Each year during the week before Thanksgiving, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education jointly host International Education Week (IEW), a national effort to promote programs that prepare youth with 21st century skills in today’s globalized world and to attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange life experiences with Americans. 

In honor of International Education Week this year (November 16-20), the YES program hosted a Digital Storytelling Webinar on November 9 at 9am ET, facilitated by award-winning film experts Wendy Jacques and Austin Haeberle. During this 90-minute webinar, participants learned about creating impact videos and telling their own impact story about cultural exchange to an international audience. Watch the recording of the Digital Storytelling Webinar here! 

Following the webinar, YES alumni had the chance to share their impact videos with the world by participating in the Video Your World Challenge! Using the skills they learned from the Digital Storytelling Webinar, YES alumni created and submitted their own impact videos about cultural exchange, to be shared out on the YES program website and social media platforms during International Education Week.

Take a look at Jarin Tasnim Raisa's submission (iEARN Student & YES Alumna)!

But wait, there's more! On November 24th at 10 a.m. ET, the YES Program will be hosting an IEW Film Festival, where YES alumni producers from Bangladesh, Mali, India, Indonesia, Ghana and Nigeria will attend to share their filmmaking process.