57 Kennedy-Lugar YES Students from U.S. Exchange Program 

Jakarta: Fifty-seven Indonesian high school students returned home after completing a 10-month exchange program in the United States through the U.S. Department of State-funded Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program for the 2024–2025 academic year.

The students acted as “youth ambassadors,” sharing Indonesian culture while building mutual understanding with their host families, schools, and local communities across the United States. 

The YES program in Indonesia is administered by Bina Antarbudaya–AFS Indonesia in partnership with the U.S. Embassy Jakarta’s Public Affairs Office. The students were welcomed back during a homecoming celebration hosted by the Embassy on June 9 in Jakarta.  

“The YES program is one of our favorite exchange programs because it allows young Indonesians to meet and study with young Americans and live with American families, in American communities,” said U.S. Embassy Charge d’Affaires Heather Merritt, quoted from US Embassy release Jakarta, June 10 2025.

“This is the heart of diplomacy.? Together, through people-to-people exchanges, we are creating relationships that will last a lifetime,” added Merritt.

“From my own perspective and experience, I have grown to become a person who truly is a global citizen. Through living in the United States, I become independent, calm, constructive, thoughtful, and open,” said Jhon Paul Thommbe, one of the YES students from Ende, East Nusa Tenggara who was hosted in Washington state. 

Participants are selected through a rigorous merit-based application process and represent provinces across Indonesia, including Aceh, South Sumatera, East Kalimantan, East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, Papua, and Java.

The YES program is a scholarship for high school students aged 15-17 to spend one academic year in the United States living with an American host family, attending high school, acquiring leadership skills, and helping educate Americans about their home country and culture. 

The scholarship covers all living expenses for the year, travel, visas, and health insurance.  The program officially launched in Indonesia in 2003. Since then, almost 2,000 Indonesian students have participated in the YES program.