financed. It offers high school students (ages 15-19) a year with a US host family and high school. It is aimed at students from the former Soviet Union (from 2015 also from the Baltic states). In the beginning this also included Armenia , Azerbaijan , Georgia , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Moldova , Poland ,Tajikistan , Turkmenistan and Ukraine . The aim of the program is to develop leadership skills and intercultural competence .

Given the intense competition for scholarships, around 2% of applicants receive a scholarship.

history

The exchange program was launched in 1992. Former Senator Bill Bradley believed that the best way to secure peace and mutual understanding between Eurasia and the US was to give young people the opportunity to experience democracy first hand. Since the program began in 1993, more than 18,000 students from 12 countries have participated in the exchange program.

On October 1, 2014, Russia withdrew from the program. Russian students were allowed to finish the program, and the vacancies were subsequently offered to students from Ukraine and other countries.

financing

The FLEX program is free for all participants and includes the following services:

  • Travel to the USA and return
  • Participation in the preparatory course
  • Accommodation in American families for one academic year
  • Attended an American high school;
  • Health insurance for treatment of illnesses while participating in the program, with the exception of pre-existing conditions and dental care
  • Monthly scholarship of $ 125 to allow students to participate in public life;
  • One-time financial support of $ 300 for necessary purchases such as school books
  • The program also provides year-round support to participants.

The FLE program does not cover the following costs:

  • Costs related to passports and other formalities
  • Personal expenses
  • Additional luggage costs
  • Telephone calls and internet costs

Living conditions in the USA

The students live in American families who take them in on a voluntary basis with no compensation. Choosing a host family is a long process. Host organizations are also responsible for family and student admissions to US schools. Most of the host families selected have the following characteristics:

  • Two out of five families are in the Midwest
  • A third of the host families are in Michigan, Texas, California, Wisconsin, and Washington
  • mostly Caucasian
  • The host parents are usually 35–50 years old
  • The host parents are between the ages of 27 and 60+
  • The families belong to the middle class
  • Usually both parents are employed
  • 25% have no children or grown children who have left the home
  • 75% have children (26% have at least one child under the age of 18, 39% have one or more children between the ages of 14 and 17, 22% of one or more children between the ages of 10 and 13, 13% have one or more children under the age of 10 )
  • The families mostly live in rural or suburban areas
  • Many host families attend church services regularly and profess Christianity;
  • Some families are single parents
  • Students must follow the rules of all family members
  • Students have no guests and family responsibilities are expected to be met
  • Students must follow the rules of telephone and internet use that are common in families

Termination of the program by Russia

In October 2014, the Russian government announced a two-year hiatus from participation, but later Kommersant magazine announced, according to Russian Foreign Ministry sources, that the program would be discontinued altogether. More than 3,000 students asked the Russian government to restart the program in an online petition. The reason for the termination of the program, according to the representative for the rights of the child of the Russian government, Pavel Astakhov, was that a 17-year-old student did not want to return from the USA. He had gone to Michigan as part of the exchange program. In spring 2014, after the end of the program, he refused to return to Russia, he openly acknowledged his homosexual orientation and asked for early recognition of his legal age, with which he would have the right to freely choose his whereabouts and for his safety as Asylum seekers for homosexuals in the US. Russia accused the USA of paying too little attention to the welfare of the exchange students and stressed that the statutes provided for their return. The case was partially distorted in the Russian media. According to official US officials, the boy had already recognized his sexual orientation beforehand, met a homosexual couple and asked for help.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Future Leaders Exchange on the website of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
  2. ↑ ( page no longer available , search in web archives: ciee.org ) on the CIEE website@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.ciee.org
  3. ^ Curtis M. Wong: Russia Cancels Popular FLEX Exchange Program After Gay Student Reportedly Seeks US Asylum . In: Huffington Post . October 6, 2014 ( huffingtonpost.com [accessed April 8, 2017]).
  4. ↑ "NYT" Ukraińscy uczniowie zajmą miejsca Rosjan . (Polish, fakty.interia.pl [accessed April 8, 2017]).
  5. ↑ Ekaterina Golovina: Программа обмена FLEX закроется навсегда Slon.ru, October 2, 2014 (FLEX exchange program closes forever).
  6. ↑ a b c Alexander Chernykh, Cyril Belianinov: Школьник попросил остаться после уроков In: Kommersant No. 181 October 7, 2014, p. 6 (Russian).
  7. ↑ Российские школьники просят возобновить программу учебы в США . German wave. October 2, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  8. ↑ Neil Macfarquhar, Michael R. Gordon: Russia Cancels Exchange Program After a student Seeks US Asylum . In: The New York Times . October 4, 2014 ( [1] [accessed April 8, 2017]).