| AYUSA | |
| Type: | Non-profit |
| Industry: | Education |
| Foundation: | United States San Francisco |
Ayusa (Ayusa International) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promote global learning and leadership through foreign exchange, study abroad, and leadership programs for high school students from the U.S. and around the world.[1] The organization was co-founded by John Wilhelm and Takeshi Yokota in 1981 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. John Wilhelm and Takeshi Yokota also founded Intrax.
Ayusa is a founding member of the Counsel on Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET) and has received a full listing as an accredited exchange organization for 25 years, since CSIET's inception.[2]
Ayusa matches American host families (in all 50 states) with international high school students between the ages of 15 and 18 years old for an academic year or semester.[3] [4] Ayusa also has various short and long-term study abroad programs for American high school students between the ages of 15 and 18 years old.[5]
Ayusa currently administers several grant programs funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, United States Department of State including the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Programs (YES)[6] [7] [8] and the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program (CBYX).[9] In the past, Ayusa has also administered several other U.S. Department of State grants, including the Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX),[10] the Mexico Youth Leadership Program (Jóvenes en Acción),[11] [12] and the Emerging Youth Leaders Program.