| Media Note Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC February 23, 2004 Future Leaders Focus on Civic Education, Celebrate 10th Anniversary of FLEX Program in Washington, DC
The Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) welcomes 126 high school exchange students from the former Soviet Union to Washington, DC, this week. The students, who are studying in the United States under the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program, are participating in a Civic Education workshop, after being selected winners in an essay competition. ECA is sponsoring the workshop in conjunction with the Close Up Foundation. The students, who come from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, will also help celebrate the 10th anniversary of the FLEX program. In the ten years since the FLEX program was established, more than 13,000 high school students from former Soviet Union countries have come to the United States. To celebrate this successful exchange program, ECA has invited three former FLEX participants to Washington to meet with the group of current students. The alumni, from Uzbekistan, Ukraine, and Armenia, lived in Coppers Cove, Texas, Sharpsville, Indiana, and Coatesville, Pennsylvania, respectively, in the late 1990s. All three have since made important achievements in their countries. The 126 students who are in Washington for the Civic Education workshop represent nearly 1,400 current FLEX students who are living with host families throughout the United States and attending American high schools this year. The workshop is designed to provide them with an understanding and appreciation of democratic fundamentals such as civic responsibility, citizen empowerment, volunteerism, and community action, and to expose them to various examples of leadership at the federal level. In Washington, they will meet with Department of State officials and Members of Congress. The students’ activities will include a 10th anniversary reception on Capitol Hill, on Thursday, February 26, hosted by Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Patricia Harrison. The FLEX exchanges are among more than 30,000 annual exchanges managed by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The FLEX program serves as a model for a new ECA student program, geared towards countries with significant Muslim populations, the "Partnerships for Learning: Youth Exchange and Study" program. Other ECA academic and professional exchange programs include the Fulbright Program and the International Visitor Program. For more information about this exchange program or other ECA exchanges, please contact Adam Meier, 202-203-7026 or Catherine Stearns, 202-203-5107. 2004/191 |
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