The Asia Foundation is releasing a call for applicants for its 2017 Asia Foundation Development Fellows: Emerging Leadership for Asia’s Future program. This will be the fourth cohort of this prestigious program, designed to engage and empower a dynamic community of emerging leaders from all over Asia. Applications will be accepted through November 21, 2016.
The Development Fellows program reflects The Asia Foundation’s six-decade tradition of investing in the region’s most promising future leaders. Each year, the program brings together an accomplished group of emerging changemakers (under 40 years of age)—NGO and civil society leaders, government officials and policymakers, social entrepreneurs, journalists, environmentalists, and academics—who are deeply committed to building an inclusive Asia. The year-long career advancement program is an opportunity to cultivate leadership skills and gain in-depth knowledge of Asia’s critical development challenges, while allowing professionals to remain in their current occupations during the Fellowship year. Over the course of the program activities in Asia and the U.S., the Fellows form life-long professional and personal bonds in a nurturing atmosphere of learning and connections. With an emphasis on a diversity of views and contexts, the program leverages the Foundation’s extensive 18-country network and deep expertise working with innovative leaders and communities across the region.
“Our Development Fellows are entrepreneurial, creative, and willing to take risks. These are individuals with the unique combination of leadership skills, depth of substantive knowledge, and technical expertise that empowers them to solve problems in their respective societies and across Asia,†said Asia Foundation President David D. Arnold.
The 2017 program will commence in April in Korea with a four-day Leadership Development Workshop presented in partnership with the Korea Development Institute, and will continue in Vietnam where the Fellows will engage with various development practitioners to understand the mechanics of change on the ground. In September, the Fellows will visit San Francisco, New York City, and Washington, D.C. for a two-week leadership dialogue and exchange. A flexible professional development award of US $5,000 will also be provided to each Fellow to use throughout the Fellowship year.
The call for applications will close on November 21, 2016, with selection results to be announced in mid-January.
