Each year, World Learning education and exchange programs enable students and participants to experience different cultures and ideas, learn new skills, and expand their social and professional networks. Along the way, they broaden their worldviews and apply their new perspectives in their home communities.
As the year comes to a close, World Learning looks back at some of our favorite moments that exemplified the way students and participants in our programs worked to build a more sustainable, peaceful, and just world.
Youth Ambassadors
The Youth Ambassadors Program brought together high school students and adult mentors from across the Western Hemisphere to promote mutual understanding, increase leadership skills, and prepare youth to make a difference in their communities.
“By educating those around us and inspiring future generations, I believe we can create a brighter and more sustainable future — the very essence of the Youth Ambassadors program.”
–Diego Chavez, Youth Ambassadors Alumni from Venezuela
Global UGRAD
In 2024, the Global Undergraduate Exchange Program (Global UGRAD) provided 303 undergraduate students from 59 countries the opportunity to study abroad in the United States. They studied at 65 higher education institutions across 34 U.S. states and districts.
They culminated their semesters in Washington, DC, for their end-of-program workshop, where they attended leadership development sessions, explored the city, and shared traditions from their home countries.
At the end of July, the Global UGRAD also held the three-day ASEAN Alumni Connections Seminar in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Fifty Global UGRAD alumni from the 10 ASEAN member countries met for networking, professional development workshops, and sessions on civic engagement and community project management.
“As individuals, we are whole, but together, we are more. As UGRADs, we create something huge.”
–Coffee Sibounthanh, Global UGRAD Alumni from Laos
World Learning Saudi Arabia STEAM Center
World Learning and Boeing partnered to establish a state-of-the-art STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) Discovery Center in Saudi Arabia. Serving as a hub of interactive programming for children, youth, and teachers, the center aims to equip its participants with the skills necessary to thrive in a rapidly evolving global economy.
International Visitor Leadership Program
Each year, the International Visitor Leadership Program brings about 4,500 visitors to the U.S. for observational professional exchanges ranging from a period of a few days to three weeks.
This year, over 40 IVLP projects brought professionals from 117 different countries to the U.S. for professional exchanges on themes ranging from STEM education and countering disinformation to entrepreneurship and water resource management.
World Learning Algeria
World Learning Algeria helped prepare young Algerians to succeed in the world of work through exciting Algiers STEM Center programs and workshops, such as the STEAMQuest project and Team Algeria’s First Global Challenge 2024 robotics building team, which recently competed in the world competition in Greece.
The Experiment in International Living
This summer, 197 students traveled to nine countries on five different continents with The Experiment in International Living. They shared about adopting new traditions, forging friendships, facing challenges, and gaining awareness.
"The Experiment has given me a certain drive that I didn’t have before. I learned how to adapt to uncomfortable situations and put myself in the shoes of others...I came home with an expanded understanding of the world around me and how I wanted to help it.”
–Mariam, The Leadership Institute: Climate Change in Costa Rica
IDEAS Program Symposium
The IDEAS (Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students) Program hosted a symposium for IDEAS grantees and alumni institutions in Washington, DC, on how to sustain the impact of their IDEAS-funded projects and expand their study abroad partnerships and programs to new destinations.
World Learning is a global education nonprofit that works to create a more sustainable, peaceful, and just world through education, cultural exchange, and locally led community building. Through a portfolio of nearly 100 programs, World Learning equips individuals and institutions with fundamental and 21st Century skills, intercultural understanding, and networks worldwide to help solve today's most pressing and complex challenges.