Placement Organizations

ACES, AFS-USA, AIFS/AYA, American Councils, ASSE, AYUSA International, BFF, Greenheart Exchange, CIEE, IRIS, PAX, States' 4-H, STS Foundation, World Link, and YFU each host a portion of the Kennedy-Lugar YES students in communities across the United States.

American Cultural Exchange Service (ACES) has been a YES family member since 2007. ACES provides high quality international educational, cultural, and sports exchange programs to individuals to promote global understanding, establish friendships, and encourage world peace.

AFS is a worldwide not-for-profit organization that has been a leader in international high school exchange for more than 65 years, offering international exchange programs in more than 40 countries. AFS "works toward a more just and peaceful world by providing international and intercultural learning experiences to individuals, families, schools, and communities through a global volunteer partnership."

The Academic Year in America program (AYA), established in 1981, is conducted under the American Institute For Foreign Study (AIFS). The Foundation is a not-for-profit educational organization founded in 1967 with the assistance of the late Robert F. Kennedy. Its mission is "to promote worldwide understanding through cultural exchange."

American Councils for International Education, an international not-for-profit organization founded in 1974, has placed students since 2001. Through academic exchanges, overseas language immersion, and educational development programs, American Councils designs and administers innovative programs that broaden individual perspectives, increase knowledge, and deepen understanding.

Aspect Foundation was founded in 1985 as a small non-profit organization offering affordable study-abroad opportunities to students from around the world.

ASSE, originally founded in Sweden in 1938, aims to foster international understanding through educational and cross-cultural programs. ASSE has been involved in placing YES students since the program's beginning.

Since 1981, AYUSA Global Youth Exchange has shared the common mission of creating the next generation of global leaders and world citizens, all while catering its programs to a variety of participants.

Borderless Friends Forever Foundation is an exchange student organization created out of a true passion for international education. BFF promotes world peace through cultivating opportunities for cultural and educational exchanges. We bring the international traveler and the host family together to create meaningful relationships through which we celebrate our differences and similarities.

Greenheart Exchange is a not-for-profit international and educational exchange organization, which was formed in 1985, and is dedicated to promoting cultural understanding, academic development, environmental consciousness, and world peace. Greeheart is the only United States-based cultural exchange organization to adopt a full-fledged environmental and social initiative.

Since 1947, Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), has worked "to help people gain understanding, acquire knowledge, and develop skills for living in a globally interdependent and culturally diverse world."

Iowa Resource for International Service (IRIS) is a not-for-profit organization located in Iowa that promotes "international understanding, development, and peace" by bringing students, journalists, business people, educators, and government leaders to Iowa from Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, and Asia.

Program of Academic Exchange (PAX) is a not-for-profit educational organization that promotes and arranges international student exchange to foster positive development of the world's young people and to support international peace, friendship, and cross-cultural understanding.

States' 4-H International Exchange Programs is a non-profit organization headquartered in Seattle, WA. We work with 4-H Youth Development Centers of Cooperative Extension in the US and a network of international partners around the world to conduct cultural immersion and exchange programs. Since 1972, our exchanges have impacted over 60,000 youth and their families in 41 countries on 6 continents.

STS Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that provides opportunities to American families to host international exchange students. STS believes that cultural exchange promotes understanding, respect, and goodwill among people of all nations. Students, host families, schools, and communities have the opportunity to learn more about another’s culture as they share experiences.

World Link is a private non-profit organization headquartered in Kalona, Iowa (USA). Its mission is to provide “Exchange With A Purpose” by conducting exchange programs for educators and youth through government sponsored projects. These projects seek to improve understanding and cooperation among the peoples and cultures of the world.

YFU is an international educational exchange organization whose network expands over 50 independent national organizations worldwide. YFU representatives work together to advance learning across cultures. Within each country's culture, YFU organizations subscribe to and operate under a common set of principles and standards that aim to facilitate cooperation and harmony.