FY 2026 Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals and Congress-Bundestag/Bundesrat Staff Exchange

About this funding opportunity

The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) invites proposals for cooperative agreements to implement the FY 2026 (Academic Year 2027-2028) Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) for Young Professionals program and outbound Congress-Bundestag/Bundesrat Staff Exchange (CBBSX) travel component. The CBYX for Young Professionals and CBBSX programs advance America’s national interests by building lasting personal and institutional relationships that promote prosperity and security between the United States and Germany.

Key Activities:

CBYX for Young Professionals:

· Approximately 65 American and approximately 65 German participants, ages 18.5-24, engage in year-long academic and professional exchanges.

· American participants complete two months of in-country German language training, study for one semester at a German university, technical, or professional school, and gain practical work experience.

· German participants study for one semester at a U.S. university, college, technical, or professional school and gain practical work experience.

· Both American and German participants live with host families throughout the program year.

CBBSX:

· Ten U.S. Congressional and 10 German parliamentary staffers participate in a short-term reciprocal exchange with each other’s legislatures.

· The U.S. recipient organization provides travel and administrative support for the outbound CBBSX exchange by coordinating round-trip airfare for the U.S. delegation.

Please see the Notice of Funding Opportunity and POGI for additional information.

Topic areas: Education and Training, Digital Society and E-Inclusion, Workforce Development.

Funding amount

This cooperative agreement provides $1.1M-$1.1M in funding, up to $1.1M per award.

Deadline

Applications are due Aug 14, 2026. Confirm the exact closing time on the official program page before applying.

Who can apply

This opportunity is open to the following applicant types:

• University
• NGOs
• Other

Eligibility

Please see full announcement.

Agency

FY 2026 Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals and Congress-Bundestag/Bundesrat Staff Exchange is administered by Bureau Of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), listed via Grants.gov.