PESHAWAR July 12: A group of six Pakistani students, who returned from the United States after their year-long stay there, were praised for helping bringing closer cultures of the two countries at a reception here on Thursday.

Speaking on the occasion, US Consulate’s Public Affairs Officer Michael Abel lauded the high school students for “building new bridges by sharing Pakistani culture with the new American generation”.

The reception was jointly organised by the Public Affairs section of the US Consulate and the International Education Resource Network.

The six students had travelled to the US under the Youth Exchange and Study programme.The YES programme, funded by the US Department of State, brings high schools students from around the world to the United States for a year of study and interaction with their American peers.

The programme participants live with an American host family and attend classes alongside American students for a whole academic year.

They actively participate in sports, theatre and community service projects alongside their American classmates and serve as cultural ambassadors by sharing their culture with Americans.

During the 2007-08 school year, 58 Pakistani students would participate in the YES programme, including 12 from the NWFP and Fata.—APP