We are looking for aspiring young leaders who want to work with American and other European youth to build a network that will lead to a lifetime of change!
Is this you? Then, apply by February 20th, 2022 for your chance to take part in the prestigious Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellowship exchange program in the United States during the summer of 2022!
The 2022 Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellowship will last four weeks from June 25 to July 23, 2022, at Purdue University in West Layfette, Indiana (pending availability of funds). All costs of the participants will be covered.
The four-week program will enable students, ages 16-18, 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 participants’ experience of U.S. society during their exchange.
Recruitment/Candidate profile:
All candidates are expected to have a strong interest in learning about diplomacy, the transatlantic relationship, the role of a free press in a democratic society, and public or community service. They should have a strong, demonstrated interest in communications, advocacy, debate, and/or civic participation. They should be highly proficient in English, as demonstrated in a personal interview, and demonstrate a high level of academic achievement as well as a commitment to community and extracurricular activities. They should have the personal qualities needed to be successful, including maturity, responsibility, independence, confidence, open-mindedness, tolerance, thoughtfulness and curiosity. For a full list of all eligibility requirements, please see the 2022 Call for Applications packet.
This program is open to Luxembourg citizens and legal permanent residents of Luxembourg. The U.S. Department of State covers the costs of the program through its overseas diplomatic missions and its partnership with Purdue University.
Application and Submission:
The application consists of two components:
1.) Completion of the Mandatory Application Form
2.) Personal Response (in English) to the 2022 Theme
The U.S. Embassy Luxembourg’s 2022 BFTF Theme is:
Diversity and Unity. What does diversity mean to you? Can we have ‘unity in diversity? Is Luxembourg both united and diverse? If so, how? If not, how can we build it?
“And so we lift our gaze, not to what stands between us, but what stands before us.
We close the divide because we know to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside.”
– Amanda Gorman, The Hill We Climb, Inaugural Poem 2021
“We have inherited a large house, a great ‘world house’ in which we have to live together—black and white, Easterner and Westerner, Gentile and Jew, Catholic and Protestant, Muslim and Hindu — a family unduly separated in ideas, culture and interest, who, because we can never again live apart, must learn somehow to live with each other in peace.”
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., The World House, 1967
The personal response can be in the form of a written essay (350-500 words) or poem (350-500 words). Please submit all application materials as a Word document or PDF file.
Complete applications must be received by Sunday, February 20th, 2022 at 11:59 PM to the following e-mail address: LuxembourgPublicAffairs@state.gov
One principal and one alternate candidate will be selected based on their application submission and interview, which will take place on February 28th and March 1st.
For complete details on the program, the application and eligibility requirements, please see the Call for Application packet. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at LuxembourgPublicAffairs@state.gov.
Additional Information:
- BFTF 2022 Call for Applications packet (PDF 4 MB)
- Application Information Form (MS Word 25 KB)