Iowa Resource For International Service (IRIS)

IRIS promotes international understanding, development, and peace by connecting Iowa to individuals and communities worldwide.

IRIS is a nonprofit, non-religious organization founded in 1993 and located in Ames, Iowa. Our mission is to promote international understanding, development, and peace. Through several grant programs, IRIS brings students, journalists, business people, educators, and government leaders to Iowa from Africa, Central and Eastern Europe and Asia. IRIS works with the U.S. State Department on the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program to place foreign exchange high school students in Iowa for an academic year. The YES program helps students from all over the globe expand their worldview and participate in a traditional high school exchange program in the U.S. YES students are hosted by an Iowan family and become active in their community and school activities. Another program facilitated by IRIS is Community Connections. This multi-year program is currently administered by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and World Learning. The participants of Community Connections are hosted by volunteer American families and are placed in internships with business and nonprofit organizations related to their professional backgrounds. They are provided a broad cross-section of training methodoligies including seminars, site visits, consultations, and job-shadowing experiences, among others. IRIS was founded in 1993 by Iowa's former Lieutenant Governor, Robert Anderson. IRIS has brought more than 1,600 international visitors to Iowa for various programs from 41 different countries. IRIS has been working with the YES program since 2002 and has placed and supported 280 foreign exchange high school students in communities across Iowa. IRIS first brought the Community Connections Program to Iowa in January 1997. In 2006, IRIS won the National Award for Outstanding Achievement in Citizen Diplomacy by the US Center for Citizen Diplomacy. In 2013, IRIS received a certificate of recognition from the Iowa House of Representatives and the Iowa Senate.