We are excited to be one of 15 institutions to receive support from the Stevens Initiative for virtual exchange programs engaging youth participants in the U.S. and Middle East and North Africa. Programs will invite young people to step out of their comfort zones, learn critical skills, and forge life-long friendships. Together, we’ll reach nearly 20,000 young people through life-changing virtual exchange experiences.
You can read the full announcement here.
Global Ties KC’s FIRST Robotics Virtual Exchange provides personal exploration, global learning, and STEM collaboration opportunities for young people in Libya, Morocco, and the U.S. Virtual exchange participants have the unique opportunity to join the existing FIRST Robotics Competition in global teams, where they benefit from in-depth instruction to help them further their team projects. FIRST Robotics Competition is an exciting extracurricular STEM competition that teams engineering professionals and high-school students to solve real-world engineering problems in fun, rewarding, and inspiring ways. In preparation for the competition, participants meet with teams across the globe through virtual exchange to share best practices and lessons learned through their own robotics build seasons, while building relationships with their global peers.
The Stevens Initiative is an international leader in virtual exchange, which brings young people from diverse places together to collaborate and connect through everyday technology. Created in 2015 as a lasting tribute to Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, the Initiative invests in virtual exchange programs; shares research, resources, and promising practices to improve impact; and advocates for broader adoption. By summer 2023, the Stevens Initiative will reach nearly 75,000 young people around the world.
FIRST Robotics Virtual Exchange is implemented by Global Ties KC and is supported by the J. Christopher Stevens Virtual Exchange Initiative (JCSVEI). JCSVEI is a U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs program administered by the Aspen Institute.