Students Participate in US-Polish Exchange

The first 15 high school students from Poland arrived in the United States last weekend under the U.S.-Poland Parliamentary Youth Exchange Program established by U.S. Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R.-IN).

The program sets up academic exchanges for American and Polish secondary students under 19 years old who have been accepted for up to one academic year of study abroad in a credit-approved program.

Unfortunately for Indiana, they're not coming to the Hoosier state.

The first three weeks the Polish students are in the U.S., they will live with American families in either Des Moines, Ia., or Chicago, Ill. They will attend a local high school for two weeks, followed by a one-week internship with a civic organization or in the office of a local government leader. The fourth week will be spent in Washington, D.C. at a week-long Civic Education Workshop.

After the Polish students have completed their program, 15 American students and two educators from the same U.S. schools will fly to Poland to participate in a similar four-week program. The exchange culminates in a week-long summer camp that will bring the American and Polish students and educators together.

According to Lugar's office, the senator has consistently advocated for student exchange programs. He authored the legislation that established the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange, which provides 250 full scholarships annually for American high school students to live with a host family and attend school in Germany for a year.

Additionally, Lugar and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) laid the groundwork for the Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program administered by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the State Department, which hosts more than 300 international students from countries including Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Turkey.

For more information, contact Mark Hayes, 202:224-8370.

.