The U.S. Department of State announced today that 47 teams of U.S. citizen exchange alumni were awarded grants for public service projects based in 22 countries and territories through the Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund (CDAF). The Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs provides funding for the CDAF annually, with projects eligible for up to $10,000 each. Teams of U.S. citizen exchange alumni work to utilize the skills, knowledge, and networks gained through their U.S. government exchange programs and address issues faced by communities around the world.
A total of 187 alumni teams that submitted proposals for projects addressing the themes of protecting the environment, strengthening democratic institutions and fighting disinformation, fostering alumni network development, human rights, refugees, and migrants, and building community through arts, sports, language, and technology. Winning projects were selected for their strong sustainability plans, and many will continue past the grant period through volunteer work, other funding sources, and NGO support.
Some of the 2023 winning projects focus on displaced Ukrainian children with special needs, empowering young mothers with workshops on healthcare in the Amazon, supporting Afghan refugees with job training and support, educating communities and protect freshwater resources of Alabama, and connecting elementary school students in Montana and Nepal through agriculture.
For more than 80 years, nearly two million people, including over a half million American citizens, have participated in U.S.-sponsored or U.S.-supported exchanges. Many U.S. exchange alumni become leaders in government, business, and civil society, and nearly 700 current or former heads of state and government and almost 90 Nobel Prize winners are part of the Department's exchange alumni network.
