In summer 2011, Meridian International Center will implement the U.S. Department of State’s Youth Leadership Program with Central Europe. The program’s focus is to bring together young leaders and adult participants from Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United States to build cultural bridges and work together to solve community problems. A total of 64 youth and adult leaders will participate in the two-year project aimed at developing the next generation of young leaders.
The program will begin with 48 Central European youth and adult participants travelling to Washington, DC, to experience youth leadership in the nation’s capital. From Washington, they will split into groups of sixteen and travel to Raleigh, NC, Kansas City, MO, and Burlington, VT. Participants will live in the homes of their American counterparts and take part in leadership workshops, cultural activities and site visits arranged by local Councils for International Visitors. American and European participants will begin developing Action Plans to implement long-term collaborative projects addressed to a specific community need, such as community literacy, environmental awareness, voter awareness and political organizing or minority rights. The European participants will reunite in Chicago for a final closing ceremony where they will present their community action plans.
During the following month, 16 youth and adult leaders from Raleigh, NC, Kansas City, MO, and Burlington, VT, will travel to Serbia and Hungary to learn more about youth initiatives in Europe and participate in workshops to develop their own leadership skills. During the visit, all 60 young leaders, American and European, will come together for an Alumni reunion, the capstone of the two-way exchange experience. Meridian’s partner in Serbia, Youth Initiative for Human Rights, will coordinate the European exchange.
Following the exchange, youth will begin to implement the group projects they developed on the exchange via their action plans with guidance from the adult participants. American and European participants will collaborate through social networking sites, including a specialized web platform developed during the project.
The project is sponsored by the U.S. Department of States Bureau for Educational and Cultural Affairs and implemented by Meridian International Center, a not-for-profit institution based in Washington, DC.
If you are interested in more information about the program or would like to apply for the US or European exchange, please e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call (202) 478-4459.
We are no longer accepting applications for this program. Stay tuned for updates over the summer.
For more information on qualifications and how to apply, please click:
- here, for applicants from Hungary
- here, for applicants from Serbia
- here, for applicants from Slovakia
- here, for applicants from Slovenia
- here, for applicants from USA
