ON DECEMBER 3, via
video message broadcast to 150 youth and dignitaries gathered in Manila,
Philippines, President Obama announced the Young Southeast Asian Leaders
Initiative (YSEALI). Recognizing that over 65 percent of the region’s
population is under the age of 35, YSEALI seeks to augment leadership
development and networking in ASEAN; deepen engagement with young leaders
across critical sectors; and strengthen people-to-people ties between the
United States and young leaders across the region. This new initiative
will expand and institutionalize extensive diplomatic and programmatic
engagement throughout Southeast Asia aimed at empowering the next generation of
leaders.
Youth leadership development
The U.S. Government
has made significant investments in nurturing a regional network and
strengthening leadership skills among ASEAN youth. For example, at the LEAD
ASEAN Youth Summit in Manila, 150 youth delegates are working together to
forge solutions to transnational challenges such as climate change, youth
unemployment, and trafficking in persons. The summit will culminate in a
proposal contest, with the winning teams receiving grants to implement
community projects.
Since 2009, the Southeast
Asia Youth Leadership Program has brought teenagers from all ten ASEAN
member countries to the United States. The program promotes civic
responsibility and community service with hands-on training that develops the
participants’ leadership skills. In addition, Ambassador Youth
Councils across Southeast Asia provide a channel for young people to
interact with top U.S. officials and get involved in matters of global
impact.
Higher education
The United States
supports academic exchanges with Southeast Asian youth because education
unlocks youth’s potential to drive economic and social advances. Each
year, more than 700 Fulbright scholarships are awarded to American and
Southeast Asian students and scholars for study, research, or teaching.
This fall, the State Department launched the Fulbright U.S.-ASEAN Initiative,
which supports the exchange of scholars from the United States and ASEAN
focused on regional priorities, such as food security and public health.
In response to the
Government of Indonesia’s desire to invest in its next generation of leaders,
the United States is launching a new scholarship program that will provide
career paths for youth to transition to productive members and leaders in
Indonesian society. This $29 million effort will offer over 160
scholarships for Government of Indonesia officials and university faculty in
specialty areas such as biodiversity, climate change, and basic and higher
education.
Science, technology, and entrepreneurship
The United States is
partnering with Southeast Asian youth to use science, technology, and
entrepreneurship to build regional prosperity and find innovative solutions to
pressing regional concerns. For example, this fall, Malaysia hosted the Global
Entrepreneurship Summit, which President Obama announced in his 2009 Cairo
address. This year’s summit brought together over 4,000 entrepreneurs,
investors, academics, and government officials from Southeast Asia and around
the world. It kicked off with Global Startup Youth, a pre-summit that
brought together 500 young people from over 100 countries to develop pitches
for new ventures. The United States also supports Mekong Technology
Innovation Generation and Entrepreneurship Resources (TIGERS@Mekong), a
public-private partnership that helps young innovators and entrepreneurs
connect with venture capitalists and bring their business ideas to
market.
English language
In partnership with
governments in the region, the United States is supporting the expansion of
English language skills to facilitate better communication between the United
States and ASEAN nations. The $25 million Brunei-U.S. English Language Enrichment Project for ASEAN will benefit thousands of Southeast Asian youth
by improving local English language teachers English teaching skills.
Each year, the English Access Microscholarship Program provides
foundational English language skills to nearly 3,000 bright, economically
disadvantaged 13- to 20-year-olds in Southeast Asia through two years of
after-school classes and intensive summer learning activities.
Civic engagement and social entrepreneurship
The United States
encourages youth to give back to their local communities, ensuring thriving
civil societies in their home countries. In August, the United States and
Malaysia launched the ASEAN Youth Volunteer Program, which encourages
young volunteers to serve in the region, while enhancing cross-cultural ties
and understanding among ASEAN youth. Marking the program’s eighth year,
the 2014 ASEAN International Visitor Leadership Program will bring
emerging leaders from each of the ten ASEAN countries to the United States to
examine regional economic cooperation in Southeast Asia, particularly focusing
on how to cultivate an ASEAN-based identity in a changing world market.
In support of the U.S.-Burma Partnership for Democracy, Peace and Prosperity,
the United States is working with universities and the private sector to create
a Higher Education Partnerships program, which will advance democratic
rights, transparent governance, inclusive economic growth, food security, and
the health and livelihoods of the people of Burma. The United States is
also supporting youth in southern Philippines by investing $11 million over
five years in Mindanao Youth for Development, which provides quality
workforce development and life skills that integrate problem solving,
leadership, peace education, and entrepreneurship.
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