LINC
With generous funding from the U.S. Department of State, AYUSA is awarding 16 full scholarships for a four-week exchange in Cairo, Egypt. Recipients of the prestigious Linking Individuals, Knowledge and Culture (LINC) scholarship will live with a host family, participate in community service projects, and visit cultural landmarks. The program focuses on the development of conflict prevention and management skills.
Dates and Deadlines
- Application deadline is February 1, 2006
- The exchange program begins on Wednesday, July 5th, 2006 with a three-day, pre-departure orientation and conflict resolution workshop in Washington, D.C. with Iraqi and Egyptian youth. The program concludes with a final program workshop in Washington, D.C. on August 1, 2006.
General Information
About the Program
In partnership with the America-Mideast Educational and Training Services (AMIDEAST), AYUSA is excited to offer full scholarships for the four-week LINC exchange program in Cairo, Egypt. LINC is a direct exchange; Egyptian and Iraqi youth will stay with host families in the U.S. while Americans will stay with host families in Egypt. The LINC program was created to educate youth about ways to prevent, manage, and resolve conflict.
American participants will live with a host family, engage in community service projects, visit key highlights of Cairo and surrounding areas, spend time with local youth, and embark on the cultural adventure of a lifetime. No prior language study is required.
What is included in the scholarship?
- Pre-departure and re-entry leadership workshops in Washington, D.C.
- Host family stay in Egypt
- Community service project
- All program activities
- All domestic and international airfare
- Food and lodging expenses
- Personal allowance of $150
- Health insurance
- Visa fees
What expenses are participants responsible for?
- Personal expenses (e.g., toiletries, clothing, internet, calling card)
- Any passport fees
What You Can Expect
The LINC program will be based in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Situated on the Nile River, Cairo is a bustling metropolitan area of over 16 million people and the cultural capital of the Arab world. Buses and cars sometimes compete for the road with horse-drawn carts, boutiques with neon signs contrast with traditional market stalls, and the skyline is punctuated with the minarets of hundreds of mosques as well as towering office buildings and hotels. Be prepared for people, people, everywhere, and a noise level that reflects this crowded city's energy. The pyramids lie on the outskirts of the city and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo houses over 120,000 ancient artifacts. Participants will have the opportunity to travel to Alexandria on the northern coast, see the Suez Canal, and spend some time in the desert oasis town of Fayoum.
LINC participants will live with host families, giving participants the chance to form personal relationships with Egyptians and participate in Egyptian family life. Part of the LINC experience will be to observe and experience many different aspects of life in Egypt, and LINC participants will be expected to approach these experiences with flexibility and open minds. Hotel accommodations will be used for overnight trips to Alexandria and Fayoum.
LINC participants will be required to participate in the pre-departure and final program workshops in Washington, DC, attend all program activities in Egypt (including community service and youth dialogue sessions with Egyptian teenagers), and communicate their experience to a wider audience through presentations and other follow-up activities upon their return to the U.S including feedback in the form of pre and post program surveys. LINC participants will be surveyed three times: before the exchange, after the exchange, and four-to-six months after the program end date.
LINC scholars will:
- Develop leadership skills
- Strengthen ties between the U.S. and the Middle East / Northern Africa
- Improve their understanding of Egyptian culture
- Build language skills
- Enhance their college application
AYUSA's partner organization for the LINC program, AMIDEAST, is a private, nonprofit organization whose goal is to strengthen mutual understanding and cooperation between Americans and the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa. For 50 years, AMIDEAST has provided high caliber exchange programs for participants and teachers.
Applying for the LINC Scholarship
Successful candidates will demonstrate an interest in learning more about the Middle East/Northern Africa and in developing conflict prevention and management skills. Ideal candidates should be mature, flexible, and willing to exchange ideas and information with international hosts. To be eligible you must be a U.S. citizen, national and/or permanent resident; have a GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale; and be between the ages of 15 and 17 while on program. Eligible participants cannot turn 18 before August 1, 2006. Current high school seniors are not eligible.
To apply for the scholarship, download and print the LINC application. Once you complete the application, retain a copy, and mail the original to:
AYUSA
LINC Scholarship
600 California Street, FL 10
San Francisco, CA 94108
415.434.5470 fax
To qualify for the LINC Scholarship's summer 2006 program, your application must be postmarked by February 1, 2006
If you have any questions, please read our frequently asked questions or contact AYUSA at 1-800-727-4540, ext. 543 or via email at studyabroad@ayusa.org.
