Do you want to become a youth leader & spend 4 weeks in the U.S.? Participate in the BFTF competition!

Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellows

“Make a short video in English to participate in our competition to earn a nomination for a prestigious youth program in the United States during the summer of 2018.”

U.S. Embassy The Hague is looking for the Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellow for 2018!  Are you Dutch and will you be 16 or 17 years old on June 24, 2018?  Are you ready for the experience of a lifetime?  Then send in your video application (see instructions below) and you could be selected for a four-week Summer Institute in the United States!

The 2018 Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellows Summer Institute for Youth will last four weeks, in June and July, 2018 (exact dates to be announced), at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  The goals of the Institute are:

 to develop a commitment to transatlantic cooperation;
 to foster relationships between American and European youth from different ethnic, religious, and national groups;
 to promote mutual understanding between the United States and Europe;
 to develop a cadre of youth leaders who will share their knowledge and skills with their peers through positive action.

The four-week Institute will accommodate up to 55 Fellows total. The Institute will host 45 European students and 10 Americans.  Institute activities include discussion of global issues of common interest, leadership and media training, collaborative project development, community service, educational travel, and plans for follow-on activities.

Recruitment/Candidate profile:
The successful candidate should be 16 or 17 years old, have a strong interest in learning more about the transatlantic relationship, the role of a free press in a democracy, and an interest in public or community service. Candidates should demonstrate a strong interest in communications, advocacy, debate, or civic participation.
They should have the academic aptitude for a program of this nature and personal qualities needed to be successful participants, including maturity, strong social skills, flexibility, and open-mindedness. These factors are particularly important given the diverse group atmosphere of the Institute. English fluency is required.

This program is only open to Dutch citizens and legal permanent residents of the Netherlands.

We will select the nominees based on an application video and a follow-up interview.  In your video, you should discuss what you think you can contribute to the BFTF program and how you plan to use the gained insights and skills when you return to the Netherlands.  The video must feature you speaking prominently in English on the topic, although other visuals are acceptable, so don’t be afraid to be creative!

Your video should not be longer than 5 minutes.

Videos must be sent by Sunday, January 28, 2018 to the following e-mail address:  irc_hague@yahoo.com with the subject line: “BFTF 2018 – Video Application″

Don’t forget to include the following information in the body of your email:

 First and Last Name:
 Age and Date of Birth:
 City of Birth :
 Home Address:
 Nationality:
 Telephone/Cell Number:
 Email address:
 Name and address of your school:
 Your extracurricular activities

The makers of the best videos will be invited for a follow-up interview in English at the U.S. Embassy in The Hague in February, 2018.  The selected candidates will be announced mid-April, 2018.