Future Leaders Exchange
Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX)[a] is a scholarship student exchange program, administered by the U.S. Department of State through funding from the Freedom Support Act. It was created for students from Eurasia, mainly from the former Eastern Bloc. The program, gives high school students (ages 15–19), an opportunity to spend a year in the United States, living with a host family and attending an American high school. The program seeks to develop the leadership abilities and cultural awareness.
Since 2026, FLEX and YES programs have been de-jure combined, however most of the management remains the same as before. For the 2027-28 academic year the list of countries, students from where can participate in FLEX program is: Argentina, Armenia, Bahrain, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.[1] This Includes some past FLEX countries, and newly added ones[b].
The competition is intense. Only about one in fifty applicants are ultimately selected.[2]
History
[edit]The program was created in 1992 after former Senator Bill Bradley’s conviction "that the best way to ensure long-lasting peace and understanding between the U.S. and Eurasia is to enable young people to learn about democracy firsthand through experiencing it".[3] Since its inception in 1993, more than 18,000 high school students from 12 Eurasian countries (two more countries which used to participate in the program are Belarus and Uzbekistan) have studied in the U.S. under the program.[2]
In 2019 program included Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine.
Due to resource constraints, there will not be any recruitment in Czechia, Greece, Montenegro, and Romania in 2025 for the 2026-27 program year.[1]
Initially the program included states from the former Soviet Union. First, it expanded to include countries in the Balkans and both central and eastern Europe, and Mongolia.[4] And later, in 2026 it expanded to include Argentina, and Bahrain, while some countries that previously participated in the program were no longer eligible.
For the 2026 Fiscal Year, FLEX and YES programs were combined, and most of the past YES participant countries were not included for the 2027-28 academic year.
Russian participation
[edit]On 1 October 2014 Russia pulled out of the programme. Russian students remaining in the US were allowed by the Russian side to complete their scholarship, and in the next editions, Russian students will be replaced by students from Ukraine and other countries.[5][6]
The motive behind Russia's decision to end the cooperation was the case of a 16 year old student who had refused to return to Russia and searched for asylum in the USA on the grounds of his sexual orientation. He had met a homosexual couple and asked them for help to stay in the USA. He was put under the couple's tutelage. Russian officials criticized the USA for lack of responsibility towards Russian students.[7]
Notable alumni
[edit]- Marina Verenikina,[8] '95 alumna, Los Angeles-based singer and musician
- Elena Milashina,[9] '94 alumna, Russian investigative journalist for Novaya Gazeta
- Sergi Kapanadze,[10] '97 alumnus, deputy speaker of Georgia's Parliament
- Andriy Shevchenko,[11] '94 alumnus, Ukrainian politician and journalist, former member of the Verkhovna Rada
- Rustem Umierov,[12] '99 alumnus, Minister of Defense of Ukraine
- Aysel Teymurzada,[11] '05 alumna, Azerbaijani pop and R&B singer.
- Rosa Linn,[11] '18 alumna, Armenian Eurovision contestant and pop singer.
- Doina Nistor,[13] '94 alumna, Economic Development and Digitalization Minister of Moldova.
- Roman Yanushevsky,[14] '95 alumnus, Israeli journalist, Channel 9 TV site Editor-in-Chief, an author at Novaya Gazeta.[15]
See also
[edit]- Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange
- National Security Language Initiative
- Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Programs
- CIS FLEX Community (Russian and also International version)
- CIS Blogs Finalists
Notes
[edit]External links
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 "FLEX Countries". discoverflex.org. Retrieved October 5, 2026.
- 1 2 Future Leaders Exchange at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs site
- ↑ FLEX page Archived 2009-09-26 at the Wayback Machine at CIEE site
- ↑ "Host Families: FLEX Exchange Program Opportunities". www.pax.org. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
- ↑ "The Surprise (Gay) Reason Russia is Axing This Student Exchange Program with the U.S." HuffPost. October 6, 2014.
- ↑ ""NYT": Ukraińscy uczniowie zajmą miejsca Rosjan".
- ↑ MacFarquhar, Neil (October 4, 2014). "Russia Cancels Exchange Program After a Student Seeks U.S. Asylum". The New York Times.
- ↑ "Musical Ambassador". The Bradley Herald. February 19, 2014. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
- ↑ "American Councils- news". americancouncils.md. Retrieved May 24, 2017.[permanent dead link]
- ↑ "Sergi Kapanadze CV" (PDF).
- 1 2 3 "FLEX Program: 2012-2013 Annual Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2016.
- ↑ "Умєров Рустем Енверович". LB.ua. September 3, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
- ↑ "Ministry team – Ministerul Dezvoltării Economice și Digitalizării". mded.gov.md. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
- ↑ "Authors, Roman Yanushevsky". 9tv.co.il. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
- ↑ "Authors, Roman Yanushevsky". novayagazeta.ru. Retrieved July 13, 2026.