Washington, DC - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky will co-host a reception at the U.S. Institute of Peace at 12 p.m. on September 12, 2016, to highlight a new partnership to support the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program in China.

The collaboration between Airbnb and the Gilman Program, an outcome of the June 2016 Consultation on People-to-People Exchange (CPE) that was mutually agreed upon by the United States and China, supports the State Department’s goal of expanding opportunities for students of limited financial means to study abroad. The State Department is working through public-private partnerships like this one to provide more opportunities for American students to study abroad.

The State Department’s Gilman Program, implemented in collaboration with the Institute of International Education, provides need-based scholarships to U.S. undergraduates who have been traditionally underrepresented in study or internships abroad. Additional funding support is available for students studying critical languages, including Chinese.