Engage with Virtual Exchange
Providing opportunities to get involved
Vision
The Stevens Initiative aims to give every young person the knowledge, skills, and experiences they need to prosper in an increasingly interconnected world.
Approach
Virtual exchange uses online technology to connect young people around the world to learn and work together so they can build marketable global competencies and deepen their understanding of and ability to engage with people from other backgrounds.
Engage
There are several ways to get involved in virtual exchange through the Stevens Initiative. We encourage you to review the different pathways below to find the option that best fits your needs.
Join a Program
Educators along with schools, districts, postsecondary institutions, and nonprofit organizations can have young people participate in a virtual exchange program implemented by a Stevens Initiative grantee. Joining an existing program can be a great way to have a first experience with virtual exchange. This process allows institutions and educators to benefit from the grantee’s content, partnership network, technology, facilitation training, and other forms of guidance and support.
*educators and representatives of schools, districts, postsecondary institutions, and nonprofit organizations
Join a Program
Mobilize Youth Participation
Educators, youth organizers, and administrators can share opportunities with their students or youth participants to apply to an open-enrollment virtual exchange program funded by the Stevens Initiative. Open-enrollment programs give young people the freedom to participate in virtual exchange programs on their own time that are interesting to them, but don’t fit into their classroom experience. Upon submitting the “Mobilize Youth Participation” form, educators will engage with the Stevens Initiative and will receive materials about open-enrollment programs that they can share with the youth they serve.
*educators, youth organizers, and administrators
Mobilize Youth Participation
Train for Virtual Exchange
The Stevens Initiative provides capacity-building opportunities to educators, administrators, and education and exchange leaders reaching young people of all ages around the world. Its flagship training, the Virtual Exchange Academy, is an annual six-week training that teaches foundational elements of virtual exchange planning and implementation. Applications for the 2023 Virtual Exchange Academy will open in September 2022. Check here for updates on the Academy on other trainings.
Apply for a Grant
The Stevens Initiative runs competitions to give grants to educational institutions and nonprofit organizations that administer virtual exchange programs connecting youth in the United States and the MENA region.
Apply to the 2022 Virtual Exchange Grant Competition here.
Our Grantees
Attend an Event
Info Sessions
Info Sessions are half-day presentations (in-person or online) providing an introduction to virtual exchange, the Stevens Initiative, and basic steps for getting involved in a program or starting a new one.Workshops
Workshops are two-day in-depth trainings during which attendees learn about several critical aspects of successful virtual exchange programs, such as international partnerships, facilitation and facilitator training, and monitoring and evaluation.Webinars
Webinars are hour-long online, panels, interviews, or presentations on a range of topics such as different approaches to virtual exchange, evaluating virtual exchange programs, and using virtual exchange as part of campus internationalization.Upcoming Events
August 30, 2022
Virtual Exchange and the Coronavirus Pandemic: Where are We Now?
In the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, there was a huge demand for international virtual exchange programming to connect young people during a time of disruption and isolation. With parents, educators, and young people experiencing burnout and “Zoom fatigue” after months of continued disruption, demand for virtual exchange and…