U.S. Department of State Announces 350 Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) Participants Awards

The State Department announced today that 350 Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program (CBYX) scholarships have been awarded to high-achieving U.S. high school students, recent high school graduates with an interest in vocational fields, and young professionals from 50 states and Washington, D.C.  This group of young Americans will travel to Germany for the 2023-2024 academic year marking the 40th anniversary of this important cultural exchange of the U.S. Congress and the German Bundestag.

Tomorrow at the State Department, U.S. Special Envoy for Global Youth Issues, Abby Finkenauer, will speak with the 350 Americans returning from the 2022-2023 academic year program.  The group will then visit with their elected representatives in the U.S. Congress.

Created in 1983, CBYX is an immersive exchange program jointly offered by the U.S. and German governments to more than 27,000 participants since its inception.  CBYX allows U.S. youth from a diverse array of backgrounds and U.S. communities to spend an academic year in Germany.  More information on the CBYX program can be found here.

U.S. families and schools are an essential component of this exchange program as they host German participants who come to the United States as part of the program.  Not only do they share their unique insights on what it means to be an American, but families also reap benefits from hosting a young exchange student, as documented in the December 2022 CBYX evaluation report .

We encourage Americans of all backgrounds and family compositions to consider hosting an exchange participant to join the thousands of American communities that have hosted U.S. Department of State sponsored exchange students over the last 40 years.  Schools are also encouraged to host exchange participants.  Secretary Blinken and Secretary of Education Cardona recently sent a joint letter to school superintendents encouraging them to consider hosting exchange participants.  Families and schools can learn more about hosting opportunities at hosting.state.gov.