Last night, I hosted an American-style barbeque at my residence for Tunisian Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program participants.  This is the third time I’ve hosted the event… and it is one of my favorites every year.

Since the foundation of the YES program in 2004, more than 80 Tunisian students have gotten YES scholarships to spend an academic year at an American high school, living with American host families.  Last night, I welcomed back the YES students returning from this year’s program and gave a “bon voyage” to the students about to go for this year (and their parents).

Interested in the YES program?  It is funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, coordinated with the Ministry of Education and administrated by AMIDEAST. The program enables Tunisian students to study at an American high school for a full academic year. Students live with American families and participate in community service activities. They learn about American life while teaching their host communities about their home countries. As one of students who participated in the program said “As a YES students, we all act as Ambassadors of Tunisia.”

Information and applications are available on http://exchanges.state.gov/youth/programs/yes.html  or from Amideast (http://www.amideast.org/tunisia/default.htm), who administer the program in Tunisia.