Project: Change Scholarship

Applications have closed for 2020

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What is Project: Change?

Project: Change is a study abroad scholarship opportunity that encourages U.S. high school students to imagine and build a more sustainable world. Because that’s what changemakers do – they seek to understand the challenges others face and help create new ways to face those challenges, together. They are not lone heroes. Changemakers are collaborators and allies. They work with communities, not for them. They empower everyone to be a changemaker.

In this changemaking spirit, 15 to 18-year-old U.S. students are invited to propose a project idea for this sustainable development scholarship that works toward one (or a few) of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in a relevant country in the AFS Global Prep network.

Scholarship Details

Scholarship Type: Merit-based
Scholarship Values: One Student receives a Full Scholarship; Two Students receive $2,000 Partial Scholarships
Applicable Programs: Summer 2020 Global Prep in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Hungary, Ireland, Kenya, and New Zealand
Application Deadline: The Summer 2020 deadline has passed. Applications for 2021 will open in August.
Applicants must meet the following minimum eligibility requirements:

Be a 15 to 18-year-old by June 2020 (approximately when the program abroad will begin).
Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
NOT be an AFS Returnee (i.e. you have not studied abroad with AFS already).

The full scholarship recipient will go on the Global Prep program in the country where they based their project proposal. This program will have added opportunities to explore and learn about international development, changemaking, and the Sustainable Development Goals. The two partial scholarship recipients will have the option to use their scholarship funds to join the full scholarship winner on this modified program or go on a different Global Prep program of their choosing.

How to Apply

Essay Requirements & Judging Criteria

In their own words, applicants must write a project proposal essay that answers both of the following prompts (in min. 500 – max 1500 words):

Choose one to three of the Sustainable Development Goals for your project proposal. Why are you passionate about meeting the Goal(s) you chose? If you have chosen more than one Goal, explain how they are related.
What project would you propose to help meet your chosen Goal(s) in one of the available AFS Countries? Demonstrate the relevance of your proposed project to the Goals and communities in the country chosen.

Need help with the writing process? Use our guide to writing a great Project: Change essay!

All submissions will be reviewed by the Judges Panel based on the following criteria:

A demonstrated understanding of the chosen Sustainable Development Goal(s) and its implications in the applicable AFS Global Prep country chosen (25%);
Creativity and originality (25%);
Quality of research and writing, including cited sources and formatting (25%); and
Feasibility, relevance, and potential impact of the proposed project to the chosen Goal(s) and communities in the chosen country (25%).

Applications are closed for Summer 2020. Check back in August when the scholarship application reopens for Summer 2021.

See other Scholarships

Why apply for Project: Change?

Since 2014, AFS Project: Change has inspired thousands of teens to analyze the issues that affect our world and develop innovative solutions to address them. Scholarship recipients have learned and served communities in Colombia, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Kenya, and Russia. Every student who applies can…

Learn about global issues and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Develop research, critical thinking, problem-solving, interdisciplinary, and communication skills.
Cultivate intercultural intelligence and become a changemaker.
On college applications, show a passion for addressing international, social problems.
Be considered for a scholarship to study abroad on a 1 to 3-week summer program with AFS.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Choose a goal. Identify a country. Enter a proposal. Be a changemaker.

In 2015, countries of the United Nations set the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (aka. Global Goals or SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. AFS-USA has aligned the Project: Change scholarship and more short summer programs with the Global Goals to amplify, and encourage action toward, its ambitious vision for a sustainable, peaceful world.

Choose a goal to learn more about the underlying issues, specific objectives, and AFS programs that address them.

Applicable Countries

To develop a Project: Change scholarship proposal, click on a country to learn more and start imagining new ways to reach the Sustainable Development Goals there. Every Sustainable Development Goal applies to every country in the world, but only these specific countries in the AFS Global Prep network are available for Project: Change applications.

For students and educators, find extensive resources below to help craft a proposal for our sustainable development scholarships or to teach sustainable development and changemaking.

Sustainable Development 101

We the People for the Global Goals A celebrity-packed video from the Global Goals promoting the UN’s Global Goals. (3 mins)
Introducing the Global Goals and World’s Largest Lesson, Part 1 with Malala An animation from the World’s Largest Lesson with Malala that introduces the idea of sustainable development, The Global Goals, and World’s Largest Lesson. (5 mins)
Introducing the Global Goals and World’s Largest Lesson, Part 2 with Emma Watson An animation from the World’s Largest Lesson with Emma Watson that gives examples of projects working to impact the Global Goals. (5 mins)
What is Sustainable Development? An animated short from the World’s Largest Lesson that defines sustainable development and explains how and why it is so important for our world.
Sustainable Development Goals: 17 Goals to Transform our World The primary source of information about the UN Sustainable Development Goals (aka. The Global Goals). Get an overview or dig deeper into the specific targets that make up the goals, the social problems underlying them, and work being done to reach them.
The Global Goals homepage General insights and many resources that dive into the Global Goals.
Global Citizenship in Action: Accomplishing Sustainable Development Goals An article from AFS International that interviews two AFS Trustees (who are experts in development and education) about the importance of the SDGs and how we can achieve them together.
SDG Index And Dashboards Report 2018: Global Responsibilities Annual overview of countries’ performance on the 17 SDGs from the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Search by country or focus on a goal within this long, detailed report that tracks the world’s progress toward the goals.

