YSEALI Professional Fellows Program – Civic Engagement

The Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Professional Fellows Program (YSEALI PFP) is a two-way U.S. Department of State exchange program designed to strengthen people-to-people ties between young leaders from Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, Vietnam, and the United States.

Through virtual activities and intensive fellowships designed to broaden their professional expertise and enhance their leadership capabilities, the YSEALI PFP Civic Engagement Institutes with the University of Montana Mansfield Center provides emerging Southeast Asian leaders with the opportunity to gain first-hand experiences in, and exposure to, U.S. public and private sector offices working on a variety of issues in civic engagement. Prospective applicants for the Civic Engagement Institutes might be professionals involved in: non-governmental management; community development; advocacy; education and capacity building; media and journalism; law; health equity; youth initiatives and programs; and civic activism for marginalized populations.

Follow-on reciprocal exchanges provide select American professionals the opportunity to visit Southeast Asia to further enhance two-way exchange, support, and knowledge sharing with YSEALI PFP alumni in their home communities.

YSEALI PFP is administered as a hybrid program, including a virtual mentorship program and asynchronous leadership curriculum, followed by the in-person, one-week orientation in Montana, four-week Fellowships across the western United States, and the YSEALI Fellows Forum conference in Washington D.C. Applicants must have reliable internet connectivity to participate in mandatory virtual activities. Applicants will be selected for one of two possible program cycles in 2024.

Important: The in-person, U.S.-based Institute is contingent upon favorable travel conditions. In the event of travel restrictions, or others factors which could adversely impact the health, safety and welfare of program participants and hosts, YSEALI PFP will pivot the in-person, U.S.-based exchange to virtual programming.