Nicholas Hand to serve as a Youth Ambassador in Bosnia

The U.S. Department of State has awarded Nicholas Hand, an East Greenwich High School student, a Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Abroad Scholarship to serve as a Youth Ambassador in Bosnia and Herzegovina for a year. The 17-year-old will be spending his Senior year of high school in Bosnia as one of just a handful of scholarship recipients selected to participate. This U.S Department of State program is a highly competitive, merit-based award that covers the cost of a year abroad, including all travel costs, housing, food, cultural activities, school tuition, language training, a cell phone and a monthly stipend.

Nick was selected in part for for his previous experiences living in Indonesia last year, where he was exposed to many different religions and cultural norms. During his time in Indonesia, he lived with 3 different host families - a Muslim family in Yogyakarta, a Christian family in Langa, Flores and the final homestay was living with a Bajua family in an over-water refugee spearfishing community in Sampela, where they practice animistic beliefs in spirits and ancestor worship. This experience prepared him for a year away in a country known for it's extreme ethnic and religious diversity.

"We are very proud of Nick's interest in furthering global diplomacy and international relations in a primarily Muslim country, on behalf of the USA. Through his participation in this program, he will be helping to promote mutual understanding with both adults and youth in Bosnia, many of whom may currently hold very different views of Americans today," said his parents, Leslie and David Hand. "Nick will be developing the skills needed as a future leader to find new ways for America to compete effectively in the global marketplace and even more importantly, to contribute to a more peaceful world."

The Balkan country of Bosnia and Herzegovina was known formally as Yugoslavia. During his stay, Nick will be living with a host family in Sarajevo. With a population of over 300,000 people, Sarajevo is the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the largest city in the country. Often called the "Jerusalem of Europe" or the "Jerusalem of the Balkans," Sarajevo is famous for its traditional religious diversity. Adherents of Islam, Orthodox Christianity, Catholicism, and Judaism have coexisted there for centuries.

During his participation in the YES Abroad program Nick will be at the forefront of citizen diplomacy, serving as a “youth ambassador” in his host country to promote mutual understanding by building lasting relationships with his host family, fellow students, and through community engagement in volunteer service and leadership training. As a fully immersive experience, the program is intended to allow participants to develop the skills necessary to be future American leaders in the global community.

Students will have the opportunity to take part in various activities to maximize their interaction with local peers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Activities may include field trips, sporting events, cultural excursions, social outings, and community service projects. Examples of previous enrichment activities include:

- Meeting with the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy

- Community service activities, such as volunteering at local shelters, participating in clothes and food drives, clean-up campaigns, and helping organizations that work with children with disabilities or orphanages. Participation in volunteering activities in honor of Global Youth Service Day has also been a tradition with YES Abroad students in Bosnia since the launch of the program in 2012

- Exploring the countries' cities and towns, their local leaders and the people who live there, including Mostar, Tuzla,Travnik, Pocitelj, and Trebinje

- Cultural days with Bosnian YES alumni, who studied in the United States

The Kennedy-Lugar YES program was first authorized by the U.S. Congress in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, as an effort to increase dialogue and understanding between the U.S. and countries with significant Muslim populations. Nick will be involved with citizen diplomacy, serving to help promote better relations and mutual understanding in another part of our world.

Nick and the other students awarded with this prestigious scholarship in Bosnia can be followed on this blog:

http://www.yes-abroad.org/stories/country/bosnia-and-herzegovina