National Security Language Initiative

NSLI-Y
The National Security Language Initiative
	;
Formation	2006
Founder	• U.S. Department of State
Type	Government initiative
Focus	Language education and cultural diplomacy
Region	United States Host countries:; • South Korea; • Taiwan; • China ; • Jordan; • Morocco; • Kyrgyzstan; • Estonia; • Latvia; • Kazakhstan; • Indonesia; • Turkey; • Tajikistan; ; Historic host countries:; • India; • Egypt; • Russia; • Bangladesh; • Pakistan (Host countries are subject to annual review)
Members	9,200 alumni (2024)
Students	559 scholarship recipients in 2024; ; 535 to be distributed in 2025;
Website	https://www.nsliforyouth.org/

The National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) is a US Department of State ECA program launched in 2006 by President George W. Bush to develop the foreign language skills of American high school students in eight critical-need languages. Korean, Mandarin, Russian, Arabic, Hindi, Bahasa Indonesian, Tajiki, and Turkish are all taught in summer and academic year programs abroad. NSLI-Y is the most prestigious foreign language program available to American high schoolers and many alumni go on to study at Ivy League institutions as well as hold high positions in government and a variety of industries worldwide.