The Stevens Initiative, a program of the Aspen Institute, is cultivating rising generations by championing global citizenship, empowering future leaders, and advancing the field of virtual exchange. In this report, we spotlight the people, programs, and partners who make it all possible. Explore this page for highlights and download the full report to dive deeper into our work bridging cultural divides.

2024 Highlights

  • Amount Pledged: $10650315

    Active Grants: 49

    Youth Participants: 22000

    Leaders Trained: 100

Where We Work

Ranja Ali | Alumni, World Learning’s The Experiment Digital and Founder, Wedonet

During the Global Nomads experience, my 10th grade students applied their language skills in real-world contexts by participating in conversations, presentations, and collaborative projects with peers… This exposure broadened their perspectives, fostering a greater sense of empathy and openness. I believe this experience will have lasting effects, inspiring a deeper interest in language learning and motivating them to continue using English in diverse, authentic situations.

Yleana Yanine Hernandez | Educator, Christel House Mexico
Jodi Reschell Brown | Spanish Educator, Crandon High School and Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s 2023-24 Global Educator of the Year
Katie Eagan | English Professor and Global Studies Coordinator, Las Positas College; Academic Specialist, Berkeley International Study Program, University of California Berkeley
Christopher Sewell | Director, Dr. Jewel Plummer Cobb Honors Program, Talladega College

Virtual Exchange…

  • Empowers Future Leaderschevron-right-white
  • We’re helping prepare rising generations for the workforce of tomorrow through virtual exchange programs that maximize skill development, provide real-world experience collaborating on projects that relate to their career interests, and model cross-cultural workplace settings.
  • Champions Global Citizenshipchevron-right-white
  • We continue to measure the incredible impact of virtual exchange on participants’ understanding of the world and global competence skills. In 2024, 77% of participants reported having more confidence in their ability to have an impact in their home country and 95% reported that their program offered opportunities to engage with other cultures.
  • Promotes Language Learningchevron-right-white
  • We invested in programming that gives learners opportunities to interact with native speakers of foreign languages, improving their language proficiency and communication skills. One Global Nomads Group’s Overcoming Bias Through Language Learning participant reflected, “[This program] allowed me to interact with people from different cultures and relate to others who are trying to learn a language. It was comforting to see other people in a different part of the world moving through the journey of learning language like me.”
  • Creates New Opportunitieschevron-right-white
  • Virtual exchange is a key that opens the door to new, and sometimes unexpected, opportunities for our alumni. In a Stevens Initiative survey of a subset of alumni in July 2024, we found that 49.6% of alumni received job opportunities and 83% pursued professional development activities.
  • Empowers Young People to Take Climate Actionchevron-right-white
  • We supported 16 virtual exchanges designed to address climate and sustainability – such as The International Foundation for Training and Development and the Onslow County School District’s Youth for Sustainable Development Goals Virtual Exchange, IREX’s Global Solutions Sustainability Challenge, An-Najah National University’s Climate Futures Exchange, and iEARN USA’s Compañeros de Clase Globales, just to name a few!
  • Inspires Lifelong Learningchevron-right-white
  • We mobilized 100 education and exchange leaders to drive virtual exchange adoption in their networks through our flagship Virtual Exchange Academy, a six-week training recommended by 100% of surveyed participants two years in a row.
We’re helping prepare rising generations for the workforce of tomorrow through virtual exchange programs that maximize skill development, provide real-world experience collaborating on projects that relate to their career interests, and model cross-cultural workplace settings.
We continue to measure the incredible impact of virtual exchange on participants’ understanding of the world and global competence skills. In 2024, 77% of participants reported having more confidence in their ability to have an impact in their home country and 95% reported that their program offered opportunities to engage with other cultures.
We invested in programming that gives learners opportunities to interact with native speakers of foreign languages, improving their language proficiency and communication skills. One Global Nomads Group’s Overcoming Bias Through Language Learning participant reflected, “[This program] allowed me to interact with people from different cultures and relate to others who are trying to learn a language. It was comforting to see other people in a different part of the world moving through the journey of learning language like me.”
Virtual exchange is a key that opens the door to new, and sometimes unexpected, opportunities for our alumni. In a Stevens Initiative survey of a subset of alumni in July 2024, we found that 49.6% of alumni received job opportunities and 83% pursued professional development activities.
We supported 16 virtual exchanges designed to address climate and sustainability – such as The International Foundation for Training and Development and the Onslow County School District’s Youth for Sustainable Development Goals Virtual Exchange, IREX’s Global Solutions Sustainability Challenge, An-Najah National University’s Climate Futures Exchange, and iEARN USA’s Compañeros de Clase Globales, just to name a few!
We mobilized 100 education and exchange leaders to drive virtual exchange adoption in their networks through our flagship Virtual Exchange Academy, a six-week training recommended by 100% of surveyed participants two years in a row.

Our Impact to Your Inbox