YES Students to be Honored at Sister Cities International Gala
Students from Predominantly-Islamic Countries to Receive Global Youth Leadership Award for Building Understanding

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                July 3, 2006
Media Contact: Emily Carter, 202.347.8630 ext. 4877, ecarter@sister-cities.org

Washington D.C. - A unique exchange program that brings students from predominantly-Islamic countries to the United States and then sends them home to build understanding will be honored with a prestigious award this summer. The Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program will receive the Global Youth Leadership Award from Sister Cities International during its 50^th Anniversary Conference being held in Washington, D.C.

On behalf of hundreds of YES alumni world-wide, YES students from Israel, Jordan, Pakistan, and Syria will personally accept the award. It will be presented at the Sister Cities International 50^th Anniversary Conference Gala on July 15, 2006 at the National Building Museum.

All four students were scholarship students on the YES program administered by AYUSA Global Youth Exchange. The YES program began in 2003, when the U.S. Department of State funded a youth program to bring teens from predominantly Islamic countries to the United States for an academic year.

The goal of the YES program is to engage participating youth, their teachers and classmates, and community leaders in an exchange effort that will promote increased understanding and tolerance between cultures. The YES program encourages the exchange of ideas, values, and experiences among young people by exposing these young scholars to leadership, belief systems, civil society principles, and community service involvement.

The four students accepting the award for Global Youth Leadership will also be participating in the International Youth Summit on Global Citizenship being held at George Washington University July 11-16. About the students accepting the award:

Maya Al-Kateb: Maya Al-Kateb comes from Damascus, Syria and was recruited for the program by AMIDEAST.  May was hosted by the Ptizen family in San Antonio, Texas for the 2004 academic year and attended Clark High School. Since returning home, Maya has been a leader within the Syrian YES alumni chapter, organizing an alumni yahoo group to keep in touch with other alumni and with the current students on-program. Through coordination with classmates, her school and local authorities, she began a recycling project at her school, which is Z. Arsouzy High School.

Hadeel Bayoumi: Hadeel is Palestinian and comes from Haifa, Israel. Hadeel was hosted by the Jackson family in Springfield, Oregon for the 2005 academic year and attended Springfield High School. Since returning home, she started a service project at her school. She felt the need to encourage volunteer work in her school and began by volunteering to teach younger students who were struggling in their English classes.

Sehrish Khan: She comes from Karachi, Pakistan and was recruited for the program by the International Education and Resource Network (iEARN). Sehrish was hosted by the Shamim family in Gaithersburg, Maryland for the 2004 academic year and attended Stratford High School. Sehrish has been a leader of the Pakistani YES alumni group, organizing students for international videoconferencing, spearheading environmental service programs, and volunteering in local schools. Since returning home, Sehrish has been volunteering at a school called Nai Roshni in Karachi teaching poor children.

Laith Hajarat: Laith comes from Amman, Jordan and was recruited for the program by AMIDEAST.  Laith was hosted by the Pavloff family in West Chester, Pennsylvania for the 2004 academic year and attended Unionville High School. As the only YES alumnus from Jordan after the first year of the YES program, Laith rose to the challenge of starting an alumni chapter single-handedly. He made a number of presentations about his experience being a YES student, including one at an International Education Week reception with 150 attendees.

AYUSA works with four partners that together comprise a consortium for the YES program. These partners include AMIDEAST (student recruitment), ASSE (partial student placement), ASPECT Foundation (placement), Council on International Educational Exchange (placement), Pacific Intercultural exchange (placement), Center of Cultural Interchange (placement), iEARN (online education and student recruitment), and Sister Cities International (Youth Leadership Summit and placement referrals). Program enrichment activities include the Boulder Youth Leadership Summit, leadership mentoring project, community service, civics education, and diversity training.

Representing more than 2,500 communities in 134 countries, Sister Cities International (www.sister-cities.org) is a citizen diplomacy network creating and strengthening partnerships between the U.S. and communities abroad. Begun in 1956 after a White House summit where U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower called for people-to-people exchanges, sister city partnerships are tailored to local interests and increase global cooperation at the grassroots level. Sister Cities International promotes peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation by focusing on sustainable development, youth and education, arts and culture, humanitarian assistance and economic growth programs.

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