Global Opportunities

The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia’s Summer Global Leadership Institute, held from July 12 to 17, will be a week-long virtual seminar for rising ninth- through twelfth-grade students interested in international relations and global politics. This intensive academic experience gives students the opportunity to analyze the form and functions of governments around the world from local, national, and international perspectives. Guest speakers and lecturers, including local political leaders, changemakers, and professors, will lead students in discussions of historical, philosophical, and contemporary views on authority, sovereignty, and accountability. Students will also participate in simulation activities of national government decision making, such as the proposed rewriting of the Chilean constitution and various countries’ positions on key international treaties. Students will synthesize their learning to create their own constitutional frameworks for a model-nation. For more information, visit the Summer Global Leadership Institute website, or contact Eric Bumbaca, director of student programs, at ebumbaca@wacphila.org.

For 2021, Concordia Language Villages will offer limited in-person language camps as well as their Virtual Village online language program. All language sessions focus on understanding and engaging in conversations in fun and captivating ways. Students will participate in cultural experiences and activities and projects such as artwork and cooking. Students will also spend time reading and writing in their chosen language, but the primary goal is to develop confidence in speaking the language. Village sessions are available in Arabic, Chinese, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. 

Envoys' Beyond Travel program is an intentionally and thoughtfully designed experience for students that engages their whole selves, pushes their comfort zones, and helps them discover their passions. Building on half a semester of virtual learning, students will use their voices, test ideas, grapple with complexity, have complex conversations, and synthesize their thinking as global learners.

This year, Envoys will offer three virtual opportunities. South Africa: Untold Stories and Post-Conflict Colombia will explore culture, geopolitics, and modern issues relating to these countries. Movement Around the World will introduce students to cultural dance styles from K-Pop to Cumbia.

United Planet matches students with volunteering and internship opportunities around the world. For 2021, United Planet offers virtual opportunities, but has also opened its sites in Costa Rica for in-person volunteering. United Planet Virtual Volunteer Quests are a great opportunity for individuals to get matched with a global project to assist with daily operations and projects according to volunteers’ skills, experiences, and community needs. Virtual Internship Quests allow interns to outline learning objectives and goals as it relates to the project work, complete mid and final reflection assignments, and work collaboratively with direct project supervisors on mid and final internship evaluations. 

Philadelphia’s PHC Group, a consulting firm specializing in culturally sensitive public health and crisis management programs, offers paid internships for rising high school seniors.   

The US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and The American Field Services-USA (AFS-USA) organization connect high school students who are American citizens with US State Department-sponsored study abroad scholarships. Some of these are the Congress-Bundenstag Youth Exchange (CBYX) opportunity to study in Germany for one year; the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) programs to study one of eight critical languages (like Arabic, Mandarin, or Russian); the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Abroad (YES Abroad) program to study for a year overseas; and Youth Ambassador summer programs to explore culture and diplomacy from one to three weeks in one of a variety of locations. Most of these have fall 2021 deadlines, so summer is the time to prepare applications for 2022 opportunities.

The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) has operated continuously since 1947, matching high school students with summer, school-year, gap-year, and internship programs through its Global Navigator program. Some of its opportunities remain suspended in 2021, but others are opening. CIEE offers lower-cost programs through partnerships with the US State Department, and offers a wide range of Global Discovery summer camps on such topics as pop culture and anime in Japan; global entrepreneurship in Dublin; queer life and activism in Amsterdam; and leadership through outdoor education in Rabat, Morocco.

For Middle Schoolers, Penn Museum is offering its Summer Anthropology Camp virtually again this year, but as always, will invite students through rising eighth graders to summer fun and learning through Penn Museum’s world-renowned collections. Each week features an exciting theme with hands-on workshops, expert talks, and gallery exploration. There will be a Virtual Open House on the evening of April 13 to find out more, and visit their website to apply. 

The Iacocca GEI program is a unique, four-week summer program for high school students produced by Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The 2021 program will meet virtually between June 27 and July 24. The program brings together American students with international students from all regions of the world to complete entrepreneurial design challenges to solve a real-world global problem in an area of interest such as sustainability, population health, branding, or technology. Students are mentored by Lehigh faculty and global business operators, who will share real-life stories of successes and lessons learned. Students will also attend additional workshops in negotiating, leadership development, and international business concepts, and will enjoy virtual cultural and social activities as well. Learn more and apply. 

The Experiment in International Living is offering a FREE virtual Youth Leadership and Community Service summer program. The Experiment’s fully funded Digital Youth Leadership and Community Service intercultural exchange program connects young people across the United States with peers in the Middle East and North Africa, in countries such as Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Yemen. Designed to help participants to be civically engaged and to lead change, this opportunity teaches high schoolers to formulate and implement service projects in their home communities. Open to fourteen- to eighteen-year-olds, the eight-week program asks for a time commitment of approximately four hours each week. Upon completion, students receive a certificate of Leadership and Global Issue Analysis, unique opportunities with the US Department of State, including access to special funding opportunities and projects as well as membership in the Department of State’s International Alumni Network, and a $400 scholarship to attend any future program offered by the Experiment in International Living. A webinar about the program will be held on Wednesday, April 14, and rolling applications will be accepted until April 20, 2021. Learn more.