On the occasion of its 50th Anniversary, AFS Philippines will post a record number of Filipino scholars going overseas and foreign scholars hosted in the country.

Acting National Director Elizabeth Venzon-Eduave reported that 133 FIlipino scholars will be studying in partner countries, while the country will host 14 scholars, one teacher, and one intern.

67 Year Program scholars—27 YP scholars and 40 YES scholars have begun leaving for their host countries in August 2007.

Under the JENESYS Program, we have 60 scholars and 6 teachers on a short program leaving for Japan in December.

Growing interest in various AFS programs has resulted in a threefold increase in student applications, school participations, and volunteer involvement.

Partners sending and receiving scholars and other program participants to and from the Philippines have also increased to 22 countries.

Miss Eduave attributes the growth in scholarships to the growing awareness of the positive global, community, and personal values of the AFS program. She sees an increasing number of highly engaged volunteers, alumni, academics, and provincial chapters.

The aggressive school campaigns and provincial presentations by members of the Board and the AFS Staff have dramatically raised the profile of AFS as the leading student exchange program in the world. The successful participation and marketing at the New Zealand World Congress in 2006 where the Philippines had the biggest delegation doubled the number of partner countries.

Members of the AFS Philippines Board have expressed high optimism about the quality and quantity of outgoing Filipino scholars due to more intensive screening and greater involvement of schools and alumni.

“As more provincial chapters are activated and engaged in the screening process, AFS momentum in the country will grow further,” said Emma Maligalig-Villena (Batch 15, Ohio), Batangas City Chapter Head,