Changemaker 101

The Story of Ashoka An animated video from Ashoka detailing the story of Ashoka and their mission.
Ashoka is… A video from Ashoka in which members of the Ashoka community define their impact as an organization.
How to Become a Changemaker in Today’s World A TedxTalk by Miguel Joey Aviles in which he unpacks the conscious decision of becoming a changemaker.
#LeadYoung – Great Changemakers Start in their Youth From Ashoka, an overview of Ashoka Lead Young, “a campaign that demonstrates, through storytelling, the power of young people who have dreamed a problem-solving dream, formed and led a team, and created a solution that changed their world.”
Ashoka Youth Venture Homepage From Ashoka, the homepage of Ashoka’s Youth Venture that “works with young people and partners to co-create tools and programs that help young people self-identify as changemakers and master critical pathways for thriving as changemakers.”
Sustainable Community Development: From What’s Wrong to What’s Strong A TedX Talk on how to build solutions based on existing strengths of communities in need.
Venture Guide: S.M.A.R.T. Goals A video from Ashoka that discusses the importance of setting Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Timely goals to ensure success.
Stop Trying to Save the World: Big Ideas are Destroying International Development A critical essay from the New Republic that gives examples of international development projects that have unintended negative consequences because they do not fully understand the contexts in which they try to make change. The author argues for more careful, slower scaling of new models and localizing international development ideas so they better account for the differences across communities and how those differences affect the implementation and effectiveness of projects that have succeeded elsewhere.

Inspiring Project Examples

Changemakers Take Action: Examples from The Global Goals for Sustainable Development Six examples of young changemakers from the World’s Largest Lesson taking action to help drive toward The Global Goals.
Global Changemakers Youth-Led Development Projects A map of Global Changemakers projects by region to explore hundreds of youth-driven development solutions in action.
Becoming a Changemaker An article from YES Programs that discusses how to become a changemaker and highlights one student’s project, Helpers for Helpers, which aims to empower Thai students to speak English.
Want to Be the Change? 16 Inspirational Alumni Grant Projects A list from YES Programs of 16 inspirational projects created by YES alumni.

Lesson Plans for Educators

Intercultural Learning

Basic Intercultural Terminology From AFS, definitions for intercultural, cross-cultural, multicultural, intercultural learning, intercultural competence, intercultural communication, ethnocentrism, ethnorelativism, cultural informant, and cultural deviants or outliers.
Concepts and Theories of Culture From AFS, three models of culture – the iceberg, the onion, and the tree – provide a visually-engaging way to teach that culture includes both visible and underlying, partially-hidden, or invisible phenomena. Consider discussing these models and applying them to American cultures.
Tools to Suspend Judgment From AFS, these models of interaction can help students understand that just coming to a mutual understanding across cultures requires careful communication.
AFS Educational Goals Trying to fit changemaking into your required curriculum? These educational goals can help you connect these lessons to required standards, and give students a better sense of expected learning outcomes.
Debriefing Experiential Learning In many ways, the Project: Change trip is experiential learning in action. To help students grasp that idea, you can show them Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle.

Teach Project: Change

With these lesson plans and resources, educators can seamlessly bring Project: Change into their classrooms to teach global issues, cultivate students’ intercultural intelligence across subject areas, and inspire them to produce quality work for an external audience (i.e. us!).

To take a lesson or full unit of study to the next level, we’ve collaborated with iEARN (International Education and Resource Network) to enable teachers to connect with other classrooms virtually to discuss sustainable development, changemaking principles, and project ideas.

Download the Lesson Plan

Apply for the Project: Change Scholarships

Once you’ve done some research, brainstorming, and writing, submit your essay to be considered for the scholarships! Applications are closed for Summer 2020.

See other Scholarships

Powered by AFS Global Prep

Global Prep offers one to three-week summer programs that connect impactful cultural experiences with Sustainable Development Goals. Eight Global Prep countries are available for Project: Change proposals. For more destinations and program topics, check out Global Prep.

Three scholarships for students to go abroad and learn to solve social problems affecting human rights and sustainability

Applications have closed for 2020

What is Project: Change?

Scholarship Details

How to Apply

Essay Requirements & Judging Criteria

Applications are closed for Summer 2020. Check back in August when the scholarship application reopens for Summer 2021.

Why apply for Project: Change?

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Choose a goal. Identify a country. Enter a proposal. Be a changemaker.

Choose a goal to learn more about the underlying issues, specific objectives, and AFS programs that address them.

Applicable Countries

Argentina

Brazil

Colombia

Costa Rica

Hungary

Ireland

Kenya

New Zealand

Resources