AFS Intercultural Programs (formely the American Field Service) is a worldwide, nonprofit organization that has been leading student exchange for more than 55 years. AFS was founded by volunteer ambulance drivers who survived World War I and II. They believed—as AFS believes today—that the way to build a more just and peaceful world begins when people from different countries and cultures meet, learn together, and better understand one another. The drivers sought to promote international understanding and peace through student exchanges. In 1947, AFS exchanged 52 young people from 11 countries formerly at war.

Today, AFS exchanges more than 14,000 students each year among a partnership of more than 55 AFS Partner Countries. There are more than 300,000 individuals who have studied abroad with AFS. AFS Returnees live in more than 100 countries around the world. AFS is one of the largest volunteer-based organizations of its kind in the world with 100,000 volunteers worldwide and more than 8,000 in the U.S.