|
||||
|
||||
 |
| |
Bureau
of Educational and Cultural Affairs 125 high school students from Eurasia are meeting in Washington, D.C., February 23-March 1, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the FLEX program during the annual Civic Education Workshop. The students are participants in the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX), a federal government program funded under the Freedom Support Act and administered by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The workshop, conducted by the Close Up Foundation, enables participants to gain a greater understanding and appreciation of democratic concepts such as civic responsibility, citizen empowerment, volunteerism, and community action. Highlights of their Washington experience will include a meeting with State Department officials and a day on Capitol Hill where they will meet members of Congress. The FLEX students will study the media, participate in a Close Up on C-SPAN television production, and meet with Washington insiders. In addition, they will participate in several community service activities, and visit monuments and other historical sites. The workshop includes discussions on how participants can take what they've learned back to their home countries. The students won their places in the Civic Education workshop through participating in an essay contest. The FLEX program provides opportunities for high school students from Eurasia to spend a year in the United States, living with a family and attending an American high school. The 1,250 FLEX students in the U.S. for the 2002/03 academic year are from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The FLEX program's major goal is democracy building by introducing likely future leaders of the Eurasian countries to U.S. society, community-based civic initiatives, and market economy. Students compete for places in the FLEX program through an open, rigorous, merit-based selection process that emphasizes academic performance, English language competence, and personal qualities. Nicole Deaner
|
 | |||
|
