Stevens Initiative July 2024 Newsletter

Welcome to our July newsletter, your monthly digest of resources and opportunities for the field to convene, collaborate, and explore ways to advance virtual exchange and chart a course for the future. We are excited to share the latest news and engagements with you!

One Big Thing

Education for Employment is joining our portfolio of funded virtual exchange programs. Education for Employment’s Intercontinental Innovators: Entrepreneurial Approaches to Cross-Cultural Challenges offers training, learning and ideation sessions, virtual site visits, and a mentorship program with the ultimate goal of stimulating entrepreneurship and fostering long-term international collaboration between Morocco and the U.S.

Request for Proposals: Independent Evaluation of Virtual Exchange Programs

To showcase the incredible value and impact of the programs we support, we're seeking a dedicated evaluator to assess the performance and effect of our grantees implementing virtual exchange in the U.S. and across the Middle East and North Africa through 2026. Learn more about this opportunity and how to submit a proposal here.

Explore, Engage, Empower: Upcoming Opportunities

Fall 2024 Virtual Exchange Academy: Applications for our fifth Virtual Exchange Academy are now open! In the six-week training designed for education and exchange leaders, you’ll learn the foundational elements of virtual exchange, preparing you to adopt this powerful tool for connection and collaboration. Recommended by 100% of surveyed participants two years in a row, our flagship training is a must for those interested in leveling up their skills in virtual exchange design and practice. Apply by Friday, July 19!?

Fall 2024 Breakouts Campaign: Calling all virtual exchange leaders, implementers, participants and alumni! We’re inviting contributions to our next Breakouts campaign, a collection of multimedia projects that demonstrate how virtual exchange can be a powerful tool for driving progress towards the SDGs. Have an experience, research, or insight to share? Submit a pitch by Friday, July 19!?

Educators at the middle and high school levels in the U.S. are invited to join MapWorks Learning’s Ukraine Youth Action Network (UYAN). This semester-long program is a unique opportunity to connect and collaborate with displaced Ukrainian youth in Ukraine and European Union countries. Through a series of guided activities, students will explore identity, community, and leadership. To learn more about how you can get involved in the September 2024 or January 2025 cohorts, email [email protected].?

Educators reaching high school-aged students in the U.S. and Lebanon are invited to join Digital Promise Global’s Building Apps Across Cultures. Designed in partnership with MAD-Learn and the International Education Association, this program fosters global competence and design thinking skills by empowering binational teams of students to design and build mobile apps addressing global and societal issues focused on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Fill out the interest form to learn how you can bring Building Apps Across Cultures to your classroom.?

Before You Go…

Wondering how you can bring virtual exchange to the young people you serve? Instead of creating a program from scratch, educators, schools, districts, postsecondary institutions, and nonprofit organizations can join an existing virtual exchange implemented by one of our grantees. You’ll benefit from the grantee’s content, partnership network, technology, facilitation training, and other forms of guidance and support. Visit our Join a Program page to complete an interest form and get started today!?