The Stevens Initiative welcomes its five newest grantees. The 2022 Stevens Initiative Grantees will engage young people in virtual exchange programs on esports and gaming, linguistics and the study of symbols, storytelling, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and some of the world’s most pressing global concerns. Young people from middle school through undergraduate and beyond will unleash their full potential as they participate in these programs over the next year.
The Stevens Initiative has awarded 91 grants since its launch in 2015. With the addition of these programs, the Stevens Initiative will expand its total reach by summer 2023 to nearly 75,000 young people in 17 MENA countries and the Palestinian Territories, and in 49 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, five tribal communities, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, D.C.
North America Scholastic Esports Federation’s MENAcraft, which is supported by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, with additional funding from the Bezos Family Foundation, gathers young people from the United States and the Middle East and North Africa region in a safe, neutral, and inspiring online community, blending play and learning for a cultural and language exchange. Learn how you can bring this program to young people you work with here.
The four additional 2022 Stevens Initiative Grantees are supported by the government of the United Arab Emirates and are the first grantees to be identified through a grant competition launched in the UAE.
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- Ajman University’s AYM: Actualizing Youth Mobility to Lead and Innovate in the 21st Century is a collaborative virtual exchange program that fosters intercultural understanding, creative collaborations, and meaningful communication among students.
- American University of Sharjah’s Transformative Sustainability Project (TSP) gives undergraduate college students in the United Arab Emirates and the United States the tools to transform their local and global contexts into more sustainable communities in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
- American University of Sharjah’s Virtual Language Exchange provides participants in the United Arab Emirates and the United States a unique cross-cultural experience by examining diverse worldviews, languages, and cultures while critically thinking about media representations that shape their world knowledge.
- RAK American Academy’s Scheherazade Project brings together 10th and 11th grade girls from the United Arab Emirates and the United States to explore the role their female ancestors played in their lives.
