As you read before, in partnership with AFS Intercultural Programs USA, Teens of Color Abroad (TOCA), and National Education Equity Lab (NEEL), we sent 5 students on AFS summer programs to Spain, France, and Egypt. In this school year, we are expanding the Richard S. and Doris M. Cohen Scholarship Program to 5 additional organizations; a total of 7 partner non-profit organizations are invited to send 2 students abroad to any summer program offered by AFS. Yup, you read that correctly, 5 more partner organizations are invited to each send 2 students abroad next year!

TOCA shares, “In a recent study by the Institute of International Education, of the 189,000 U.S. college students who studied abroad in the 2021/2022 academic year, only 5% identified as Black or African American.” Open Horizon is committed to addressing the barriers to the opportunity to study abroad for BIPOC students with our collaboration with AFS and their Faces of America Program in whatever ways our foundation can disrupt this systemic inequity. The program, housed with AFS, is centered on addressing this same issue that TOCA is founded on; TOCA’s mission is “to cultivate the next generation of globally conscious youth of color through full language immersion study abroad experiences.”

Reflecting on the life-altering experience that study abroad can offer, and the lack of access to underrepresented and marginalized communities, Open Horizon is thrilled to expand this opportunity to get more teens of color into programs that advance their language learning, expose them to new languages and cultures, and may guide them on a career path in international development, diplomatic relations, or foreign affairs. “A lack of diversity deprives government agencies of the talent needed to effectively advance U.S. foreign policy interests, experts say,” reports an article from the Council on Foreign Relations.

In a recent welcome call with our partners focused on education justice, who are invited to send young scholars abroad with this AFS partnership, the Open Horizon team shared the origin stories of our first exposures to study abroad and international exchange. We reflected on the value of sharing across differences, practicing cultural competence by expanding awareness of what is effective and appropriate while considering multiple perspectives, challenging ourselves to try new things, and taking risks while learning.

While we have just wrapped up our inaugural year of the Richard S. and Doris M. Cohen Scholarship Program with AFS, Open Horizon is anticipating much more learning of what is needed to enhance the opportunity with more BIPOC scholars headed abroad in 2025.  In our program, the full cost of student experience is covered, and we are excited about the expanded destinations offered by AFS, including Ghana and China. Open Horizon also offers all our Cohen scholars a travel stipend based on the country of travel selected and covers the cost of domestic travel if needed.

We learned that our scholars have much to say when returning and their families are eager to celebrate their success and experience. We are planning to host a much larger report-out for our anticipated 14 scholars returning from travels around the world in summer of 2025. Our scholars are the “more” and we hope we are listening as they guide the evolution of our scholars’ program. We are unapologetic with our commitment to increasing diversity in global leadership with this action toward small measurable change, and we affirm that we and our partners must acknowledge the limited racial diversity and representation of marginalized groups guiding international development and diplomacy.

By D’Lynn Jacobs, Open Horizon Executive Director