Western Washington University

10/09/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/09/2024 11:14

WWU to host the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Academic Fellows Program this spring

WWU to host the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Academic Fellows Program this spring

October 9, 2024

Western Washington University will host the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Academic Fellows Program (YSEALI AFP), focused on Society and Governance, funded by a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

Beginning in April, Western Washington University will host 25 young leaders from Southeast Asia in Bellingham for a five-week intensive academic exchange.

The YSEALI Academic Fellows Program is part of the wider Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, which is the U.S. government's signature program to strengthen leadership development and networking in Southeast Asia. The YSEALI Academic Fellows Program provides skills training to youth, aged 18-25, from eleven countries in Southeast Asia including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. The program is designed to strengthen leadership development across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), deepen engagement with young leaders on key regional and global challenges, and strengthen people-to-people ties between the U.S. and Southeast Asia.

The Fellowship brings approximately 500 exceptional young leaders per year to the United States for five-week academic Institutes at U.S. universities and colleges. Institutes focus on one of four themes: Civic Engagement; Sustainability and Environment; Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment; and Society and Governance. Institutes include an academic residency, leadership development, an educational study tour, and community service activities, and conclude in Washington, DC.

During the Fellowship, participants learn to design and implement projects to be completed upon returning home and may receive small grants to fund their implementation. Programs occur twice per year, in the fall and spring. To date, the Academic Fellows Program has nearly 2,000 alumni who are actively engaged across the region.

Some highlights of the Western program will include:

  • Academic Fellows will learn about public policy, collaborative governance, and strategies that governments and community groups can use to address public problems such housing access and environmental resource management.
  • Fellows will give back to the community through service opportunities at local environmental groups and non-profits that serve unhoused populations.
  • YSEALI Fellows will connect with local families over weekly dinners at private residences and local restaurants over the course of the Fellows' stay.
  • Fellows and WWU student Cultural ambassadors will travel to the North Cascades, Olympia, Lummi Peninsula/Island and perhaps a Mariners baseball game
  • A study trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden, New Jersey to understand environmental management and housing challenges in a new context.

The Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Academic Fellows Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center at the University of Montana.