On July 24, American Councils hosted a dinner and discussion with FLEX, YES, and A-SMYLE alumni who are attending the Global Village program for future leaders in business and industry at Lehigh University’s Iacocca Institute. Alumni shared stories about the alumni projects organized by their program’s alumni in their home countries along with their experiences at the Global Village workshop. This year nine FLEX alumni are participating in the program.
During the discussion FLEX alumni shared their personal successes and future goals, highlighting the impact of the FLEX program in their lives. Aliya Yabekova ’06 (Almaty, Kazakhstan/ Apex, NC) shared her experience of leading the FLEX Alumni community in Kazakhstan as Alumni Coordinator (AC) and receiving the award for outstanding AC of the month two times. Alina Beskrovna ’07 (Donetsk, Ukraine/ Williamsport, PA) shared her journey after FLEX, which led her to become politically active in Ukraine and joining the Estonia-Ukraine Parliamentary Initiative where she works on reforms in the sphere of governmental transparency and accountability. Alina was the youngest delegate ever of the Open World Program and the first president of Youth Council in Ukraine.
Since 2004 FLEX alumni have received full and partial scholarships to take part in Global Village. The program takes their leadership skills to a more advanced level and creates a new generation of real leaders in the global world. The event was organized by American Councils and attended by American Councils volunteer evaluators, who read and evaluate secondary school program applications.
