AMERICAN COUNCILS FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION ACTR ACCELS INC

STUDENT EXCHANGE: AMERICAN COUNCILS ADMINISTERS EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGE OPPORTUNITIES. IN COORDINATION WITH THE U.S. AND FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS, FOUNDATIONS AND PRIVATE SECTOR FUNDERS FOR OVER 5,000 SECONDARY SCHOOL, UNDERGRADUATE, AND GRADUATE STUDENTS EACH YEAR FROM APPROXIMATELY 85 COUNTRIES ACROSS AFRICA, SOUTH AND EAST ASIA, EUROPE, EURASIA, THE MIDDLE EAST, AND NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA. AMERICAN COUNCILS ALSO MANAGES LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL IMMERSION PROGRAMS FOR AMERICANS IN AFRICA, ASIA, EUROPE, EURASIA, AND THE MIDDLE EAST FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL, UNDERGRADUATE, GRADUATE STUDENTS, AND SCHOLARS. THESE PROGRAMS PROMOTE MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN AMERICANS AND INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS. INBOUND STUDENTS TO THE U.S. LEARN FIRSTHAND ABOUT U.S. VALUES, VOLUNTEERISM AND LEADERSHIP. IN ADDITION, STUDENTS SHARE THEIR U.S. EXPERIENCES WITH FRIENDS, FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES IN THEIR HOME COUNTRIES. SIMILARLY, U.S. OUTBOUND STUDENTS ARE AFFORDED OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE AMERICAN CULTURE AND VALUES WITH THEIR INTERNATIONAL HOST FAMILIES, HOST INSTITUTIONS, AND FRIENDS DURING THEIR OVERSEAS PROGRAMS, STRENGTHENING THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE U.S. AND ITS PEOPLE ON A GLOBAL SCALE.AMERICAN COUNCILS ALSO WORKS WITH GOVERNMENTS AND INSTITUTIONS TO STRENGTHEN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS. AMERICAN COUNCILS HAS HELPED ESTABLISH NATIONAL SYSTEMS OF HIGHER EDUCATION ADMISSIONS THAT ARE BASED ON PRINCIPLES OF OPENNESS, TRANSPARENCY, AND MERITOCRACY. AMERICAN COUNCILS HAS ADVISED MINISTRIES TO BOLSTER ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION, HELPED DRAFT LEGISLATION THAT OUTLINES A NEW CODES OF CONDUCT, AND HAS ADVISED ON THE CREATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL ASSESSMENT AND UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE EXAMS. AMERICAN COUNCILS CONDUCTS RESEARCH AND PROVIDES CONSULTING ON DUAL LANGUAGE IMMERSION LEARNING IN K-12, ADULT SECOND-LANGUAGE LEARNING AND INSTRUCTION, TEACHER EVALUATION AND TRAINING, AND SCHOLARSHIP ADMINISTRATION FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT: AMERICAN COUNCILS OFFERS SHORT-TERM TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUTSTANDING PROFESSIONALS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. THESE ROBUST PROGRAMS PROVIDE FOR THE SHARING OF FIELD-SPECIFIC INFORMATION BETWEEN PARTICIPANTS AND THEIR U.S. COUNTERPARTS, AND THEN, UPON RETURN TO THEIR HOME COUNTRIES, PROGRAM ALUMNI SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES WITH THEIR COLLEAGUES. AMERICAN COUNCILS ADMINISTERED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS INCLUDE PROFESSIONAL AND LEADERSHIP FELLOWSHIPS, BUSINESS LEADER FELLOWSHIPS, AND THE INTERNATIONAL VISITORS LEADERSHIP PROGRAM, AS WELL AS THE OPEN WORLD PROGRAM, A PROGRAM ADMINISTERED IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE FOR INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP. OVER 32,000 PARTICIPANTS FROM A WIDE VARIETY OF PROFESSIONAL FIELDS HAVE TRAVELED TO OVER 2,400 U.S. COMMUNITIES IN ALL 50 STATES TO MEET AND SHARE KNOWLEDGE WITH THEIR PROFESSIONAL COLLEAGUES TO LEARN ABOUT LIFE IN AMERICA.