The Stavros Niarchos Foundation has awarded a grant to AFS Intercultural Programs to launch the Global Citizen Scholarship Program for High School Students from Greece. The scholarship program will provide 50+ Greek youth with year-long scholarships to participate in an exchange program abroad.

The program will provide students with the opportunity and support to develop the global competence needed to collaborate and communicate across cultures and create personal ties between people in other countries and Greece, both widening the perspective of Greek youth and enabling citizens around the world to get to know Greek culture in a positive and personal way.

Research shows that the exchange programs that AFS has developed lead to measurable and significant improvements in intercultural competence and influence outlooks on social issues. AFS alumni have greater respect for other people and their ideas, beliefs, and viewpoints, even when they are opposed to their own, and are more comfortable in different cultural settings, both professional and personal.

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) is one of the world’s leading private, international philanthropic organizations, making grants to nonprofit organizations in the areas of arts and culture, education, health and sports, and social welfare. SNF funds organizations and projects worldwide that aim to achieve a broad, lasting, and positive impact for society at large, and exhibit strong leadership and sound management. The Foundation also supports projects that facilitate the formation of public-private partnerships as an effective means for serving public welfare.

Since 1996, the Foundation has committed more than $3.1 billion through over 4,700 grants to nonprofit organizations, in 132 nations around the world. See more at SNF.org.