Phoenix Sister Cities 2027 Youth Ambassador Exchange Program Application

Please read the instructions below in full.

Thank you for your interest in the 2027 Phoenix Sister Cities Youth Ambassador Exchange Program!

Applicants are advised that this application process is in the nature of a job application. Answers to essay questions should demonstrate why the applicant should be considered for the position of Youth Ambassador.

You have the opportunity to save your responses and return to the application at a later time. Your answers are saved via your IP address, so to continue working on your application you must return to this link using the same computer. You must complete a page and click "next" before navigating away from the page for that page's answers to be saved. However, it is highly recommended to complete short answer and essay questions in a separate document and copy and paste once ready for submission.

Once this section is complete, the last page will contain a link to take you to a second section, a Parent/Legal Guardian portion. Please note that your application is not complete until both sections have been filled.

Nomination Form

In addition to this application, a nomination form must be submitted on your behalf from a teacher, coach, school counselor, or community leader familiar with your qualities.

Nomination forms are available to a nominating party online at:
2027 Youth Ambassador Nomination Form
(https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F2LGCXM)

Nominations should be submitted by the application deadline. Please do not submit multiple nomination forms. Multiple nomination submissions may lower your score as only the least favorable one will be considered.

Mandatory Calendar

Please review the YAEP 2027 Calendar attached or using the link below.
Mandatory Calendar for Applicants

Finalists are required to attend Exploration Day and the Finalist Interviews.

Selected Candidates must attend ALL upcoming meetings, interviews and events listed on the calendar in the months prior to departure, including training sessions and city committee meetings. In some cases, parents or guardians are required to attend as well. Missing an event may result in dismissal from the program.

Please note, Youth Ambassadors are generally hosted abroad for 3 weeks in June/early July; dates vary by sister city. Youth Ambassadors host their counterparts in Phoenix for 3 weeks in July.

Eligibility

Applicants must be in their Sophomore or Junior years of high school at the time of application, and must be residents of the City of Phoenix as determined by council district. To discover your council district, please visit: https://www.phoenix.gov/mayorcouncil/find-my-council-district

Applicants must be US Citizens with the ability to obtain a valid US passport. Parents of participants do not need to be US citizens.

Applicants must be willing to serve to any of Phoenix's eleven sister cities: Calgary, Canada; Catania, Italy; Chengdu, China; Ennis, Ireland; Grenoble, France; Hermosillo, Mexico; Himeji, Japan; Prague, Czech Republic; Ramat Gan, Israel; Suwon, South Korea; and Taipei, Taiwan.

Applicants are not given a choice or preference during the selection process to ensure the best possible fit with a Sister City. The selection panel determines city placements considering a variety of factors, including personality, cohort, number of spots available in each city that year, and safety factors.

Important Application Notes

Phoenix Sister Cities (“PSC”) will disqualify any applicant found to have provided false or misleading information on the application or in interviews.

Applicants selected to serve as Youth Ambassadors and their families will be required to agree to PSC's participation agreements (see signature pages section below). These are legal contracts between participants and PSC.

Hosting a foreign Youth Ambassador is an integral part of the program. Applicants and their families are advised that to determine their ability to fulfill their role as a host family, the family must consent to a home inspection. Additionally, all adult residents of the host household will be required to provide necessary information for, and consent to, the running of a criminal background check on themselves. Persons aged 18 or older will be deemed adults for this purpose. Existence of a felony conviction by any adult in the household at any time in the past will be grounds for exclusion of that household to serve as a host family in the program. Results of the background checks are treated confidentially. Failure of an applicant’s household to qualify as a host family due to a felony conviction will not disqualify that applicant from serving as a Youth Ambassador.

Unusual circumstances surrounding hosting can be taken into consideration. Please discuss any potential hosting concerns with the Program Coordinator. Participants are selected exclusively based upon their individual merits demonstrated in the application and interview process.

Contracts

To better understand what obligations come with acceptance to the program, applicants, their families and others wishing to serve as hosts are encouraged to read the agreements before submitting an application. Contracts are due by the Finalist Information Meeting.

Copies of required documents can be viewed online at:
https://www.phoenixsistercities.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Youth-Amb-Contract-Set.09-27-14.pdf 

Scholarships

WE ENCOURAGE ALL APPLICANTS TO FILL OUT THE SCHOLARSHIP PORTION.

Need-based scholarships are available. We calculate scholarship eligibility based off the Phoenix median family income for the prior tax year. Scholarships are awarded as a percentage of the cost of the program, dispersed in 25% increments (25%, 50%, 75% and 100%) of total program costs, including deposit, airfare, travel insurance, and a hosting stipend (for 100% scholarships only).

The optional scholarship application is included in the parent portion of the application process. You must apply for scholarships at the time of your application.

The estimated costs of the program can be found here.

State Department Advisories Regarding Travel to Troubled Areas

Be aware that the United States Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, publishes travel alerts and warnings respecting travel to troubled areas. These are available online at: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html

YOUR APPLICATION IS FOR POTENTIAL TRAVEL TO ANY ONE OF PHOENIX'S SISTER CITIES.

Applicants to become Youth Ambassadors and their families should read the most recent travel alerts and warnings that may have been issued regarding travel to any Sister City. You will be required to certify in the application that you have read the postings, if any.