PRESS RELEASES
Remarks
U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey D. Feltman
Announcement of YES Scholarships
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
13 October 2004
Representatives of the Ministries of Education and Social Affairs,
Esteemed principals and educators,
YES students and your families,
Ladies and gentlemen:
I am delighted to be with you today to tell you about a very exciting
exchange program between the United States and Lebanon-The Youth
Exchange and Study program, known as YES.
YES provides the opportunity for high school students to study in
the U.S. for a full academic year. Today I am announcing the opening
of the competition for the 2005-06 year, when we hope to provide
full scholarships to 50 Lebanese students to spend a year of high
school in the United States.
When I look back on my own high school years, I remember it to
be a time of intense emotion and discovery. It was a time when I
was defining who I was for myself, how I related to my parents,
my sister and our extended family. My friends and classmates-and
what they thought of me and how I fit in with them-became increasingly
important. When a foreign exchange student from Sudan arrived at
my Midwestern high school, my friends and I scrambled madly to look
for his country on a map. Sudan seemed so exotic and far away. But
my world got larger exponentially as I became aware of local, national
and even international politics. And when I was 16, I took a life-changing
trip to Italy as a member of our school's Latin Club. Leaving my
small hometown of Greenville, Ohio, I realized how big the world
was beyond the boundaries of my home state. I've never looked back
since.
I expect that my experience is not that different from the young
people in this room-our nine YES students who had a life-changing
year living with families in the U.S. in 2003-04. They've told us
so, and as you will hear later, they are enthusiastic that other
students should share this wonderful opportunity. One student told
us, "It's a great experience, you will learn a lot, you will
discover new stuff about yourself that you didn't know before."
Another student said that students who go on this program will have,
"A successful year that you will never regret, and may change
your life forever by enriching your knowledge, widening your dreams,
and teaching you to be proud of who you really are."
And that's why I am here with you today and why I am so pleased
to meet here with high school principals and educators from throughout
Lebanon--because we need your help in identifying young people with
curiosity and excitement about new experiences as candidates for
the YES scholarship. What we are looking for are motivated, mature
and adaptable students ready to act as ambassadors from Lebanon
to the American high schools at which they will be students.
Students in the YES program will spend the year with carefully
selected American host families, enrolled in a full academic year
of high school study. YES students attend classes, labs and extracurricular
programs with their American classmates. They engage in special
enrichment activities, and learn first hand about the value we place
on community service, youth leadership, and civic participation.
Our hope is that by the end of the year, YES students will have
developed a well-rounded understanding of American culture through
interaction with diverse groups of Americans. But we also hope they
will become more articulate in explaining who they are as sons and
daughters of Lebanon. We want YES students to explain to the Americans
they meet what their Lebanese classmates at home think, and what
family and community life is like in Lebanon. We want Lebanon's
YES students to share their cultural and religious traditions with
Americans who may never have left the small towns in which they
live. In short, we want Lebanon's YES students to be ambassadors,
helping Americans understand more about this country's rich and
diverse history and culture.
We hope we will send you back young people, who are confident,
tested and positive about what they have experienced. We expect
they will speak English fluently-but no guarantee if that will be
with a Kentucky or Texan accent! And we predict they will have developed
deep friendships and ties with the Americans they've met, and return
home enthusiastic about sharing what they've learned. You'll hear
them talking about their "host moms" and "host brothers
and sisters"-and we hope you'll know that there are families
in America who treated your children with the love and care you
would give them yourself.
I think you will see this is the case when you speak to the nine
students here today who returned this summer after a year in the
U.S. as Lebanon's first YES students. I'm pleased that many of the
parents of the 23 YES students currently in America are here with
us today-and I thank you for lending us your precious children to
help us strengthen ties between our two countries-Lebanon and the
United States.
Former First Lady-and now U.S. Senator-Hilary Clinton says it takes
a whole village to raise a child. Similarly, the YES program involves
a dedicated team who will select and work with the students to ensure
they succeed and thrive in their year away from home. The U.S. Embassy
works closely with Amideast to select next year's scholarship recipients
and prepare them-and their families-for their year abroad. We're
proud of the work Amideast carries out on behalf of the U.S. Embassy
and have complete confidence in Amideast Director Barbara Batlouni
and her outstanding staff.
I-EARN, represented by Eliane Metni, is another important partner.
I-EARN links students and their schools in Lebanon and the U.S.
via the Internet. The aim is to ensure that students stay in touch
with their home schools and that schools and communities can develop
long-lasting relationships.
Last, but definitely not least, the Ministry of Education is a
vital partner in the YES scholarship program. I am pleased Mr. Georges
Nahme, the Director General of the Ministry of Education, is with
us today. We greatly appreciate the Ministry's support for this
important educational exchange.
I think the words of another of our YES returnees sums up the marvelous
opportunity the YES program offers for Lebanese students. She says:
"To share in the life, education and culture of another country
creates the basis of understanding, and understanding can open many
doors. Americans share their special things with you and they want
you to share those with them. They want to learn from you as much
as you do from them. Life gives you one chance, and this is your
chance."
The YES program is a chance-and it's an opportunity to open new
doors to knowledge, experience and understanding. I look forward
to next summer when, as U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, I can shake
the hands of 50 young Lebanese ambassadors who will travel to my
country for a year of unforgettable experiences. Thank you all for
helping us find the most promising and talented young people to
benefit from this wonderful opportunity.
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