CIFAL Atlanta - Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative
The program grant, administered through the Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, is a component of President Obama’s Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, a broad initiative aimed at enhancing the U.S.’s relations with future leaders of Southeast Asia and fostering an ASEAN community.
Approximately 65% of people in the ASEAN region are under the age of 35. YSEALI is an effort to harness the extraordinary potential of youth in the region to address critical challenges and expand opportunities.
Through a variety of programs and engagements, including U.S. educational and cultural exchanges, regional exchanges, and seed funding, YSEALI seeks to build the leadership capabilities of youth in the region, strengthen ties between the United States and Southeast Asia, and nurture an ASEAN community. YSEALI focuses on critical topics identified by youth in the region: civic engagement, environment and natural resources management, and entrepreneurship and economic development.
- Participants will develop an understanding of civic engagement in the U.S. through a study of civil and human rights themes in U.S. history, focusing on the U.S. civil rights movement.
- Participants will be able to use lessons learned from these themes to engage in volunteer and leadership activities in their home communities.
- Participants will experience and understand the philanthropic and entrepreneurial spirit of community service in the U.S.
- Participants will design a community service project which will be implemented in participants’ home countries with appropriate follow-up and support from KSU.
- Participants will develop measurable leadership skills.
- Participants will participate in panels learning on women’s rights, democracy and freedom of speech, the environment and sustainability, leadership and social action, immigration and refugee policy, disability rights, and LGBTIQ rights
In addition to the topics above being covered during classroom instruction time, the following content will be included in the program:
- Visits to 4 regional cultural sites of relevance to the region’s role in the U.S. civil rights movement.
- Visits to 3 Southeastern cities of importance to the U.S. civil rights movement, and Washington, DC.
- 4 hands-on community service opportunities.
- 8 leadership and ethics training sessions.
- 8 guest speaker visits.
- 4 hands-on community service experiences at 4 Atlanta area community service organizations.
- Completion of 15 leadership and ethics training modules.
The participants will attend training sessions, a speaker panel and will take part in classroom dialogue/workshops. They will participate in community service projects and will design their own take-home community service project. They will visit regional cultural sites weekly and go on an educational study tour for their final week.
The YSEALI community consists of 21 bright young leaders, 18–35 years old, from the ASEAN member states who are making a difference in their communities, countries, and the region.