Academy for Educational Development

AED LAUNCHES NEW INITIATIVE TO INCREASE EDUCATION ABROAD IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD

[Note to Editors: Sandra MacDonald and Rachel Holskin are available for interviews]

Washington, D.C., November 7, 2006 — The AED Center for Academic Partnerships today announced a broad initiative to link U.S. graduate and undergraduate students with AED projects worldwide and provide universities in nontraditional destinations with the tools needed to host American students on education abroad experiences. The launch coincides with International Education Week, November 13-17.

The AED Development Fellows Program offers U.S. students the unique opportunity to spend a semester, summer, or academic year with international development projects. The program seeks to better prepare the next generation of development leaders by enabling accomplished students of diverse backgrounds to gain overseas work experience.

The first AED Development Fellow, Rachel Holskin, is currently working on a USAID-funded project in Rabat, Morocco, which is improving education and vocational training to increase the employability of high school graduates.

“AED’s Education Abroad Initiative works to increase people-to-people diplomacy by looking to diversify the student population that studies and interns abroad so that a more representative group of U.S. students participate in international experiences,” said Sandra MacDonald, vice president and director of the AED Center for Academic Partnerships.

The AED Development Fellows Program is currently seeking applicants for opportunities in 13 countries—with total placement openings of more than 30. The projects include activities focused on education, leadership development, public health, and conflict resolution.

“Working on this project has enabled me to contribute to new initiatives such as linking schools with businesses, as well as furthering current project activities in women’s literacy and girls education,” explains Holskin, a graduate student in international relations and development at New York University.

Another component of AED’s Education Abroad Initiative, the Handbook for Hosting: The AED Guide to Welcoming American Students on Your Campus, was written to build and enhance the institutional capacity of international universities to host education abroad programs for American students.

“Both the intent of the Handbook, and the clarity of the information provided are a great service to the international education profession,” said Susan Thompson, director of International Programs at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and a member of the AED Education Abroad Advisory Council.

Handbook ordering information and AED Development Fellows Program offerings are available at http://cap.aed.org.

The Academy for Educational Development is a nonprofit organization committed to solving critical social problems. AED works in all the major areas of human development, with a focus on improving education, health, and economic opportunities for the least advantaged in the United States and throughout the world.

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