Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX)
“[The FLEX program] is a life changing experience. We work hard to learn and understand American values and share our culture with America. Great international friendships are built. I couldn’t imagine my life without this exchange year.”
—FLEX program student
Sponsored by the United States Department of State, the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program promotes mutual understanding between citizens of the United States and 22 countries across Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia.
Every FLEX exchange student lives with a volunteer host family for one academic year to learn about American values, attend a US high school, and teach Americans about their home countries. Participants return home as motivated young leaders who are inspired to share their new experiences and positively impact their home countries and communities.
History
Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) is a merit-based scholarship program funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by American Councils. FLEX was created in 1992 from the belief of former Senator Bill Bradley that young people were the key to building goodwill with our former Cold War adversaries and promoting democracy in the former Soviet republics. Visit http://www.discoverflex.org for more information.
FLEX served as the model for the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program, which begun in 2003.
Interested in hosting a FLEX student in 2026-27? Find out more: Hosting FAQs
Since 1993, FLEX has provided scholarships to over 32,000 secondary school students from more than 20 countries! Where do these students come from?
ArmeniaAzerbaijanBelarus*Czech RepublicEstoniaGeorgiaGreeceHungaryKazakhstanKyrgyzstanLatviaLithuaniaMoldovaMongoliaMontenegroPolandRomaniaRussia*
SerbiaSlovakiaTajikistanTurkmenistanUkraineUzbekistan*Former FLEX countryOur FLEX Students are exceptional
Aida writes about a community garden created by FLEX alumni in Lithuania and designed to provide a public space she calls “meaningful, but practical.”
Hosted in Colorado, 2016-17
Klaudija from Montenengro uses the lessons she learned during her FLEX year to organize workshops around conflict transformation for high school students in the Balkans.
Hosted in Illinois, 2015-16
Olena uses a grant from an alumni program to bring both English-language instruction and the Christmas spirit to fellow teens in her Ukrainian hometown.
Hosted in Maryland, 2017-18
Have questions? Check out our FAQs or let us know!
“Who would have known that a little town across the world would change my life forever? My host family has loved me like I was their own from the beginning and they made sure I always felt like I was at home. I know that no matter how far we might be, we will always be a family.”
—FLEX program student from Romania (hosted in Texas)