WASHINGTON – The Atlantic Council, in partnership with the Istanbul Policy Center, has launched its third annual Young Turkey/Young America two-week exchange program today.

Funded by the US State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, this dynamic exchange program brings together thirty emerging leaders from Turkey and America to foster closer ties among youth committed to advancing US-Turkish cooperation through dialogue, collaboration, and ongoing projects in both Turkey and the United States.

“Our goal is to increase participants’ understanding of each country, and their ability to address complex political, social, and economic issues,” said Atlantic Council Young Atlanticist Program Director David Kirk. “We’re helping participants develop critical real-world skills such as negotiation, collaboration, and professional networking that will cultivate the next generation of stewards of the US-Turkish bilateral relationship.”

The participants, who were selected after a competitive application process, will travel to Washington, DC, New York City, and Minneapolis for two weeks of small group discussions, interactive projects, and meetings with top policymakers, business leaders, and other experts on a range of topics including US-Turkish relations, the impact of the Arab spring, the economic and political role of Turkey in its neighborhood, immigration issues, and Turkey’s relationships with the European Union. The Council is partnering with the Minnesota International Center in Minneapolis and the American Turkish Society in New York to plan programming in those cities. The group will also spend two weeks in Turkey in spring 2013.

The program was first announced in 2009 by US Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton as part of an ongoing commitment to strengthen US-Turkish relations. Participants range in age from 24 to 35 and are emerging leaders in the government, business, and nonprofit sectors.

Young Turkey/Young America participants are available for interviews and will be tweeting at #YTYA12. See the full list of 2012 participants.

The Atlantic Council is a nonpartisan organization that promotes constructive US leadership and engagement in international affairs based on the central role of the Atlantic community in meeting today’s global challenges. For more information, please visit www.acus.org.

Istanbul Policy Center at Sabanci University is an independent policy research institute with a mission to foster academic research in social sciences and its application to policy making. For more information, please visit www.ipc.sabanciuniv.edu.