Request for Grant Proposals within the National Security Language Initiative for Youth – Short-Term Programs for summer 2009 and 2010.

The National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) is a critical component of a multi-agency Presidential Initiative to increase U.S. citizens’ capacity to engage foreign governments and peoples through the critical languages of Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Farsi, Hindi, Korean, Russian, and Turkish. The Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), in cooperation with a consortium headed by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS (American Councils) in coordination with AFS-USA, Concordia Language Villages (CLV), and iEARN-USA, are seeking non-profit organizations to implement short-term exchange programs for high school and recently-graduated students (ages 15-18) to participate in exchanges focused on these languages in countries where these languages are widely spoken. Programs should immerse participants in the cultural and political life of their host country, giving them invaluable formal and informal language practice, sparking a lifetime interest in foreign languages and cultures.

The National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) emphasizes life-long learning of foreign languages and cultures in order to develop a cadre of Americans with advanced linguistic skills and cultural awareness that will advance international dialogue, promote the security of the United States, and allow the U.S. to compete effectively in the world economy.

The NSLI-Y program will fund grants to non-profit organizations (including schools, universities, and school districts) for overseas summer institutes focusing on Arabic (60 participants), Mandarin Chinese (90 participants), Korean (30 participants), and Turkish (30 participants) languages and cultures during the summers of 2009 and 2010. It is anticipated that half the participants will travel during the summer of 2009, the remainder during 2010. In addition, Consortium members will offer programs in Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Farsi, Hindi, Korean, Russian, and Turkish languages for summer, semester, and academic year. The total combined number of high school students participating in the exchange will be 550.

Application Deadline: December 22, 2008.

Download the RFP from the AmericanCouncils.org web site.

Download the application cover sheet from the AmericanCouncils.org web site.