The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and the U.S. Embassy in Oslo are pleased to announce a four-week summer institute for young Europeans and Americans, called the Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellows (BFTF) Summer Institute. The institute intends to foster relationships among the younger generations of Europeans and Americans to promote awareness of shared values in light of the global challenges of the 21st Century.
The program will take place in June and July of 2020; exact dates will be communicated at a later time. The institute will be hosted by Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
As a participant in the BFTF Summer Institute you will experience an intensive, four-week exchange program in the United States that allows you to explore U.S. foreign policy priorities such as youth engagement, support for democracy and civil society, and economic prosperity. The program will consist of a series of lectures, seminar discussions and presentations, and a broad assortment of practical, faculty- and mentor-led workshops. The coursework and classroom activities will be complemented by community service activities, site visits, social and cultural activities, and homestays with American families to deepen your experience of U.S. society during your exchange.
All costs will be covered by the U.S. Embassy Oslo and Department of State.
To apply for this unique opportunity, you should:
- be born between June 22, 2001, and June 22, 2004
- be highly proficient in English
- be committed to enrolling in high school or university in fall 2020
- demonstrate strong leadership potential and interest in transatlantic relations and diplomacy
- indicate a serious interest in learning about the United States
- demonstrate a high level of academic achievement
- demonstrate a commitment to community and extracurricular activities
- have had little or no prior U.S. study or travel experience in the United States;
be mature, responsible, independent, confident, open-minded, tolerant, thoughtful and inquisitive - be willing and able to fully participate in an intensive summer program, with community service and educational travel
- be comfortable with campus life, shared living accommodations, travel and interaction with a multinational, co-ed group of participants from across Europe and the United States
- be comfortable engaging with the Americans they meet in the host communities
- be able to adjust to cultural and social practices different from those of their home countries.
- be comfortable traveling unaccompanied to/from the United States
How to apply:
Send an e-mail to osloirc@state.gov, where you attach:
- the application form
- a copy of your preliminary high school grades
- your CV
- a document with three short texts where you answer these questions:
- Why would you be the perfect BFTF 2020 participant? (max 200 words)
- Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? (max 200 words)
- Which three Americans, from history or fiction, would you invite for dinner and a conversation, and why? Be creative! (max 200 words)
Documents:
- Application Form (PDF, 137 KB)