2024 YSEALI Professional Fellows Program

The YSEALI 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, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, and the United States. Through intensive fellowships designed to broaden their professional expertise and enhance their leadership capabilities, YSEALI PFP 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. The 2024 YSEALI PFP is planned as a hybrid program, which will include virtual activities and an in-person U.S.-based Institute.

Eligibility Requirements 

Participants must:  

• Be citizens and current residents of one of the eleven YSEALI countries;  
• Be emerging leaders in government, civil society, or the private sector who have demonstrated expertise pertaining to the respective theme for which they are applying;  
• Be 25 to 35 years old at the start of the program, currently employed and have two or more years of relevant professional work experience;  
• Be self-directed with demonstrated leadership and collaborative skills and able to work effectively in a cross-cultural setting;  
• Be able to identify an objective/project of their own selection that the applicant would like to implement in their home workplace or community;  
• Have demonstrated proficiency in written and oral English.   

Program Information

The program is administered under four Institute Themes:  

1. Civic Engagement 
2. Economic Empowerment 
3. Governance and Society 
4. Sustainable Development and the Environment.  

Applicants will be instructed to rank themes in order of preference on their application.   

The PFP Cycle Information

The YSEALI PFP will be administered in two cycles in 2024. Applicants may only participate in one of the two program cycles. Applicants must indicate their preferred cycle (Cycle 1 or Cycle 2) in their application. Please note that this call for application is for both cycles. 

Program Dates:  

There will be one application for all four YSEALI PFP themes and two program cycles, with in-person programming tentatively scheduled in 2024: for April-May (Cycle 1) and September-October (Cycle 2). Applicants will be able to select their preferred theme and program cycle in the application.

• Cycle 1: Virtual activities for Cycle 1 will tentatively launch in February 2024, with approximately one live session per month throughout the duration of the program. Some professional asynchronous activities may accompany each live session. The U.S.-based exchange is tentatively scheduled from April 22 – May 31, 2024.
• Cycle 2: Virtual activities for cycle 2 will tentatively launch in June 2024, with approximately one live session per month throughout the duration of the program. Some professional asynchronous activities may accompany each live session. The U.S.-based exchange is tentatively scheduled from September 9 – October 18, 2024.  

How Can I Apply? 

The application is scheduled to open from June 1 – August 1, 2023. Visit www.ysealipfp.org to learn more and apply today!