AYA is sponsored by the American Institute For Foreign Study (AIFS) Foundation , a not-for-pr ofit organizati on founded in 1967 with the assistance of the late Se nator Robert F. Kennedy. Its mission is to promote worldwide understand ing through cultural exchange. The Foundation awards grants to high schools for projects that encourage intercultu ral awareness. It also provides scholarshi ps that enable young Americans to study and travel abroad. AYA is a proud administra tor of two U.S. State Department grants: the FLEX program, which welcomes students from Eurasia, the former Soviet Union states; and the YES program, which welcomes students to the U.S. from predominantly Muslim countries.