Cooperative agreement for a USA nonprofit organization, IHE, or cultural institution for exchange programs with educators and secondary school students from eligible regions of Africa. Applicants are advised that required registrations may take several weeks to complete. Programs are to provide participants from Sub-Saharan Africa with three-week exchange programs in the United States focused on civic education, community service, and youth leadership development, and to support the implementation of service projects in their home communities.

U.S. embassies in Sub-Saharan Africa will recruit, screen, and select the participants. ECA funding will support the planning and implementation of U.S.-based programming, including participant international travel, for approximately 150 participants in 2023.

Youth Leadership Programs offer an examination of democratic principles within U.S civil society and provide leadership development training. Participants should engage in workshops on leadership and service, community site visits related to the program themes and subthemes, interactive training, presentations, visits to high schools, local cultural activities, and other activities designed to achieve the program’s stated goals, while living with American families for a significant period of the exchange. Additional opportunities for participants to interact meaningfully with their American peers must be included. Follow-on activities with the participants are an integral part of the program, as the students apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired by planning and carrying out service projects in their home communities.

The program goals are to:

1. Promote mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of Sub-Saharan Africa;
2. Prepare African youth leaders to become responsible citizens and contributing members of their communities; and
3. Foster relationships among African and American youth from different ethnic, religious, and national groups.

The program objectives are for participants to:

1. Demonstrate a better understanding of the elements of a participatory democracy as practiced in the United States;
2. Demonstrate critical thinking, problem-solving, and leadership skills; and
3. Demonstrate skill at developing project ideas and planning a course of action to bring follow-on projects to fruition.

The primary program themes are listed below:

1. Civic Education (citizen participation, grassroots democracy and rule of law);
2. Community Service (social/corporate responsibility, volunteerism, and philanthropy);
3. Respect for Diversity (including ethnicity, race, gender, religion, geographic location, socio-economic status, and disabilities); and
4. Youth Leadership Development (team building, public speaking, negotiation, goal setting, and project planning).

For additional details, see https://eca.state.gov/files/bureau/fy22_amendment_to_paylp_nofo_1_1.pdf#page=3.