U.S.-Poland Parliamentary Youth Leadership Exchange Program

The competetion for the program year 2010 has ended.

Please, visit our website for more information later.

American Councils is pleased to announce the second year of the U.S.-Poland Parliamentary Youth Leadership Exchange Program.

This initiative was created in 2008 in honor of the 90th anniversary of U.S.-Poland diplomatic relations. A total of fifteen students and three teachers from Poland and the U.S. will participate in four-week exchange programs to each other’s countries in 2010 to promote mutual understanding, respect, and enduring ties between the people of the United States and Poland.

Fifteen high school students and two teachers from Chicago, Illinois, and Des Moines, Iowa, are wrapping up a four-week stay in Poland this week. The students and teachers are participating in the first edition of the U.S.-Poland Parliamentary Youth Leadership Exchange program. The American exchange participants spent their first two weeks in Poland living with host families, attending high school classes, interning with local organizations, and touring historic sites. Some students in the group visited Gdańsk while others went to Nowy Sącz.

The movie "High School Musical" came to life for 18-year-old Adam Bigus when he stepped into the hallways of Central Academy last week.

Bigus, an 18-year-old student from Poland, was a little shocked to learn that students really do eat in a cafeteria at American schools, that people could be so friendly and that school could be fun. And those are only a few of the new experiences he has had in the past three weeks as a student in the U.S.-Poland Parliamentary Youth Exchange Leadership program.

Students and teachers at both sites in Chicago, Illinois and Des Moines, Iowa were primarily involved in observing and participating in school classroom activities during the week of February 15-21. Students at both sites prepared and presented cultural presentations to various groups in both schools and observed and participated in classroom activities. Students also participated in job shadow and other cultural activities that are helping to build a bridge of understanding and the development of enduring ties.

The seventeen Polish participants arrived safely and on time to Chicago O’Hare Airport and were met by World Link staff. The participants spent the first three days in Chicago for an arrival orientation and presentation workshop. One day was spent touring local sites in downtown Chicago and experiencing the different ethnic foods in Chicago. The entire group made a visit to the Chicago High School of Ag Sciences on Sunday, February 8 for a school orientation tour and a mixer with students from the FFA Organization at the school.