Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange
The Alliance for International Exchange (formerly Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange" is an association of non-governmental exchange programs in the United States. The Alliance was founded in 1993 following the merger of the International Exchange Association and the Liaison Group for International Educational Exchange. Following this merger, the Alliance became the sole collective voice of the 76 non-governmental organization exchange programs for the purpose of developing a unified public policy voice. Guiding principles. The Alliance's stated mission is "to formulate and promote public policies that support the growth  and well being of international exchange links between the people of the United States and other nations". The Alliance operates under five guiding principles: The Alliance produces specific recommendations for public policy makers concerning the exchange organizations that it represents. Further, it provides an opportunity for the leaders of the various exchange organizations to come together and exchange ideas or concerns. One of the core organizational activities of the Alliance is the spreading of public awareness of the role of exchange programs in meeting real demands. View on exchange programs. The Alliance has four stated views on the role that  exchange programs play in international relations. First, the Alliance believes that participants who engage in exchange programs and those who encounter exchange program participants experience a change in understanding of other cultures. Secondly, these types of exchanges allow for participants and others to grow and to develop new or refined skills. The third role is economic as people brought to the United States necessarily expend money and benefit local economies. The final role that the Alliance states is integral to exchange programs is in leadership training. The Alliance believes that exchange programs advance leadership skills that may be used in  the future in finding solutions to the critical problems facing the United States, domestically and internationally.