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Kennedy Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Programs
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<p>The Kennedy Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Programs (KL-YES) are fully-funded <a href="/facts/Student_exchange_program/LMVX2JGC">student exchange programs</a> administered by the <a href="/facts/United_States_Department_of_State/WsB5FMBT">U.S. Department of State</a>. YES includes the "inbound" program for students from close to 40 Muslim majority countries to study and live in the U.S., and the "outbound" program, called YES Abroad, for students from the U.S. to study in selected YES countries. </p><p>The Kennedy-Lugar YES Program evolved out of a generalized recognition that public diplomacy efforts had been neglected in many countries around the world for many years and that the effects of this came into stark focus in the aftermath of the <a href="/facts/September_11_attacks/PfWQcQNx">events of September 11, 2001</a>. The <a href="/facts/Bureau_of_Educational_and_Cultural_Affairs/WxvPyNDt">Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs</a> of the U.S. Department of State, along with the U.S. exchange community, recognized the importance of youth exchange as a key component of renewed commitment to building bridges between citizens of the U.S. and countries around the world, particularly those with significant Muslim populations. </p>