The public diplomacy initiatives include meaningful and rewarding programs that bring international participants to the U.S. and/or send American students abroad. Programs include Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES), Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX), and the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) Global Program. All are programs of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Organized to begin with the 2027/28 school year, FLEX Global builds on the legacies of the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) and the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) programs by expanding participation globally. The program advances U.S. interests by cultivating a network of young leaders who understand and support U.S. culture and priorities, with a focus on entrepreneurship, technology and SI, and leadership. FLEX Global Abroad provides U.S. citizen high school students with study abroad opportunities to select FLEX Global countries.
Initiated in 1983, the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) program is jointly funded and managed by the U.S. and German governments. CBYX provides 300 scholarships for U.S. high school students, recent high school graduates with interests in vocational fields, and young professionals for an academic year home-stay program. 300 CBYX scholarships are available for German students and young professionals to travel to the U.S. for an academic year program.
Through the U.S. Department of State’s Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program, high school students from countries of strategic importance live with U.S. host families and attend American high schools during the spring 2027 semester. Students gain leadership skills, experience American culture and communities, and build lasting connections while sharing their own cultures and perspectives. The merit-based program was established by Congress in 2002. YES Abroad, established in 2009, provides U.S. students ages 15–18.5 with exchange opportunities in select YES countries.
CBYX, YES Abroad, and FLEX are programs of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
