The Bundestag marked the 25th anniversary of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program (CBYX), known in German as the Parlamentarisches Patenschafts-Programm (PPP), at a special event in Berlin this spring.

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CBYX students with Bundestag President Norbert Lammert, Ambassador Scharioth, and members of the Bundestag in the cupola of the Reichstag Building.

(© Deutscher Bundestag / Lichtblick / Achim Melde)

The CBYX/PPP is a bilateral exchange program that was founded in 1983 by the U.S. Congress and the German Bundestag to commemorate 300 years of the first sizable, stable, and distinctly German settlement in America, which was established at Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1683. The two national parliaments also wanted to celebrate the special friendship between their two countries. Since the program’s inception, more than 18,500 American and German high school students and young professionals have been able to visit each other’s countries for a period of one year to attend local schools and perform internships at various businesses, respectively. They thus have had the unique opportunity to experience everyday life by staying with their host families and making new friends and colleagues at work, an experience which is growing ever more vital in today’s globalized world.

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Bundestag President Norbert Lammert welcomed the 350 current American CBYX participants at the event.

(© Deutscher Bundestag / Lichtblick / Achim Melde)

Together with numerous U.S. congressmen, including Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) and Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO), as well as Deputy Chief of Mission John M. Koenig of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, Bundestag President Norbert Lammert welcomed the 350 American CBYX participants who were just ending their stay in Germany at the event on May 29, 2009. Mr. Lammert referred to them as “young ambassadors” of their country and asked them to continue fostering their relationship to Germany. He thanked all the host families, exchange organizations, and the Bundestag administration for their support of the students and the CBYX/PPP program in general. German Ambassador to the US Klaus Scharioth also took part in the event.

Rep. Carnahan read a letter from Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, thanking all those who have supported the program and emphasized the important role experience abroad plays in one's personal development as well as towards building a more peaceful world.

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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton addressed the group via a video recording.

(© John Self, US Embassy Berlin)

In addition, a video greeting from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was shown.  In her message of greetings, Secretary Clinton underlined the significance of the CBYX/PPP program and the knowledge gained abroad.  Exchanges were an important tool of U.S. diplomacy, she emphasized. Secretary Clinton also went on to say that she hoped the participants’ experience abroad would enlighten and enrich their lives, enhance their capacity to serve as global citizens in the future, and advance the already strong bond between Germany and the United States.

Harmon Kong, one of the first students who attended the program, supports the statement: “I can still remember others asking me why a finance major would want to spend a year abroad in a place I knew so little about and where I did not speak the language. I certainly had my second thoughts […] However, my CBYX year turned out to be one of the best opportunities available to grow personally and professionally, taking me out of my comfort zone and helping me understand myself better and become more confident and personable.”