Deadline: 25 February 2019

The Office of Citizen Exchanges, Youth Programs Division, of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces an open competition for the Youth Leadership Program with Burma.

The Youth Leadership Program with Burma will focus primarily on civic education, community service, and youth leadership. Participants also will gain a more thorough understanding of how democracy is practiced in the United States, particularly at the grassroots level, including community engagement, minority rights, and the responsibilities of citizens. A proposed program should provide information, skills-development, and experiences that participants can readily build upon when returning home. The program must also include opportunities for the adult educators to work with their American counterparts to develop their leadership and mentoring skills.

Goals

• Prepare Burmese youth leaders to become responsible citizens and contributing members of their communities;
• Empower participants to be actively engaged in addressing issues of concern in their schools and communities upon their return home;
• Build mutual understanding, tolerance, and respect through shared culture and values between people of the United States and the people of Burma; and
• Foster relationships among youth from different ethnic, racial, religious, and national groups.

Objectives

• Demonstrate a better understanding of community engagement as practiced in the United States;
• Deepen critical thinking, problem-solving, and leadership skills; and
• Develop program planning and implementation skills to bring community project ideas to fruition.

Themes

• Civic Education (such as citizen participation, grassroots democracy, rule of law, antibullying, and/or other mission priorities);
• Community Engagement (social/corporate responsibility, volunteerism, and philanthropy); Respect for Diversity (including ethnicity, race, gender, religion, geographic location, socioeconomic status, and disabilities); and
• Youth Leadership Development (such as team building, public speaking, negotiation, goal setting, and project planning);

Funding Information

The Award Ceiling of this NOFO is $190,000.

Participants

Approximately 20 Burmese participants will travel to the United States, in a contingent composed of approximately 17-18 youth and approximately 2-3 adult participants. The youth participants will be students who are between the ages of 15 and 19 at the start of the exchange. Students who are attending university or college at the start of the program as well as students who have completed high school but have not yet begun post-secondary studies at program inception are eligible for program selection. Criteria for selection of all participants will be leadership skills, an interest in service to the community, strong academic and social skills, overall composure, and openness and flexibility. Participants will be proficient in the English language. Participant recruitment and nomination will be the responsibility of the U.S. embassy. ECA will make the final participant selections.

Eligibility Criteria

Applications may be submitted by U.S. public and private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3).

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted online via given website.

For more information, please visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=311295