Youth & Leadership Archives - Eurasia Foundation

USA Pavilion Student Ambassadors at Expo 2017 Astana

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 12:57:33 +0000

Since 1851, World Fairs, or Expos, have been an opportunity to celebrate innovation and facilitate collaboration across countries. For Expo 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan, Eurasia Foundation, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the American Councils for International Education partnered to facilitate the USA Pavilion Student Ambassadorship program. Student Ambassadors are young Americans who served in a number of capacities to host visitors at the USA Pavilion. They also worked with sponsors to help organize various events at the VIP lounge.

The theme of Astana Expo 2017 “Future Energy” was green technologies, sustainable development, energy for all, and energy security in the future. The United States participated by hosting a USA Pavilion, which was designed to educate and inform foreign audiences about the United States and convey the story of America’s “Infinite Energy” through its partnerships and technological innovations. The USA Pavilion also helped promote broad U.S. commercial and public diplomacy interests and people-to-people ties within Kazakhstan and Eurasia.

Click here to watch the swearing-in ceremony for the USA Pavilion’s Student Ambassadors and explore the Ambassadors’ adventures on Facebook and Twitter.

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Kuwait Critical Thinking Project (n-mu)

admin — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 12:46:59 +0000

The Kuwait Critical Thinking Project (n-mu, or “I grow” in Arabic) promoted active citizenship among Kuwaiti youth. Launched collaboration with Kuwait-based partner en.v, the program coached local educators in training and facilitation through a cutting-edge curriculum focused on civic engagement, critical thinking, and media literacy. Coursework centered critical reflection, dialogue, and action, and utilized experiential and inquiry-based learning techniques. With n-mu, EF guided local educators as they mentored youth ages 18-25 to design and implement small-scale initiatives responding to issues identified in their local communities. Youth then utilized social media and other innovative approaches to draw attention to their projects, raise awareness, and work towards achieving positive change in themselves and their communities.

The project was funded by IREX through its Regional Assistance Program and the U.S. Department of State.

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Social Innovation in Central Asia

admin — Tue, 03 Mar 2020 13:20:39 +0000

Social Innovation in Central Asia (SICA) was a USAID-funded initiative to cultivate a vibrant and responsive society throughout the region, including Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, and build a new generation of forward-looking leaders.

The program had four inter-related objectives:

Foster a cohort of responsible young leaders;
Promote greater public transparency and accountability;
Enhance society’s ability to quickly respond to emerging opportunities; and
Build the capacity of local organizations to be financially viable and responsive to constituents.

Results as of November 22, 2023

YOUTH LEADERSHIP

480 young leaders from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan
170 youth successfully graduated CAYLA’s e-learning series
8 online courses
85 coaching sessions
67 Youth Leadership Grants
15 Social Idea Accelerator Grants

In 2020, SICA launched the Central Asia Youth Leadership Academy (CAYLA) for responsible young leaders who share goals, values, and passion for positive change in their communities. The inaugural cohort included 163 young leaders from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Within three years, SICA recruited 480 young leaders from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan from more than 2,439 applicants. Each cycle, launched with a CAYLA Regional Kickoff Conference, offered young leaders inspiration, training, and mentorship opportunities. CAYLA members studied foundational skills in community engagement and leadership via interactive and engaging online activities. After graduating from CAYLA, the participants applied their new knowledge and experience through community change projects, supported with small grants and targeted technical assistance from SICA. At each step, CAYLA members had an opportunity to network with their peers, local leaders, established CSOs, and government officials to share lessons about effective community initiatives.

POLICY, RESEARCH, AND OUTREACH

78 participants from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan
81 professionals completed data visualization training and published compelling visualizations of issues in Central Asia
2 research apprenticeships funded and facilitated in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
20 Transparency Grants awarded
14 Policy Research Projects awarded

The SICA Policy Research School (PRS) offered mentoring, workshops, on-the-job training, and peer-to-peer exchanges for CSOs, think tanks, and independent researchers that build needed capacities for participation in policy development and the role of watchdogs in monitoring the public sector. PRS engaged its members in an advanced budget monitoring and public procurement transparency curriculum tailored to the policy areas of highest priority for them and aimed at improving ongoing initiatives and designing future campaigns on the budget process. SICA also awarded grants to support outreach and research projects in Central Asia that strengthened civil society’s role in promoting transparency, public accountability, and policy research.

EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES

107 Innovative Solution Grants awarded in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan
18 In-Kind Grants awarded
3 Exchange Network Grants awarded

SICA was designed to provide civil society actors with the resources they need to strengthen their work and address the priorities of their communities. To allow civil society to identify where they see the greatest need for investment, SICA provided resources through ongoing, flexible grant competitions to solicit and support timely project ideas and promote positive citizen participation and social innovations. Projects funded promoted transparency and accountability, revitalized communities, and opportunities and protections for all. In total, SICA conducted 18 forums, reaching approximately 270,000 people.

INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY

84 organizations engaged as members of the Institutional Development Program from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan
24 institutional development experts trained to use the SICA Institutional Assessment Toolkit
6 civil society workshops

Private organizations perform varied and important tasks in Central Asian countries, and SICA developed the skills, tools, and capacities of such organizations to broaden their funding sources and increase engagement with their constituents. Organizations from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan joined the Institutional Development Program. To support an evidence-based approach for capacity building in Central Asia, SICA developed an Institutional Assessment Toolkit that its experts used to conduct tailored assessments and provide training in targeted areas for growth. In 2021, SICA began offering Institutional Development Grants to help organizations address capacity gaps and better pursue their organizational missions.

Learn more about SICA on the program’s website.

This program description is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the sole responsibility of Eurasia Foundation and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

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Sarah Carey Program

admin — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 13:23:31 +0000

Eurasia Foundation launched the Sarah Carey Program in 2012 to honor our long-serving chair Sarah Carey, whose deep connection to the Eurasia region spanned more than 50 years. The Sarah Carey Program aims to capture Sarah’s pioneering spirit and her belief that business and law, creatively applied, can overcome political obstacles among nations and lead to social benefit for all. The program is comprised of three components: an annual award, a policy forum, and a professional development network.

With the Sarah Carey Award, Eurasia Foundation recognizes an individual who embodies Sarah’s pioneering spirit and has notably advanced civil society through the practice of diplomacy, law, business, or public service. recipients include Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering (2012), Senators Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar (2013), Ambassador William J. Burns (2014), Drew Guff (2015), and Fiona Hill (2021).

Accompanying the award is an annual symposium, the Sarah Carey Forum, which examines the mutual benefits of engagement between the United States and the countries in the Eurasia region. The Sarah Carey Forum has convened voices as varied as Phil Donahue, Vladimir Pozner, and Politico editor Susan Glasser in conversations with former ambassadors, journalists, and business leaders.

Through the Young Professionals Network, Eurasia Foundation also continues Sarah’s legacy of mentoring young people active in policy and business. With the program, Eurasia Foundation creates targeted and relevant monthly opportunities for young people in Washington to discuss developments in the Eurasia region and interact with diplomats, senior policymakers, journalists, and analysts.

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Young Professionals Network

admin — Thu, 29 Jan 2015 12:48:49 +0000

Eurasia Foundation’s Young Professionals Network (YPN) program identifies emerging Eurasia specialists in the Washington, DC metropolitan area who share EF’s commitment to international engagement and connects them with more established professionals from a variety of fields. YPN was created to honor EF’s late board chair Sarah Carey, who was an indispensable advisor to young people interested in the Eurasia region.

Highlights of past YPN events include meeting former Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbayeva and special access to television hosts Vladimir Pozner and Phil Donahue. As part of the program’s series of intimate breakfast briefings and lunches, members of YPN have interacted with influential Eurasia experts including Ambassador Thomas Pickering, Dr. Fiona Hill, Thomas de Waal, Christian Caryl, and Philip Shishkin, among others.

Requirements & Expectations

EF seeks young professionals with the following qualifications:

A deep interest in and demonstrable commitment to the Eurasia region;
Between the ages of 22 and 33;
Working in any sector of government, media, the military, the private sector, or for a non-profit;
A bachelor’s or equivalent degree; and
The availability to attend monthly program events in the morning and/or evening.

Before applying, please consider if your professional and personal obligations will allow you to fully participate.