J. Christopher Stevens was an idealistic young man who “had sand in his shoes,” his mother would say: he was always on the move, looking for new adventures.
Inspired by his time in Spain as a high school exchange student, he went on to teach English in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains as a Peace Corps volunteer in the early 1980s. An international trade attorney, he joined the Service of US Foreign Affairs, learned Arabic and spent most of his career in the Middle East and North Africa, a region he loved. He eventually served as the US ambassador to Libya, where he devoted himself to building economic and interpersonal ties between cultures in his humble and optimistic style.
But on September 11, 2012, his story came to an abrupt halt. Ambassador Stevens was killed in Benghazi, Libya, while working to open an American cultural community center and meet with economic and community leaders.
The loss of such a charismatic and dedicated public servant was mourned by many, including Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns, who said at the time that Stevens was one of the “finest officers of his generation in the Abroad… the courage, talent and leadership that would inspire another generation of American diplomats.”
Ten years later, his inspiration does indeed live on, in the form of the Stevens Initiative – a virtual exchange championing global learning, education and connection. With the support of his family, the Stevens Initiative was launched in 2015 in collaboration with the US State Department and the Aspen Institute, the Bezos Family Foundation, and the governments of Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.
The Stevens Initiative supports the growing infrastructure of virtual exchange through convening, advocacy, research and grantmaking for nonprofit organizations and educational institutions. Through these efforts, innovative virtual exchange programs connect tens of thousands of young Americans with their peers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
During the virtual exchange, young professionals and students in elementary school through university engage face-to-face with peers in real time to do everything from discussing social and economic policy to developing engineering and coding solutions.
The Stevens Initiative will have reached 75,000 youth in 17 MENA countries and 49 US states by the summer of 2023, with a pilot in Mexico and further expansion in Latin America to come.
With each passing year, it becomes clearer that global competence is not just a nice thing; it is a must for a new generation of professionals starting their careers.
Through the virtual exchange, young people are addressing issues that divide their countries – from refugee crises and water shortages to poverty and racial trauma. They are collaborating to create new businesses, understand biases and develop negotiation skills for a world that is financially and environmentally interdependent.
Accessibility is key to the power of virtual exchange, leveling the playing field of career success for young people who lack the opportunity to travel. Despite technological limitations in some regions, the pandemic has demonstrated the efficacy of online learning to reach young people in remote parts of the United States and MENA countries.
And the virtual exchange gives. According to a Stevens Initiative 2022 Report based on data collected by RTI international, participants in virtual exchanges reported statistically significant positive changes in global competencies, including perspective-taking, empathy, and intercultural communication and collaboration.
On this 10th anniversary of Ambassador Stevens’ death, the growing reach of virtual exchanges offers a ray of hope in an otherwise bleak historical moment. But much work remains if the virtual exchange is to reach its full potential. The Stevens Initiative is working with commissioners, superintendents of education and other state-level policymakers to incorporate virtual exchange into existing global education certificate programs that recognize the value of global competency skills. Such programs may be tailored to individual school districts or broadly defined by the state, but by combining global subjects with language learning, service learning and participation in multicultural events, these educators are ensuring a more prepared workforce for the future.
Our vision is for all young people to have a meaningful exchange experience as part of their youth. This is the promise of Ambassador Stevens’ legacy, and the legacy must continue.
Christine Shiau is director of the Stevens Initiative.
