Washington, D.C. - The United States Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has awarded a cooperative agreement to American Councils and its consortium partners (the American Council of Young Political Leaders, the International City/County Management Association, University of Montana’s Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center) $4.2 million to manage the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Professional Fellows Program (YSEALI PFP). YSEALI PFP will offer 200 emerging leaders from 11 countries in Southeast Asia a rigorous professional development and leadership exchange program focusing on four key themes: Civic Engagement, Economic Empowerment, Governance and Society, and Sustainable Development and the Environment. YSEALI PFP will also support programming for 50 American Fellows to undertake a reciprocal exchange designed to promote mutual understanding, enhance leadership and professional skills, and build lasting partnerships between professionals in Southeast Asia and the United States.
Launched in 2013, the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative is the U.S. government’s signature program to strengthen leadership and networking in Southeast Asia, preparing young leaders in the region to solve regional and global challenges through cross-border collaboration. The YSEALI Professional Fellows Program represents a critical investment by the United States to strengthen its strategic partnerships with ASEAN member nations and Timor Leste in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
American Councils has served as an implementing organization of the YSEALI Professional Fellows Program since 2015 on the theme of Economic Empowerment.
For inquiries please contact the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at eca-press@state.gov or American Councils for International Education at jholmes@americancouncils.org (Jaimie Holmes, Program Director).
