Southeast Asia Leadership Program Grant Opportunity

Summary

William & Mary is holding an internal competition for the Department of State's FY 2022 Southeast Asia Leadership Program. The Office of Citizen Exchanges, Youth Programs Division, of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces an open competition for the FY 2022 Southeast Asia Youth Leadership Program (SEAYLP), pending the availability of funds. U.S. public and private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3) may submit proposals to conduct a three-week, U.S.-based youth leadership program for the FY 2022 base year for 60 youth and adult mentors from the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Exchange activities will focus on civic education, leadership, diversity, and community engagement and address ways youth can unite around common goals and lead inclusive change in their communities. Individual or small group follow-on projects in the home communities of the exchange alumni will complete the program.

Full Description

The Southeast Asia Youth Leadership Program (SEAYLP), launched in 2009, empowers youth and strengthens people-to-people ties, cultivating a more cohesive community identity in both the United States and Southeast Asia. The program brings 60 high school students and adult mentors from the ten ASEAN member countries together with approximately 15 competitively selected American high school students for a three-week U.S.-based exchange program focused on leadership, youth development, and the shared challenges faced by the United States and ASEAN member countries. These challenges are explored through the three pillars of the ASEAN community: political and security cooperation (through workshops and seminars), economic skills-building (through the exchange’s project development), and socio-cultural leadership (through hands-on activities and site visits to foster greater communication). Participants develop projects to address one or more needs in their communities upon their return home. Approximately six participants each will come from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
SEAYLP aims to create and foster relationships among young people of ASEAN countries and the United States, instill an awareness of shared values to enable youth in the region to face global challenges together, and underscore Asia as a foreign policy priority for the United States. The program directly supports the strategic goals of strengthening people-to-people ties between the United States and Southeast Asia, engaging young leaders, and cultivating a more cohesive community identity in the region.

Through the program, diverse and intellectually-curious student leaders aged 15 to 17 will participate in an intensive, three-week exchange program in the United States designed to promote high-quality leadership, civic responsibility, and civic engagement among future leaders. Exchange activities will provide an examination of the principles of democracy and civil society as practiced in the United States and provide participants with opportunities to develop their leadership skills.
Participants will be engaged in a range of activities such as seminars, workshops, service projects, community and/or school-based programs, and cultural events. Applicants may obtain further information on the U.S. relationship with ASEAN at the website of the U.S. Mission to ASEAN, http://asean.usmission.gov/.

Applicants should present a program plan that allows the participants to thoroughly explore civic life in the United States in a creative and hands-on way. Programming should be experiential in nature and lecture style classes should be minimal. Activities should be replicable and provide practical knowledge and skills the participants can apply to school and civic activities at home, beginning with projects developed during the exchange. Participants will stay with host families for the majority of the U.S exchange. Applicants should devise a program with multiple opportunities for participants to interact with 15 or more American youth and educators. Applicants should consider providing programming in more than one geographic location in the U.S., including regional day trips and a visit to Washington D.C. The program will be conducted in English.

Mission of the Southeast Asia Youth Leadership Program:
• Instill a sense of civic responsibility, respect for diversity, and a commitment to cooperation;
• Foster lasting bonds among youth from different ethnic, religious, and national groups;
• Promote mutual understanding between the people of the United States and ASEAN countries; and
• Develop a cadre of young leaders in the region who will share their knowledge and skills with peers through positive action.
During a successful program, participants will:
• Demonstrate an increased understanding of the shared challenges their nations face;
• Work together to identify and overcome misunderstandings and preconceptions;
• Develop leadership skills that empower them to become effective advocates in their home communities;
• Learn and apply the skills needed to effectively organize their follow-on projects; and
• Learn to network as program alumni.

Program: The three-week exchange for the FY 2022 base year will take place in spring 2023 at a U.S. site which best capitalizes on regional, subject matter, and/or training expertise of the proposed program staff. The venue may be connected with a Southeast Asian or American Studies center or an international training office. Additional, specific and detailed program requirements can be found in the Project Objectives, Goals, and Implementation (POGI).

The program aims to advance dialogue and encourage substantive interaction between Americans and citizens of the participating ASEAN countries. Exchange delegations must have multiple opportunities to meet and interact with American students of a similar age in a substantive way. Applicants are urged to present creative plans that will foster interaction between the participants and American youth. Proposals that include a plan to demonstrate impact on American youth and communities will be more competitive. The program must also include opportunities for the adult educators to work with their American counterparts to develop their leadership and mentoring skills.

**Only one application per institution is allowed. For more information, please visit the DOS Solicitation

The internal due date for review and determination of grant to move forward on the behalf of  W&M is 4/15/22 at 4PM ET.  Questions should be sent to wosp@wm.edu.

The agency due date is 4/29/22 by 5PM EST.