Program Dates: Summer 2025
Application Deadline: December 9, 2024
The Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program (IYLEP) is a four-week, fully funded, US-based cultural exchange program. It is for both Iraqi and US high school students who demonstrate leadership potential and civic engagement in their communities, and is designed to develop leadership and peacebuilding skills, foster relationships between youth from different backgrounds, and promote US-Iraq mutual understanding. During the program, US students join their Iraqi peers to engage in experiential activities and workshops in three program sites – in South Hadley, Massachusetts; a host city in the US; and Washington, DC. The program also includes a virtual pre-exchange segment and a six month period after the exchange during which students are expected to implement projects in their own communities. IYLEP is funded by the US State Department and administered by World Learning. Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents, 15-17 years old at the time of the program, and have completed at last one year of high school.
For more information and to apply, go to www.IYLEP.org.