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Youth LAB Recruitment Begins for Students in Armenia, Turkey and the U.S.
Online Application for US Students
Recruitment has officially begun for Youth LAB, funded by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, and implemented by PH International in Vermont and Yerevan, in cooperation with Ari Movement in Turkey. Youth LAB is a program to foster leadership and cross-cultural understanding among Turkish, Armenian, and American youth. The sixteen-month initiative will bring together 75 young activists – 25 students ages 16-18 from each country – to discuss solutions to global and local issues. Students will communicate online prior to a three-week leadership camp in Vermont in the summer of 2011, which will consist of a two-week camp at Sugarbush Resort, as well as a one-week homestay experience. In late December 2011, students will spend ten days in Turkey and Armenia for cultural immersion and leadership training. Again, the program will consist of homestay experiences in both countries.
Students: Please read all information about the program before applying.
PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
- Online activities exploring themes of leadership, multiculturalism, youth culture, volunteerism, community service, global and local issues, concepts of identity, and tolerance
- A two-week camp in the U.S. in July 2011, following by a one-week homestay experience in American host families
- A four month period of applying new leadership skills at home through community projects
- A 10-day visit to Turkey and Armenia in December 2011, with one American and one Armenian student housed in a Turkish participant’s home during the Turkey exchange and one American and one Turkish student housed in an Armenian participant’s home during the Armenia exchange
- Online interaction for joint design of cross-border and/or local community projects, and implementation of the designed projects
FEES | Youth LAB is funded by a grant from the Public Affairs Service of the United States Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, therefore there is no cost for participation in the program. Students are required, however, to possess a passport. If you do not currently hold a passport valid until at least July 2012, any passport application or renewal fees will students' responsibility. U.S. students are also responsible for transportation costs to and from Sugarbush, Vermont in the summer of 2011.
SELECTION CRITERIA | Students must meet the following criteria in order to be eligible for the program:
- Demonstrated leadership capacity and commitment to peer mentoring
- Commitment to improving one’s community through the dissemination of information and ideas
- Concrete ideas about how to use skills gained during the program in their home community
- Strong academic record and expressed support from school representative
- Team-oriented and able to work collaboratively
- Open to working with peers from other countries
- Willingness to engage in community service activities and outreach projects
- Written and spoken English language capacity necessary for participation
- Semi-regular access to computers and the Internet in one’s home or community
- Ability to commit to all program activities and requirements, including full time participation during exchange periods
- Potential to host one Armenian and one Turkish peer in a four-day homestay in July 2011
- Potential to host one American and one Armenian/Turkish peer in a brief homestay in December 2011
- Age 16-18 during the program, with a graduation date from secondary school of no earlier than June 2012 (students are eligible if they are 15 at the time of selection, but 16 during the Vermont camp)
- Adult chaperones must be at least 25 years of age to be eligible for travel.
In addition to completing the online application, candidates must submit two recommendation letters – one from a teacher and another from a community member, using the form provided for download below. Recommendation letters may be completed in English, Armenian, Russian, or Turkish.
DEADLINE | All application materials must be received by PH staff no later than February 1, 2011. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance by February 15, 2011.
APPLY NOW!
Please submit the entire application online, or print and mail the entire application. We prefer that you select one method of submission. If you are mailing your application, please find appropriate materials below.
ARMENIAN MATERIALS
Recommendation form
Program guidelines
Release form
Application
U.S. MATERIALS
Recommendation form
Application packet
TURKISH MATERIALS
The recruitment and selection process for Youth LAB will be handled primarily by the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, with preference given to students who have completed the Access Microscholarship course. Please contact Laetitia Sadak, the Turkish Program Coordinator for Youth LAB, if you are interested in participating in the program.
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