Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX)

The Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program was established in 1992 under the Freedom Support Act to encourage long-lasting peace and mutual understanding between the United States and countries of Eurasia. The FLEX program provides scholarships for students from the former Soviet Region to spend a year in the United States, living with a host family and attending an American high school.

The FLEX program is made possible by funds allocated annually by the US Congress.  The program is administered by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, which awards grants to private, non-profit organizations to help run different components of the program.  Pacific Intercultural Exchange was awarded US Federal Assistance to provide placement and support to FLEX participants from 1997- 2011.

The countries of Eurasia currently participating in the FLEX program are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine.  The FLEX program promotes:

Exchanges – Two way learning and cultivating relationships between Americans and citizens of Eurasia

Education – Increased knowledge about civil society and volunteerism

Engagement – Responsible participation in local community and school activities

Empowerment – Positive contributions to home countries upon return and the individual’s capacity to make change