SAYA exchanges combine educational immersion with cultural learning to create a generation of youth with a global vision.
T
he Ameson Foundation is a non-profit entity committed to promoting mutual understanding between China and the west. As directed by our Honorary Chairman Dr. Boutros Boutros Ghali (former Secretary General of the U.N.), the key to future peace lies with our youth.
Ameson’s Sino-American Youth Ambassadors (SAYA) exchange program seeks to fulfill this message, drawing additional inspiration from a speech delivered by President Barack Obama during his first visit to China in 2009 calling for increased educational cooperation and closer academic ties between the two nations.
Open to both American and Chinese students, SAYA is designed to bring greater international awareness and cultural diversity to high school campuses, with students serving as cultural ambassadors in both countries. As Chinese schools internationalize, these exchanges will be more and more frequent.
Exchanges usually occur during holiday breaks, which fall at different places in the academic semester between China and the West. This allows both Chinese and American students to experience high school life abroad without missing any school days.
SAYA students receive a thorough orientation before leaving their home countries.
Chinese students…
American students…
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In 2012, SAYA students had the honor to meet Vice-President Joe Biden and then Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping during an exchange in Los Angeles.In July and August 2012, a group of nearly two dozen American students—over half of whom were U.S. Presidential Scholars—were invited to join a two week exchange program in China. The American SAYA students stayed in the dorms at Beijing No. 4 High School, received classes in the Chinese language and culture and interacted with their Chinese peers. After the Chinese students departed, the students embarked on several days of sight-seeing, including a trip to the Great Wall, a walking tour of Beijing’s hutongs, and a demonstration of Chinese wushu.
SAYA 2013 kicked off in February with nearly 100 Chinese students destined for schools such as Belmont HS, Thomas Jefferson HS, Providence Day School and more. As their arrival coincided with the most important Chinese holiday of the year, Chinese New Year, students took the opportunity to introduce their American classmates and host families to the festival’s traditions. After a week in the classroom environment, some students then visited the nation’s capital with other groups trekking to Boston’s university towns. Later in the year, students from Branson High School visited Shanghai Gezhi, and students from Providence Day School visited Jinling High School's Hexi campus in return exchanges.
“It was a pleasure and wonderful learning experience for our community to these terrific kids and chaperone. You should be proud of not only how responsible they are but also of how kind and warm and engaging they are.”
—Sim Pearl, Headmaster, The Weber School (Atlanta)
“Our week with Emily was so enriching for everyone in our house, as well as for my daughter's friends. Emily brought us great stories from her life in China and her experiences of growing up in a different culture. In exchange, we were able to share with her a slice of our lives in Maryland. She was lively and fun and really bonded with all of us. We already miss her.”
—The Carrol Family, The Bullis School, (Washington DC)
“It was so lucky for me to be hosted by my American buddy, Lily and her family. They are the warmest and nicest people I have ever met. Staying with them gave me the best opportunity to have a taste of real American family life, and I learned the difference between American and Chinese high school life.”
—Zhu, Shanghai High School (hosted by Belmont HS, MA)