YLP Exchange Program Starts in Azerbaijan and the United States

The U.S. Embassy is delighted to inaugurate the Youth Leadership Program (YLP) in Azerbaijan by welcoming to Baku the first group of American students participating in this educational exchange.  This year, YLP brings 16 American high school students and three American high school teachers to Azerbaijan, and in September, 34 Azerbaijani high school students and six Azerbaijani teachers will travel to the United States.  

    The YLP represents a new kind of exchange program because it incorporates both Americans and Azerbaijanis in a program where they work together directly.  It is the first U.S. exchange program that will create joint community service projects that are carried out both in the United States and in Azerbaijan.  And it is the first U.S.-funded program to bring American high school students to Azerbaijan.

    YLP's goal is to foster among participants cultural exchange and leadership skills, as well as teach best practices for implementing and designing community based projects.  Here's how it works:

    American YLP students will spend three weeks, beginning July 9, traveling throughout Azerbaijan, living mostly with volunteer host families in Baku and Ganja.  They will have the opportunity to work closely with community development and non-governmental organizations throughout the country in what certainly will be a life-changing and enriching experience.  

    In Ganja, the American YLP participants will meet the Azerbaijani YLP participants, and they will participate in project management courses run by Hasan Huseynli from the Intelligent Citizen Center.   These courses are designed to teach the students to recognize problems unique to the host country and develop methods for solving those problems.   

    The American students and teachers are from Phoenix, Arizona and Seattle, Washington metropolitan areas, and they will be hosted by Azerbaijani families.

    In late September, the 34 Azerbaijani high school students and six Azerbaijani teachers will depart for Arizona and Washington State, where they will participate in similar skills building, problem solving, educational courses in Phoenix and Seattle, meeting with their American counterparts.

    The Azerbaijani students and teachers are from Baku, Sumgayit, Lankaran, and Ganja, and they will be hosted by American families.

    At the end of their time in Phoenix and Seattle, the American and Azerbaijani participants will devise community service projects: students will decide on a social issue to address and design a program for creating public awareness and possible solutions for this problem in both Azerbaijan and the United States. The projects can differ in both countries but should address a common theme.

    YLP students will work closely with each other throughout the year following their exchange experience.  The YLP process will lay the groundwork for future, independent projects by YLP participants, instilling in them a sense of community and providing the leadership and organizational skills necessary to reach their goals.

    The YLP is administered by American Councils.  Founded in 1974 as an association for area and language professionals, American Councils has focused its expertise on academic exchange, professional training, distance learning, curriculum and test development, and institution building. In its four decades, American Councils has developed into one of the premier American education and international training organizations, administering more than 30 exchange and training programs, including U.S. government programs and non-U.S. national fellowship programs. The organization develops collaborative and partnership programs between individuals and institutions in the United States and the countries of Eurasia and Eastern Europe, consults on project design and education innovation programs, and actively contributes to the development of Eurasian language and area studies in the United States.  Funding comes from public and private sources, including the U.S. Agency for International Development; the U.S. Department of State; the U.S. Department of Education; the Library of Congress, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the governments of the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan; the World Bank; the Carnegie Corporation; the Open Society Institute/Soros Foundations, and other public and private donors. -0-