WILTON — An informational social featuring an unusual State-Department-sponsored exchange program will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, at the library on Main Street.

David Olson and Paula Widmer, local coordinators for American Councils’ four exchange student programs, invite interested residents to join them for a casual presentation and sharing about getting involved at varying levels of commitment with high school students from more than 30 collaborating countries.

The Youth Exchange & Studies program brings selected students to the United States from predominantly Muslim countries; the Future Leaders Exchange Program  from former Soviet Union countries; American Serbia and Montenegro Youth Leadership Exchange involving Serbia and Montenegro; and Exchanges for Culture, Education & Leadership Program from Lithuania.

Two hundred high school students are chosen from many hundreds of applicants, carefully vetted for State-Department-funded scholarships through testing, multiple interviews, academic performance, teacher recommendations, maturity level, personal goals and commitment to international peace and justice. The incoming students comprise the best of the best in each of their countries.

The YES program was the post-9/11 brainchild of senators Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and Richard Lugar, R-Ind., to institute “public diplomacy” by using the interaction of common people from one country with common people from another as a means of building a bridge of understanding and tolerance between two otherwise misaligned or maligned cultures.

Last year Olson and Widmer hosted a 16-year-old boy from Afghanistan, an experience that changed their lives. It was so enlightening, broadening and rewarding, they said.

The student charmed and opened the hearts and minds of folks all over Franklin County as he mingled and chatted and shared cultures with them. It is because of their wonderful experience that the couple decided to stay involved with American Councils in an official capacity.

This school year the couple have placed two students in the local area: Sonja, a girl from Serbia with a sparkling personality and a daunting array of languages is attending Mt. Blue High School; and Nayab, a girl from Pakistan at Gardiner Area High School, who loves high school theater activities and can be seen riding her bicycle in her flowing scarf and tunic with a reflective vest.

The girls and their host parents will be at the April 4 social to talk about their experiences sharing space and cultures.

Some topics to be covered at the discussion: hosting a student for the 10-month school term and what that entails; serving as a short-term, temporary home for a student who is still awaiting a permanent placement; inviting a student who lives with a host family out to dinner or a movie or for a drive to the coast or for a special event; providing respite for a host family who has an unexpected situation; and simply acting as an overall Friend of the Exchange Program.

An RSVP would be appreciated. Email to [email protected] or call 645-9707