Representative Glenn Thompson (R-PA) spoke in support of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) program yesterday on the House floor, noting that the program “has shown tremendous success in fostering a stronger relationship between the United States and Germany.”
In his remarks, Rep. Thompson outlined several of the long-term benefits of the program for both German and American CBYX participants:
More than two dozen Yemeni exchange students will be allowed to stay in the United States through December, reports The Washington Post. The students were participants in the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program, sponsored by the State Department, when civil war broke out in their home country of Yemen, preventing their return.
The U.S. will re-open its embassy in Cuba this month, continuing the expansion of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the New York Times reports. President Obama announced the plans on Wednesday, adding that Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Havana “to proudly raise the American flag over our embassy once more.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter noted the importance of educational and cultural exchanges between the U.S. and Germany in his remarks at a forum in Berlin on Monday. In particular, Secretary Carter spoke to the value of exchanges in preparing young citizens for success in a global economy:
For the first time in 15 years, an increasing number of people worldwide are learning German as a foreign language, the ICEF Monitor reports. According to the results of the 2015 “Deutsch als Fremdsprache weltweit” (German as a foreign language worldwide) survey, conducted every five years, 15.4 million individuals across the globe are currently studying German.
As a direct result of her experience as a participant in the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program, a young Afghan woman has dedicated herself to educating and empowering women in her home country, Public Radio International reports.