Coronavirus Response Fund

Overview

<p>The Stevens Initiative is providing resources to help education, exchange, and non-profit organizations in the United States and the Middle East and North Africa conduct virtual exchange programs to engage young people and educators affected by the pandemic. The Stevens Initiative is providing resources to help education, exchange, and non-profit organizations in the United States and the Middle East and North Africa conduct virtual exchange programs to engage young people and educators affected by the pandemic. The Initiative views virtual exchange as programs that: use online technology to connect individuals and small groups between countries; are based on a curriculum or activity plan; involve qualified facilitators (such as educators or others); and involve sustained communication and collaboration synchronously (in real-time) or asynchronously over a period of time.</p> <p>Applicants may submit a proposal for a grant supporting one of the following activities:</p> <ol> <li>Adapt (or develop a new variant of) and conduct an existing in-person exchange or education program into a summer virtual exchange;</li> <li>Adapt and conduct an existing virtual exchange program to the current global conditions (for example, finding ways to accommodate young people learning from home, engaging parents or guardians as facilitators or co-participants, or overhauling curricula), or offset unanticipated costs for a virtual exchange program caused by the coronavirus pandemic;</li> <li>Prepare those who conduct education or exchange programs to design, prepare for, and facilitate future virtual exchange programming.</li> </ol> <p>Proposed projects are encouraged to focus on the following topics:</p> <ul> <li>Technology and computing</li> <li>World affairs and global studies</li> <li>Business and entrepreneurship</li> <li>Language learning and practice</li> <li>Public health and/or the coronavirus pandemic</li> </ul> <p>The Stevens Initiative is committed to reaching young people whose access to exchange programs has been limited, and to reaching diverse participants, including:</p> <ul> <li>Women and girls</li> <li>Underserved youth whose access to international exchange has been limited</li> <li>Refugees</li> <li>People with disabilities</li> <li>Minority groups</li> </ul> <p>Populations with diverse backgrounds and limited resources are among those most severely impacted by the coronavirus crisis. A strong proposal will explain how young people from these populations – whose access to international experiences is limited even in the best of circumstances – will be a priority for outreach and inclusion in the proposed program.</p>